Here Be Elephants

It was cloudy, chilly and rainy both days we were here, so they must be refering to an English spring.

Our first day here we attempted to retrieve our bicycles. The train station that we thought they’d be delivered to denied all knowledge of their existence and the validity of the receipt, with their logo, that we had as proof. Then we misplaced both our passports long enough to assume they were stolen. So everything started strong.

Day two was more successful. Our bikes were hidden in an obscure freight train station on the edges of town. To get there, a Chinese man led us by foot across numerous tracks and past many decrepit buildings. It all seemed very fishy, but turned out better than expected; the bikes were in good condition, and we managed to navigate back to our hostel with minimal fuss. If you’re shipping within China, be wary of using http://www.shztwl.cn/. Though they did get the job done in the end.

The rest of the day was mercifully uneventful. The highlight being dinner at a Yunnanese restaurant recommended by Wikitravel. Yunan, by the way, is the name of the province in South Western China where Kunming is located. For the folks back in Shanghai, Southern Barbarian is pleasantly authentic. Mint and goat cheese were heavily featured on the menu. Yay.

We set off on the bikes tomorrow morning. Currently our hostel has free wifi, and we have time on our hands, but we expect that to be less common once we leave civilization. Don’t expect such frequent, detailed updates.

We’ve added two new pages to the right. “Notable Places” will keep track of specific places (hotels / restaurants) we’ve visited for other potential travelers. “Statistics” will record data about our travels we find interesting. For example, how many bowls of noodles we’ve eaten and how many flat tires we’ve suffered. Many of both to come.

And most importantly, happy birthday Lauren and Grandma Hill!

~ by Elephants on October 15, 2010.

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