"Always acknowledge a fault. This will throw those in authority off their guard and give you an opportunity to commit more."

--Mark Twain

The cab ride from Xi’an to the airport was insane. The driver would pass everyone via the right shoulder (at speeds exceeding 60 MPH). I think we almost killed several cyclist and pedestrians on the way. He would blow the horn and expect everyone to get out of his way. And there was o urgency at all! I had plenty of time to get to the airport. The absolute disregard towards human life is shocking.

At the airport, the boarding of the plane was chaotic as usual, as the Chinese have no concept for queuing. I think several Chinese were having their first time flying, because during the take-off procedures, they would get up from their seats (as the plane is speeding down the runway) and race to the windows, with exciting giggles. The panic stricken flight attendants would then frantically get up and try to get these Chinese back to their seats. I think this can be expected when millions of peasants suddenly see their incomes boosted due to the extraordinary economic boom currently being experienced in China.

I met Zhang and his friend at the Kunming airport. We took a cab to a 5 star hotel nearby (Zhang is obsessed with 5 start hotels) where we were to spend the night, waiting for our flight next morning to Lijiang. That evening we went out to dinner. We took a cab and after a 20 minute drive, we arrived at a typical Yunnan restaurant, were we ordered bone soup. The idea is to have large boiled ox bones, where your drink the bone marrow with a straw. It was quite tasty, but very different. We took a cab back, but this time the ride was only 3 minutes, and the cost was 1/3 of our first cab ride to the restaurant. I asked Zhang what was up with that. He responded that on the way to the restaurant, he spoke to the cab driver in Mandarin, so he must have figured we were outsiders. On the way back, it has Zhang’s friend who spoke to the cab driver, suing Yunnan dialect, so the cab driver took the shortest route, because he assumed we were locals. So I told Zhang that it seemed that the Chinese were not out just to screw outsiders, but they also had no quarrels on trying to screw other Chinese. To which Zhang replied with a grin: “You said you wanted to see the REAL China, well here it is”. And I went to bed with that on my mind.

The flight from Kunming to Lijiang next morning took less than 40 minutes. Lijiang is a very small and beautiful city located in the mountains of northern Yunnan province, the shadows of the huge and majestic Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Or first stop was the five star hotel that Zhang had booked for us. The hotel was extremely luxurious, and as such, I feel as out of place as a Jewish and black gay couple attending a KKK rally. The room had a huge balcony that gave me a full view of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. But what was really interesting was the fact that inside my room, the bathroom walls were all made of see thru glass. So, from anywhere in the bedroom one could see everything that was happening inside the bathroom (and vice versa). I was glad to be alone on that room, but I can imagine how unromantic would be for couples to share that same room. Can you imagine getting a first hand view of your “honey” dropping a brick into the toilet and later watch him/her wipe her ass in full view? That, takes a LOT of love.

But since I was alone, I decided to take advantage of the situation. I opened my balcony windows, went to the toilet, sat down, and with chin in my hands and with the full beauty and majesty of the Jade Dragon Mountain in front of me, I took a celestial dump.

We first visited a turistic spot called "traditional town" were we paid 30 Yuan to see some fake Naxi village loaded with shops. It was really dissapointed and I felt ripped off in many ways. Since it was rainy and cold, we went to a sporting goods store in the village (I guess the Naxi had Columbia sporting gear for ages). Where I bought a high quality fake Columbia jacket (High quality fakes are reffered as A1 grade by the Chinese). I paid about $40 dollars for it and I was quite satisfied. However, 5 minutes after leaving the store, I rubbed my back against a wall that had a nail, which cause a small rip into the jacket. Frustrated, I took the jacket off to examine the rip. Right above the rip (which was small) I noticed what appeared to be a small manufacture fault in the jacket. Great, I thought. I will be able to exhcange the jacket, so the rip is a non-issue. So we went back to the store, where the sales person pointed out that the "flaw" was actually a feature of the jacket where the hood is stored when not in use. Howeverm the sales person noted the rip and immediately offered to replace the jacket. I did not say anything, and the jacket was replaced. Zhang later pointed out to me that, although I criticized the Chinese for their lack of honesty, I did not act any differently when it was convenient to me. Instead of telling the truth and saying that the rip was caused by my negligence, I stayed in silence and allowed a jacket to be replaced when the store had no fault at all. I have to be very careful so I will not become that which I despise. The fact that the Chinese try to rip everyone else off does not give me the right to act like they do. So, for the record, that was not my finest hour at all, and I do regret what I have done.

The town of Lijiang is know as the “Venice” of China, and rightfully so, due to its narrow streets and many canals.

So we took the day to explore it. The streets are very narrow but everything is Japanese clean and very organized (unlike the rest of China that I have seen so far). The town was crowded with Chinese tourists and a few westerners. So we spend the whole day checking out the city, its beautiful architecture and the Naxi natives (the minority group that lives in the area). For dinner, we decided to be a bit adventurous, so we ordered pigeon soup and fried bamboo worms. I confess that I did not like the pigeon soup very much, but the bamboo worms were delicious. We then continued to explore Lijiang by night, lit by thousands of lanterns and many singing naxi natives. Natives in one restaurant would start a singing competition with the natives of the other restaurant across the street. And this would happen all over town. It was a very lively experience that it is very difficult to describe. The whole town came alive at night and turned into a single huge party, with lots of singing, dancing and drinking. But yet everything was so orderly, clean and everyone was extremely polite. Maybe that was a brief view of the China of the future. At least those are my hopes.