A Short Letter Home

Who let the dogs out?

Coming back from Thailand was a bit interesting. We arrived back in Kunming on Sunday evening--the first day in the Year of the Dog. We got a taxi and checked into our hotel okay, but we had never seen Kunming so quiet. It was like Seattle on a Sunday morning. Crossing the street was no longer an adventure. Almost all of the shops were closed, though thankfully Carrefour's was forcing their employees to work. We checked into the hotel and were somewhat at a loss for something to do. Not that we really wanted much to do. We were kind of fatigued and ended up eating mini-bar ramen and potato chips for supper. It had to be one of the worst meals I've had in China.

As near as I can figure, the New Year's/Spring Festival celebration was akin to a U.S. Christmas or Thanksgiving. Folks are inside with friends or family. A few people might be out strolling, but business, for the most part, has stopped. (Of course, to do a serious comparison is beyond me because I'm usually spending Christmas and Thanksgiving inside with my friends and family.) People did cut loose with the fireworks, however. Our hotel parking lot was almost deserted but was carpeted with firework debris. After dark, we could hear and see all sorts of fireworks going off. It sounded very much like the first Fourth of July I spent in Chicago, which I recalled sounded like a war zone. (Come to think of it, the next morning the streets in my neighborhood also were littered with fireworks debris. Nothing like Kunming, though.)

All in all, it was unusual to be left out of the party, so to speak. I don't think I've felt anything like that since high school, but of course, back then I had teen angst to complicate things. This time I just shrugged my shoulders and looked forward to going home.

The next day we had half a day to kill before our flight home. Most places were still closed up, including our first choice for lunch. We dined at the nearest place that was open and then discovered a Western warehouse store. We've avoided such places in the States (the mind rebels at the thought of needing a membership card just to shop or get a lower price) but here we signed right up for the right to be a Metro customer. It was actually a nice source of all sorts of imported goodies. We didn't find a real potato masher, but we found something that would serve, as well as a couple other commodities.

Our flight home was uneventful. We had one moment of despair when we discovered that there weren't enough taxis to go around. I think our airport handles four flights a day. Every morning and afternoon, the plane comes in from Kunming, drops off passengers, picks up passengers, and heads back. When we first arrived, we were picked up by some college folks. We followed about four taxis that couldn't find a fare. This time we saw two taxis departing, each with customers. Fortunately there's a bus that heads back into town and we were able to catch that before it left. Like Kunming, everything was closed. We came home to a deserted campus and a cold apartment. Fortunately, however, our favorite barbecue place was open and we were able to have a delightful dinner.

All in all, 'twas an interesting holiday. Next time I think we'll do a bit better, maybe even extend our time away from home. Time will tell...

posted by John @ 5:06 AM