Kunming -Green Lake and Crossing the Bridge Noodles

If we're lucky, you can watch a video I shot at the Green Lake Park in Kunming at the bottom of the page. There were hordes of gulls on the lake, like a scene from Alfred Hitchcock when they got to swarming the paddleboats.

So naturally we had to get a paddle boat, and the men folk provided the leg power..actually Helen pedaled briefly but her legs didn't really reach, and Thomas would not give up his spot to me. He liked steering the best, but we did bump into the underside of a few bridges.


Do you see how even Sophia is into the "chezi" 2 finger pose?

Kunming is called the eternal spring city..as this tulip bulb in January will attest..being forced for the Spring Festival, I think.

Some old timers provided the musical backdrop...

As it began to drizzle we left the park for a bit of shopping. In the folk craft store, Helen and Sophia got caps made by the Yi people.


The shopkeeper and I managed to communicate about the different styles of dress for some of the local minority groups.

Ok -- this is Chinglish, I know, and I am stealing it from Michael, but this good advice belongs here with the "Crossing the Bridge" Noodles, 过桥米线 (guò qiáo mĭxiàn)

The famous local dish features super hot broth topped with a thin layer of oil (hence the sign) in which you quickly add slivers of meat, fish, egg and vegetables while at your table....then the delicious rice noodles and ready to eat!


So the story behind the name is that a woman whose husband was studying for the imperial examinations would deliver his lunch to him every day. She had to cross a bridge to get it too him, so she made the broth really hot to be sure it would still be warm for him.

After lunch it began to rain in earnest, so Sophia slept in her stroller while we passed an hour in the Yunnan Provincial Museum. Lots of artifacts from the bronze culture of the Di people 3000 years ago, discovered in the 50s when some bronze artifacts turned up in the bird market and an archeologist spotted them and began to dig...thousands of pieces were found, large and small.



There were also a lot of Buddhist treasures from Dali, a city about 4-6 hours away, which we are bypassing due to traveling with small children.

The weather broke and we had a nice stroll around town, towards the pagodas, on the way, lots of Ming-era architecture (Xiamen has almost none, so its a treat)

This incongruous building was my favorite...


Finally the pagodas...West Pagoda, in a crumbling neighborhood.

Sophia looking very local and attracting A LOT of attention..a car stopped in the middle of the road to stare at her.


And the East Pagoda, a little better kept up, although the area around it seemed too "gentrified"with chain restaurants going into fake Ming era buildings.

We went back to the hotel to watch a video and out for a late dinner. Because we are party people and veteran parents, we selected McDonalds for tonight -- a popular choice, though not in the Lonely Planet Guide. It even had a tiny play area and hong bao (red envelopes given to children for Chinese New Year) in the Happy Meals (coupons for free pops inside). When you are a kid who has been sightseeing for 6 hours..McDonalds is a highlight.

Do you love Thomas's new look or what? Its a Chinese do-rag.