One day in Yunnan

Before I let go of the beautiful Yunnan and our hitchhiking adventure along the Mekong River there is one day I’d like to recount. It is one of those beautiful stories that all hitchhikers have. I think it was the fourth day. The sun was shining on snow capped mountains and on theturquoise river. Our hitch hiking abilities had improved over the last days and on the third hitch of the day we get picked up by the dream ride: A truck loaded with relatively soft cement bags. We were soon cruising up the valley lying comfortably on dusty bags with wind blowing in our unwashed hair while playing our precious guitar. 

In the middle of  Hey Jude we get a flat tire. The truck turns around to find a new one. We climb down to wait for it to come back.

Our waiting place is a tiny village with wooden houses. There are surprisingly many people hanging around the road. They all find it amusing to see the confused foreigners stubble down from the truck. Their Mandarin abilities are not much better than ours, so instead of talking some of the girls sing for us. It turns out they are Naxi (a minority group) and their singing is in their local language. While Mitch and Jan continue to sing with the girls and watch out for the truck, my buddy John and I explore the little village. We soon discover that there is a wedding happening this day. It is Lizu (another minority) wedding and the two strangers are of course more than welcome. Before an hour has passed we have tasted at least 15 dishes of heavenly food. All ingredients, they proudly tell us, are from the valley. In addition to the food, we most importantly have to try the homemade rice alcohol. Every 45 seconds the rice bowls filled with booze are lifted to a toast. Ganbei! Bottoms up! All the guests want to toast with the weird foreigners, the newly weds included. The result should not be surprising: the two foreigners become increasingly happy as bottles are emptied. Just before they become too happy, the truck arrives and they’re back on the road.

The rest of the day is a voyage of dreams. With a mind full of excellent Lizu booze, the views of Shangrila and Mitch’s smooth guitar, it could not be closer to a hitchhiker’s paradise.