As the plane descends below the noble, white clouds, I peer out the window and spot a grey runway sliced in between two fields. Below me lies a country unknown. My heart skips a beat and I think to myself, “I must be the craziest person alive.” Suddenly fear, excitement, and my adventurous determination sink in all at once. I peek out the window again. The plane is just about to touch the ground when I spot something. On the runway parallel to ours is a man mounted on the strangest contraption. He’s riding a bicycle. In the middle of a runway in the Kunming International Airport in China there’s a man on a bicycle. I had heard the notorious stories of China’s wide embrace of bicycling to every destination, but of all places this was the last I’d imagine to find a bicycle.
As I step out of the plane, I immediately notice the difference between China and all the other Asian countries I’ve visited in my travels. China has an almost intimidating welcome and as one goes deeper into China; its vastness seems in no way comprehendible. After spending the night in Kunming, I board the 9am bus headed towards Lijiang (my final and permanent destination in China.) The ride is incredibly scenic. During the 9 hour bus ride I notice the various changes in the landscape and geography. Rice fields are dotted throughout the hillsides and the campesinos wearing their straw hats can be seen everywhere. We pass tiny villages, larger cities, tiny villages, larger cities. It can become monotonous. Yet, I’m filled with intrigue during the whole 9 hours and my eyes never stop scanning the landscape. As we arrive closer to Lijiang, I spot Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the distance. This majestic 16,500 ft. glacier is simply astounding. I’ve never seen a mountain this big before and simply watching it stimulates inside of me a feeling of extreme inferiority. I snap a few photographs and remind myself to make it a priority to visit the mountain next week.
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