The Three Day Trek

Our trek through Xishuangbanna started in a town called Xiding and ended 4 km from the Myanmar border in Dalou. We averaged about 20 km a day and it definitely was a hard trek. Our guide's name was Ainipa and he is Bulang, which is one of the minority groups that live in the area.

The first night we stayed at his parents' house. The houses and lifestyles of the people are very primitive and they our basically self-sustaining. They grow all their own food and raise their own animals for meat. Cruising around their village were pigs, water buffaloes, chickens, ducks, etc. The chickens would even come into the house. The house was a wood structure that basically was one giant room. In the middle of the house was a fire area that they cooked their food at. There was a section that was blocked off by sheets for the sleeping area. In their house was his parents, his brother and sister in law, and their two kids. It was eye opening to see the simple lifestyle that they lived, but they seemed very happy and content with everything. The worse part was at night. The beds were mattresses put on the ground and the entire night you could here mice and rats scurrying around everywhere. I must say, I was not a fan.

The next day we trekked about 22 km to another village that we stayed in. That night was one of the most amazing sunsets I have seen in China. Once again, this village was very primitive in that each family grows its own food and the houses are a big one room layout blocked off by sheets for sleeping.

The third day was the longest. We trekked down to a rain forest area, but in total trekked probably 25-28 km of serious up and down hills. Having trekked already for two days I was ready to be done. My knees was hurting, the sights were all the same, and I was dirty and just wanted to be done. The last hour of the trek the heavens opened up and completely poured on us. Hiking downhill, in the mud, knee hurting was not my idea of fun, but we survived.

While I was so happy to be done with the trek, it was an amazing experience. The views of the tea covered hillsides and rain forest were breathtaking and to see the minority people's everyday lifestyle was eye-opening. The simplicity of it all was great and will definitely be a memory I will not forget. However, despite the simplicity of their lives it is apparent that their lifestyles are improving. Many houses had running water and some had solar heaters. The water is not drinkable, but then again you cannot drink the water in Shanghai either. Each of the houses we stayed in had electricity and TV's and even a phone. It was interesting though to see these modern conveniences but at the same time they still have to grow all their own crops and raise their own animals. While the older generation spoke only Bulang, the younger generation is learning Mandarin and are slowly being able to move out of the village life and into the cities to learn English. It was also apparent that there was an abundance of food, which twenty years ago in China was not always the case. So, while I looked at the lifestyle as being postmodern (to say the least) there were still huge positive changes happening within the the villages.