Earthlooping at the White Temple near Damenglong
Finally, after the failure of Kunming, we found the Summer weather in Xishuangbanna. Warm, sunny days and the feeling of being in Laos, Vietnam, Thailand or wherever in South East Asia (but definitely not in China) together with a landscape full of jungle and lush vegetation, made the 5 days spent in the South of China a really pleasant ones.
The bus which took us from cold Kunming to Jinghong lasted for 12 hours. Actually the drive was for about 8 hours, but in China they have a strange tradition of stopping for 3 or 4 hours (sometimes even more) in the middle of the night so the drivers can sleep. This is quite annoying, as you are left inside the bus, cold and surrounded by snorers. I don't get it: if they have two drivers, why don't they take turns as in everywhere else?
Anyway, a quick stop for toilet before getting to Jinghong proved that finally we were about to have some warm days. Getting off the bus and feeling some 20 or more degrees on the 20th of January was quite a big thing, especially after coming from Kunming, where it was freezing every day.
Jinghong
The bus arrived in Jinghong at around 9 in the morning. And yes, it was really warm, like in summertime. People in short sleeves, wearing flip flops, shorts... and us wearing winter jackets, long johns, thick socks.... quite a big shock. But first thing we did was going to the first restaurant we came accross to have some food. It was actually a food stall on the street offering some cheap Yunnan noodles (or accross-the-bridge noodles). They put some boiled rice noodles in a bowl with soup and then you add the extra ingredients and spices you like from a nearby table. They were quite good, but later we found out that this was pretty much the only eating option in the whole Yunnan, so we were quite fed up with these accross-the-bridge noodles.
After eating, we went to look for our hostel, so we took a bus and after getting lost a couple of times and asking around here and there, finally we got to the right place. And actually on the way to the hostel we realized we could be somewhere else but in China. Jinghong is a small city and it looks like it is in the middle of the jungle: palm trees and palm trees everywhere. They have big and wide avenues with plenty of these trees surrounding them. You add some coconut trees here and there and yes, you are in the jungle city.
After eating, we went to look for our hostel, so we took a bus and after getting lost a couple of times and asking around here and there, finally we got to the right place. And actually on the way to the hostel we realized we could be somewhere else but in China. Jinghong is a small city and it looks like it is in the middle of the jungle: palm trees and palm trees everywhere. They have big and wide avenues with plenty of these trees surrounding them. You add some coconut trees here and there and yes, you are in the jungle city.
Really feeling Summer in Jinghong
Besides, you have street markets selling exotic fruits like coconuts, lichis, dragon fruits, tiny bananas... everything like in any South East Asian country. Actually, quite normal, as we are really close to the border with Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam, so the climate and culture are similar.
Once in our hostel we checked-in, left our bags in the room and went to explore Jinghong a bit. This time the hostel was more like a hotel, still with a nice courtyard but not the same atmosphere as the one, for instance, in Chengdu. Anyway, the owner was really friendly and helpful and the location was excellent. The only downsides were the Internet connection, which was slow (actually this is one of the things that have changed in China in the last 5 years: Internet speed has got slower and slower, weird, eh?) and the room heating. Even if it was really warm and nice during the day, at night it was a bit cold, so some heating wouldn't have done any harm. But again, the heating thing is a problem they have in all Yunnan.
Once in our hostel we checked-in, left our bags in the room and went to explore Jinghong a bit. This time the hostel was more like a hotel, still with a nice courtyard but not the same atmosphere as the one, for instance, in Chengdu. Anyway, the owner was really friendly and helpful and the location was excellent. The only downsides were the Internet connection, which was slow (actually this is one of the things that have changed in China in the last 5 years: Internet speed has got slower and slower, weird, eh?) and the room heating. Even if it was really warm and nice during the day, at night it was a bit cold, so some heating wouldn't have done any harm. But again, the heating thing is a problem they have in all Yunnan.
Bubble Football Barcelona at the White Temple
We changed clothes, put on our sightseeing mode and went outside to enjoy the beautiful weather and Jinghong. We first headed towards a Buddhist temple we had a few minutes walking from the hostel. On the way we stopped in a local market to buy some of these sweet and tiny bananas they have in South East Asia and then we got to the temple. Confirmed: we are not in China. The temple was a Dai one (Thai) and the architecture and everything was Thai, not Chinese. It was a wooden and colorful one and really interesting inside. From there we continued walking to the center of the city. Palm trees everywhere, a feeling of a laid back city, Sun, nice weather... we were really enjoying Jinghong! Even if it doesn't have many special monuments or sights, this city has some appeal, maybe the palm trees, the vegetation, the weather, the hundreds of elephant statues all over the town or the architecture of the buildings (even if they are high blocks of flats, they all have a Dai detail on the roof)... I don't know what, but Jinghong has something special.
Dai Temple
We walked and walked all over the city (with a short stopover for some street food, this time some more noodles with a beer in then midle of the street) passing by the nice main square and a nice and small park until reaching the river. And it is not any river. Jinghong is home to the Mekong (Lancang in Chinese). Yes, this big river passes by Jinghong and you can admire it from the impressive bridge they have. We walked there, we had a beer in one of the many bars and restaurants there are by the shore and we waited to be dark to pay a visit to the local night market.
And that's yet another South East Asian fact of Jinghong. Like a lot of towns in Laos, Thailand, Vietnam... they have their own night market. And it is quite big. A really long street by the Mekong full with shops and food stalls, so we spent some hours just wandering around, buying some chopsticks and having some good skewers and a beer there. but as it was getting colder, we decided to go back to the hostel, having in the meantime a look at Jinghong by night, which looks more like a Chinese city than during the daytime: lights, lights and more colorful lights everywhere. Weird but quite nice at the same time!
The plan for the next day was to take a bike and go to a nearby village to see a waterfall and the village itself, but reading at some guests' reviews and seeing pictures in the hostel, we decided that we could perfectly skip the 6-hour bike ride and instead take a bus to a nearby village to see the famous White Temple. And so we did.
The plan for the next day was to take a bike and go to a nearby village to see a waterfall and the village itself, but reading at some guests' reviews and seeing pictures in the hostel, we decided that we could perfectly skip the 6-hour bike ride and instead take a bus to a nearby village to see the famous White Temple. And so we did.
Banana plantations everywhere in Xishuangbanna
We woke up not very early, went for breakfast (spicy noodles, not really appropriate but we had no choice) and jumped on a 45-minute bus that took us through endless banana plantations to the village of Damenglong.
We expected to land in a tiny beautiful village or something similar, but instead Damenglong was a dusty big town with even a shopping mall and no charm at all. We visited a small Buddhist temple and went to try and find the White Temple. And this resulted to be in a nearby village. We walked along the road, visited another nicer temple and went up through the village (this time a tiny and beautiful one) until we reached the temple. After negotiating the entrance price with the guard, we were free to wander around. And it is a really nice complex: a huge white pagoda, an even bigger golden Buddha and nice garderns were to have a rest. Some hour there and back to the main road to catch the next bus back to Jinghong!
We expected to land in a tiny beautiful village or something similar, but instead Damenglong was a dusty big town with even a shopping mall and no charm at all. We visited a small Buddhist temple and went to try and find the White Temple. And this resulted to be in a nearby village. We walked along the road, visited another nicer temple and went up through the village (this time a tiny and beautiful one) until we reached the temple. After negotiating the entrance price with the guard, we were free to wander around. And it is a really nice complex: a huge white pagoda, an even bigger golden Buddha and nice garderns were to have a rest. Some hour there and back to the main road to catch the next bus back to Jinghong!
The way up to Nannuoshan
Quite tired we reached back Jinghong and the rest of the day was spent having a few beers, some fresh coconut and enjoying the good weather. At night, a visit to a smaller night market in the center of town, some street food and back to the hostel for some more beers, a failed try to updste the web and to bed.
Next day was devoted to Nannuoshan. Nannuoshan is a mountain around half an hour by bus from Jinghong famous for its tea trees plantations. The thing is going there early and slowly climb to the top of the mountain (it should take around 3 hours) to see the tea trees and some villages on the way. That's the right thing to do, but as we are not really morning persons, we woke up quite late, slowly went to the bus station and arrived in the village at the foot of the mountain around 12pm.
The village was really nice and undergoing a local tiny market. A woman invited us for some tea, but we left it for later, as the objective was to get to the top of the mountain, enjoy the views, the villages and the tea trees. They told us it takes 3 hours to get to the top, so we decided to start walking at a quite quick pace, other wise if it was 5 or 6 hours both ways, we couln't make it on time to catch the last bus back to Jinghong. And so we started walking.
Next day was devoted to Nannuoshan. Nannuoshan is a mountain around half an hour by bus from Jinghong famous for its tea trees plantations. The thing is going there early and slowly climb to the top of the mountain (it should take around 3 hours) to see the tea trees and some villages on the way. That's the right thing to do, but as we are not really morning persons, we woke up quite late, slowly went to the bus station and arrived in the village at the foot of the mountain around 12pm.
The village was really nice and undergoing a local tiny market. A woman invited us for some tea, but we left it for later, as the objective was to get to the top of the mountain, enjoy the views, the villages and the tea trees. They told us it takes 3 hours to get to the top, so we decided to start walking at a quite quick pace, other wise if it was 5 or 6 hours both ways, we couln't make it on time to catch the last bus back to Jinghong. And so we started walking.
Local girl in Nannuoshan
It took us 1,5 hours to reach the top. Yes, we were walking at a quite fast pace, but still I don't get how they could tell us it's 3 hours. Anyway, the walk was totally uphill, so tiring but at the same time you enjoy beautiful views of the green and lush mountains and you pass a couple of interesting villages.
Once on the top we tried to look for the tea trees and we met a couple of Chinese guys who were spending some days with the locals. They were very nice and offered us to take us through the tea trees to the oldest tea tree they have there. We were guided by a small local girl and the two Chinese through the forest and yes, we could see tea trees and stuff, but as it was getting late we decided to come back before reaching the old tree.
One hour walking downhill and we were again in the village the bus dropped us in. A bit of time to look at the local market and also to accept an invitation from a local woman to have some tea.
Once on the top we tried to look for the tea trees and we met a couple of Chinese guys who were spending some days with the locals. They were very nice and offered us to take us through the tea trees to the oldest tea tree they have there. We were guided by a small local girl and the two Chinese through the forest and yes, we could see tea trees and stuff, but as it was getting late we decided to come back before reaching the old tree.
One hour walking downhill and we were again in the village the bus dropped us in. A bit of time to look at the local market and also to accept an invitation from a local woman to have some tea.
She invited us to her small shop and started with all the tea ceremony. We sat there for some half an hour enjoying the local tea, which actually is nothing special, but the ceremony was quite something. She didn't allow us to pay and from there we went to the roas to wait for the bus back to Jinghong, where we spent the rest of the day relaxing, this time with a nice blind massage (this is a massage given by a blind person, quite typical from the area).
For our last day in Jinghong we asked the owner of the hostel to reccomend us some nearby village. She said we could try Mengyang, a small not touristified village. So there we went. It took us some half an hour to get there through a really beautiful landscape. Definitely more beautiful than the village, which has nothing special at all: a few dusty streets, a local market and that's it. The best thing is a bar right next to the bus station where we sat and enjoyed a beer in the middle of an artificial lake.
For our last day in Jinghong we asked the owner of the hostel to reccomend us some nearby village. She said we could try Mengyang, a small not touristified village. So there we went. It took us some half an hour to get there through a really beautiful landscape. Definitely more beautiful than the village, which has nothing special at all: a few dusty streets, a local market and that's it. The best thing is a bar right next to the bus station where we sat and enjoyed a beer in the middle of an artificial lake.
The tea ceremony
Back in Jinghong some time to relax , have some food and just wait for the next day to catch a bus at 12pm to Yuanyang, our next destination where we were supposed to see the most impressive rice terraces in the world.
The days in Jinghong and its surroundings were really nice and enjoyable. After the cold in Kunming we really appreciated the perfect weather (even if at night was a bit cold) and despite the villages around Jinghong are not exactly postcard ones, the landscape and the South East Asia feeling you have all the time are worth the trip to Xishuangbanna!
If you're planning to go to the area, have a look at both our Xishuangbanna Travel Guide and our China Travel Pics!
The days in Jinghong and its surroundings were really nice and enjoyable. After the cold in Kunming we really appreciated the perfect weather (even if at night was a bit cold) and despite the villages around Jinghong are not exactly postcard ones, the landscape and the South East Asia feeling you have all the time are worth the trip to Xishuangbanna!
If you're planning to go to the area, have a look at both our Xishuangbanna Travel Guide and our China Travel Pics!
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