We got a new camera — another Canon — and it is way better than the other two combined.  Getting the camera was an experience though.  We tried and failed in Laos so the next stop was Kunming, China. For those of you who think that “made in china” means cheap electronics are abundant here, you’ll be sorely disappointed.  We were.  That’s right, the cheapest electronics in the world are a quarter mile down the road at your nearest Supercenter.  Like, 25% cheaper.

We went to a Best Buy equivalent called Sunning and found a very patient, non-English speaking staff member to assist us.  It is tough to find someone who speaks English outside of the guesthouses and restaurants advertised in the European guidebooks.

This guy went above and beyond. On the first day we negotiated.  We agreed on the price and hour later learned that they couldn’t take credit cards, but the banks had a limit on ATM withdrawals.  Day two: we found a way to withdraw the cash, returned to the store, bargained a little more, bought the camera (with Chinese instructions), set up the camera and registered the camera.  All in all, it was a 6 hour process.

On the second day our helpful friend had opened up one of those handheld pocket translators from the store in an attempt to better communicate with us.  The translations on both ends were deplorable and it was like cracking a lunatic’s puzzle figuring out what the hell he was saying.  “Don’t worry” became “no paste” and at one point we were told: “you take the get and way the flower.”

Our troubles should have been no surprise. Chinese is complicated and so much of the language depends on tone.  “Wa” is used at the end of a question.  Said with a different inflection, it means “horse” and with another tone, a bad word (though we’re not sure which one).  So if I said, “Vegetarian Dishes, wa?” that could come out: ‘Do you cater to vegetarians?’ or ‘Do you have vegetarian dishes plus horse meat?’ or ‘I want vegetarian dishes, asshole.’  You see how delicate the situation can be, but we still try and get laughed at often.

The Chinese people are nothing but nice.  They will go out of their way to help you.  Really, they are across the board the nicest people we’ve met on our trip.  We were ordering a soup at one of the stalls and the woman next to us stopped to help translate.  We didn’t know which bus to take and someone walked us to the right stop (twice).  Even the people trying to sell us touristy stuff for the most part aren’t pushy.  Older women in Dali will walk up to young-ish Westerners, asking if they want to smoke the ganja.  You say ‘no, no Chinese prison’ and they will leave you alone.  In Laos they often followed you, just to make sure you weren’t interested in snorting heroin.  Just to make sure you weren’t having any second thoughts.

Chinese food

It is so good!  We’ve had wonderful new dishes like battered rose petals in a honey lemon dipping sauce, stir fried asparagus and garlic, agar jelly in a delicate sweet broth, and tea.  Green tea is served with every meal and the flavors of tea are complex.  Some are savory like grains and others are fruity, infused with apples or pomelos.

…Rob and I are in Dali in the Southwest Yunnan province of China. This evening we’re headed up the mountain to a monastery where we will practice Kung Fu (Rob) and Tai Chi (me) over the next week.  There’s no electricity at the top of the mountain, so it will be another week til the next post.