Travel: Guangzhou-Kunming-Louping County (with video)

Ni hao, China! Day 2 of our China trip and we spent the night at the airport. Finally got the wifi connection on my phone with the help of the ambassador and ambassadress of Baiyun Guangzhou Airport. Tip to China travelers: GET WECHAT!
I didn’t get to sleep at all (inggit much sa tita kong sleeping beauty) and it was freezing cold. So I ended up looking around Guangzhou Airport. Arrival is on the first floor and departure on the second floor. There’s parking lot on the basement.

Groggy and sleepy, we were ready to check in for our Guangzhou-Kunming flight. Originally, my plan was to enter China via Vietnam. We will visit Hanoi first then Sapa then up to Yunnan. But I couldn’t imagine myself dragging all our luggages at the boundary where we had to walk for a kilometer across then wait for the bus that would bring us Kunming. Nope. I decided not to punish ourselves. My aunt was not exactly young. I also considered booking Manila-Kuala Lumpur-Kunming or Manila-Bangkok-Kunming via Air Asia but found it expensive so I opted not to. Then there’s this seat sale by Cebu Pac to Guangzhou. There’s a choice to fly or via train (almost nine hours of train ride was the fastest to Kunming. But we have to ride first class to enjoy the ride but it has the same price of getting a flight to Kunming. So, flight it is. Booked our roundtrip Guangzhou-Kunming via China Tours.Net. It was actually cheaper compare to other sites so I gave it a go.
We were told at the Enquiry to proceed to D05 for flight check in. Instead of Sichuan Airlines, there’s only China Eastern and China Southern Airlines. So we just fell in line and our tickets were accepted. I guess they are sister company or something.
So, for our flight, they had to check our passport even if it’s just domestic flight. It is like boarding an international flight, too. Here comes the security check. I had to chug down 500 ml of water because I couldn’t afford to leave my water container behind. It is pink like my laptop.
Speaking of laptop, my pink laptop took a dive while being handled by a security officer during security check. Huhuhu! My poor Amira! I was shocked and trembling. Deadma lang si Ateh gurl. Not even a sorry. Good thing my laptop is still alive and working. Thank God. It would be a pain to argue had it been otherwise. Really, I don’t want a confrontation with the locals especially if I can’t speak their language.

Blurred? Unfortunately for me, my travel companion doesn't care. Akala niya makakuha lang ng larawan sapat na.

So time for boarding the Sichuan Airlines flight to Kunming. I was impressed by the traditional Chinese attire by the stewardess. I also love how they do sign language to aid our deaf and mute brothers and sisters. The food is really great. For someone who always travel with budget airlines, having food served on our flight is most welcome.

Scrambled egg red bell pepper and baked potatoes.

Tadaaa! Second box.

Finally, touchdown Kunming Airport. For some reason, I found the airport view a bit gloomy when we disembarked the plane. I was expecting colorful spring and blue skies. What I got was gray skies and trees with no leaves at all. Anyway, we will be on our way to the largest canola field in the world. So I am expecting more color in the coming hours.

Excited to experience my first spring. Whew!

Bad news. Ruined my sako bag because my aunt pulled it the wrong way. I had to buy tape for 15 yuan. Pricey yeah!
Another bad news. The lock and zipper of my bag was tampered. Yes, someone forced to open the lock and the zipper is ruined. I will save this nighmarish experience for another episode. The zipper was still working (or I thought so) so I didn’t mind it at first. I was too busy thinking how we could reach the bus terminal to Luoping.

Trip to the bus station. How to buy ticket? We don’t know how the vending machine works… The guy at the customer service helped us. Xixi, Kuya.

Tadaaa! Got our tickets. Nice design! It cost us 5 yuan.

To go to the East Coach Station, take the Line 6 subway then after three stations, you will arrive at the said station. You will see the building right away.

Proceed to the ticket booth. If you know how to speak Chinese, the vending machine is fine. But if you are clueless like me, the ticket booth it is. I showed them the picture of Lousitan Field so that they will know that I will go to Luoping. I can’t trust my Chinese pronunciation. So I gave her our passport and they had to validate it over and over again. They are really strict. Then I had to pay 72 yuan (per pax) for Luoping County tickets then she wrote down the time of our departure and asked me if it is okay. Then she finally gave us the passport. But wait, there’s more. There’s security check on the luggage and I also had to present our passport to the security officer to be sure.
I was surprised with the cherry blossoms and apricot scattered around. They give color to somewhat gloomy early spring scenery. And I am freakin’ excited because it was my first time to see those. I was like a an excited child. Well, this is a childhood dream come true - to see cherry blossoms. But the travel time was soooo long. Five hours. Really.

Yes. I know you think I am crazy why I had to drag myself and my aunt to this long, ardous journey to the far flung province of China. What’s in Yunnan that made me decide to devote two weeks of my life there. Ugh! Dramatic much?
THIS.IS.IT! Canola! Canola! Canola field!!!

Yesss! I wish I could ask the bus to stop so I could take photos but I know that there would be more dramatic canola field once we reach Luoping County.

Once we reach the bus station, we were approached by two women. Once was offering us a place to stay. The other one we asked for direction to the hotel. Then she dragged us some three hundred meters from the station to this store. Then kuyog na, besh. They told us that our hotel was so expensve then started quoting price for the tour blah blah blah. We were so tired, we just wanted to go to the hotel. And they charged us quing inang 40 yuan only to find out later that was supposed to be 20 yuan only.
The hotel I picked was far from the bus station. So it was like seven kilometers. It was on the national road so I thought it was okay. E malay ko bang malayo?

Problem number 2 is sim card. We were not able to get one while in Guangzhou. We didn’t buy sim card. We had to ask the China Mobile but they told me that I need a Chinese ID card. They told me that they have to ask the boss first and have to wait til Monday. So iyak muna, besh. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we will be approved. 1GB of data internet for 60 yuan isn’t such a bad deal.
I decided to walk around then saw this tower. Took photos of nearby backyard canolas and practiced my depth of field. Haha!

Later that night, I struck a deal with our host so his dad could give us a tour. Three hundred yuan for four destinations - sunrise watching at Jinja Peak, sea of rapeseed flowers, Jiulong Waterfalls and Lousitan Field. If we would take the bus, that would be cheaper but we had to go back and forth to the bus station to ride another bus so we could visit another destination.
So, we settled for the night. We will have an early morning the next day. Soooo excited.

Expenses:
1,134CNY (2 pax) - Guangzhou to Kunming via Sichuan Airlines
5 yuan/pax - subway Airport to East Bus Terminal
72 yuan/pax- Bus to Louping County
40 yuan - taxi to inn (Yes, it is pricey)
30 yuan - trip to town to get sim
600 yuan (double room) - Luoping Jinyi Inn for 4 days and 3 nights with deposit

And here is the video of the second day of our trip. Enjoy!

Related posts:
Travel: Manila-Guangzhou Trip - https://steemit.com/travel/@sofiaphr/travel-manila-guangzhou-trip
Travel: Getting Chinese Visa for Filipinos: https://steemit.com/travel/@sofiaphr/travel-getting-chinese-visa-application-for-filipinos

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