Friday, October 2, 2009

Kaili & Minority Viallages

Friday, Oct 2 - We drove to Kaili, the center of the Miao silver culture and the gateway to the surrounding minority villages. We visited two villages that day. They are very commercial in some ways yet had its simple, ancient taste also.

In some ways there are disappointing because they meet you and try to push their wares on you. They pretend to stitch with their fingers and then later when you see the very same item at another village you know that some factory somewhere is mass producing your "treasures". We were able to see in the homes here and I guess last year they stayed there. Scary, there is a central WDC in town and no showers. They say they froze to death. The travel to the cities is ALL on winding mountain roads because that is all there is.















Minority Village





















We stayed for 2 nights in Kaili Hotel. I found the sign delightful and the bathroom interesting. The walls were glass with a see through curtain. Not sure why they were even there--perhaps to keep water from splashing on the bed?

3 comments:

Laurel said...

Wow, the terraced fields are amazing. What a beautiful area.

Shelly's Boys said...

I got car sick just from the pictures of the winding roads! And did you try any of the food hanging from those carts?

Maxwell (Mad)House said...

How neat to see different cultures and learn more about them. It makes me feel a little lazy that I have not spent time learning more about other cultures. Then again, it is always more enjoyable to see it first hand.