Of the Thrills of China

It is 0700. My bodyclock jerked me conscious and i lay looking out. Mountains, hills; no longer existent were the old buildings and newly constructed "skyscrapers" (at least not of any first world country standard) - they were replaced with farmland, dusty roads and small worn-down houses. We were arriving.

12 hours earlier, i sat alone at what's called the "进站口" of the 西部Bus Interchange. Half an hour early for my meeting with Dr. Loh, i watched a chubby toddler waddle himself along the pathway, with his mother, young enough to be his sister, standing by. When he wandered too far into the crowds, she'd scoop him up and bring him back to the entrance door, and the cycle repeated.

Soon, it was time. i couldn't see Dr. Loh, or Isaac (a young Chinese student from the US starting on his post-graduate medical course in Duke University next Fall) anywhere. Andy called me to inform me that Dr. Loh was looking for me, but he was nowhere in sight - i didn't see him walk through the main entrance either. i tried calling Dr. Loh's phone, but it couldn't get through, and i suspect i might have recorded down the wrong number. Called Andy again, and he told me that Dr. Loh would be calling me anytime soon. Hence i waited, but no call came. i stood up and looked around, and just when i started to think i had gotten the wrong address, Dr. Loh appeared out of the crowd, looking as if he's looking for a lost child - me. i walked toward him and waved, trying to catch his attention. He saw me, threw up his hands in the air and flashed a convivial smile that's trademark of his character.

"What's your number?" I asked. And my suspicions proved true: i got the last digit wrong.

As we squeezed past the checkpoint and the security checks, we found the bus we'd be taking for the next 12 hours. After putting our luggage in the lower compartment, we boarded the bus. Now this isn't the normal 50 seater bus that you'd take, but it comprised of three rows of 21 small double-decker bunk-beds crammed within the span of the bus. I sat in bed 11, with Isaac and Dr. Loh directly in front of me. The place reeked of wet socks and smelly shoes, and i smiled - this is what i am here to experience. In front of me, a man lit a cigarette within the isolated enclosure of the bus, and i inhaled its toxic smoke.

Dr. Loh turned to me and said, with a grin, "Welcome to Yunnan".

***

And i'm back from China. Here's my meagre attempt to trace my experiences over the past month and piece it together in words. i'll be posting in batches, and this is but the first instalment of a few to come. God's been good to me, and i wouldn't trade this opportunity for anything less.