Alone in Yunan

Kunming; what the hell am I doing here?
So we got back to Shangri-La, stopped so I could buy my bus ticket, had one last meal of noodles, and before I knew it, I was on my own on my own and on my way to Ganden Sumtseling Monastery outside of the city. Two bus exchanges and 30 quay later, I am standing in front of something I've only read about in Tolkien books. It was an entire city condensed to one story buildings placed in a terrace formation on a hill and enclosed within a 20 ft white stonewall. At the top of this hill stood a structure as wide as the city itself. This gold roofed building was the temple. Approaching the temple-you must pass through a labyrinth of small streets, tourists, and hagglers. Finally you'll reach the staircase that will lead you to the temple. the stairs are steep and long, so i had to catch my breathe at least once. Although I think the hike in Langdu tops any physical activity I've done before. Once I reached the top, I decided I didn't want to go inside just yet; rather I wanted to explore the monastery and see how the monks live. So I hopped over some debris, went under a passageway, rounded some corners, and found myself in the company of three young monks. It was clear that the two younger monks each had downs syndrome and autism respectively. the elder, who spoke a little English was quite smarmy. I asked one of the younger his name, and the elder monk said, "He name is Llama, he is Dalai Llama". I had to laugh and said in Chinese, this is the Dalai Llama?!" They heard my Chinese and realized that I picked up on the joke and we became buddies. we chatted for a little while longer, and I went on my way, back towards the temple. The temple itself is quite impressive, though most everything is closed off to foreigners, which is totally understandable; the Vatican is mostly closed to the public too. I did however see a giant Buddha in the right hall, and an even bigger Buddha under renovation in the left hall (the smell of gold enamel paint gave me a headache). These giant Buddha’s are quite intimidating and put you in your place. As do the colorful murals of the "blessed kings" who wield swords and have burning red eyes and fangs. Maybe this imagery is specific to this sect of Buddhism, but my perception of the religion seems totally skewed now. Oh well, that's Western ignorance for you. I was on my way back to the city when I passed by a doorway with a sign that read, "ladies stop". Of course I had to go in. The room was at first pitch-black and it took a minute for my night-vision to kick in and adjust from the blinding brightness of the sun outside. I assumed it must have been a bathhouse because of the extreme humidity, heat, and incense that filled and blocked my sense. Not to mention the darkness; I was cut off from my body. But as I moved across the room, I saw a hulking figure stirring a large steel cauldron. There were two of these, and bellows to match. It was like the torture chamber in Princess Bride. The figure finished stirring, stood up, grabbed another large vessel with both hands, and stepped into a beam of light from a crack in the high ceiling. He was at least 6’5”, broad shouldered, and horribly hunch-backed. I was stunned and spurted out a pathetic “Ni Hao”. He didn’t even acknowledge my presence, and just drifted past me.
I knew that monasteries and other ancient religious institutions provided a sanctuary for social pariahs and natural anomalies, but I was not prepared to be so severely slapped in the face with the reality of it all. I began thinking about how the "modern" world deals with its unwanted. At least in the states, if a person with a disability is born into a poor family who can not afford the exorbitant cost of meeting "special needs" they are banished to a life of homelessness. We can thank the righteous King Reagan for that holy decree. Anyways, thats the world we live in. if you can't make a buck off doing something, then there is no point in doing it.
Another bus ride later and I was in Old-Town to pick up some souvenirs. Bartering is fun by they way. The key is to hear their initial price, come up with an initial price in your head, and start 50% below that. So a necklace is 80 quay, you think its 50, so you offer 25. then your work way up. When you get to 45 and they still say no, start to walk away. Then they'll be eating out of your palm. Don't feel wrong about this, the necklace is actually only worth about 10 quay, so the seller always makes profit. if he/she didn't, they just wouldn't sell to you. Its a game of will and egos. Like a microcosm of foreign diplomacy.
Okay, so one cab later and I'm at the bus station playing with kids, and talking to another American. Her name is Amy from Seattle, and she and her husband have been in Yunan since 2003 running their bar. Raven in Shangri-la. Amy drew me map of a place to hangout in Kunming while I wait for plane to SH. She also gave me her number and hopefully we can meet up. It would be nice to freely speak english with another like minded disaffected American immigrant. So the Kunming bus itself was interesting. When we got off at one of the stops, this kid in a white suit and white alligator shoes walked me to the WC, paid for me, and then met me outside to buy me a corn-cob. This old guy the bought me an egg. He was with his family, wife and daughter, a together with the other kid we became a group and chatted the rest of the way. When I got off the bus in Kunming, the sun was shining and the kid in white was still attached to me, so I had to ditch him. I said I was going to the WC, snuck into a cab, and ended up in a western cafe where I wrote this. So I'm going to go check out this lake, find an ATM that works because I'm broke, meet up with Amy and be back in Shanghai tonight.