We arrived at night in Kumming, also called the “Spring-City, on our mountainbikes. We are at a height of 1.900 meters.  It’s great here, never too warm, never too cold.  It’s a big new city with huge sky-scrapers, double-deckers and malls.  No chaos. Everything is tidy and clean.  What a difference to all these months in the Himalaya.  It feels good to be back in a civilized world !

When we were in China in 1990, the Chinese all wore their Mao-suits.  They stared at foreigners and in the small villages you could hear idyllic messages being read out loud.  Men spit on the streets.   You risk a fee when you try to do any of these things nowadays !!

Chinese even are friendly ! They are no longer melancholic.  They gave us their visiting-card and invite us for a visit.

What comes in handy is the fact that we are allowed to cycle where ever we want.  Compared to 15 years ago, there were a lot of forbidden zones.

What hasn’t changed is the noise ! Chinese really scream to one another.  Televisions, radio’s, they all make a lot of noise.  Even the dust-cars make noise because the radio is on !   Young girls still dream of having a white, pale skin. That’s why they never leave without a sun-shade and they use all sorts of creams.  It is so bizar, because to us, the Chinese look more pale than the most Flemish girls.

We will go to Laos soon.  By force, because it is impossible to cycle in Myanmar. We are looking forward to it !!