Men and women with straw hats or traditional colourful woven towls are walking steadily along the road. They either carry a hoe or a basket with rice seedlings on their way to the rice fields. In early summer in Yunnan the rice fields are plowed and watered with the clever irrigationsystems. Everything is ready for planting. With the hoe the people are busy for hours and hours to pile earth in the maizefields or to loosen the ground between the potatos.
The groups children, playing and laughing, that have accompained us in Lao and Vietnam are missing here. Grandparents are caring for the toddler during the day. Single schoolkids we only see occasionally and they reacted less outgoing.
Peaceful lunchtime: a couple of men sit around a table, playing cards. Women chat together and some embroider complicated patterns onto scarfs.
In cities and along road to tourist attractions women in neon-yellow vests, with gloves and mouth masks collected garbage. In other places the garbage rests in the gully. We especially see many redbull cans from tired drivers. Ecology is so far not part of the party’s program. Nature is used (abused) as much as possible and consumption is more important than anything else. Depletion, pollution of ground and water is not (yet) topic of discussion. Some singel young people though start thinking and caring for the environment.
The evenings are more lively and the many streetrestaurants are well frequented. It is sizzling in the the hot wongs and delicious fragrances tickel our noses.
Spitting, grunting, and what ever noise is necessary to clear nose and throut can be heard anytime and everywhere. Our hair still stand on end. Spitting officially is forbidden in China – well Yunnan is far away from Beijing.
Western cyclists are observed curiously. Manly elder women and some men look fascinated before suddenly a wonderful warm smile is lighting up the furrowed face and the wave and say some encouraging sounding words.
