Packing our backpacks once again we check out of the cute hostel in tengchong with mild annoyance with the checkout girls screwing us again.. We leave for Bingzhongluo... But first we need to bus to Liuku before connecting onwards.

This bus deal in China is pretty damn good. The buses range from oldschool, rickerty and a tad derelict but still ok.. Or the the other end of the scale the buses are pristine with a hostess who provides water and wipes and also let's us know (in Chinese and ENGLISH) when we have lunch and toilet breaks! You never know though which one your going to get! The price nor distance doesn't give you any clues.. Is just luck which connection route you choose.

Anyways this connection happened to be one of the smaller ones which are a tad derelict.. But still Comfortable :) not long after we had left the high cloudy peaks and mountain scenery of Tengchong we had twisted and turned down to the base of the Nu jiang valley. The nu jiang valley is 320km long stretching from south to north.. It is the second longest river in south east Asia and is sandwiched between Burma to the west and Tibet to the north! It's pretty incredible. The gushing rapids hurtle down the murky river enveloped by huge mountain peaks covered in dense green shrubbery! Old iron bridges intermittently connect the two sides of river and small villages line it's banks.

After a pretty damn sweet 7hours of stunning scenery we arrive in Liuku mid afternoon. Liuku is a town nestled in the valley of the nu jiang river engulfed by moutains... Now don't get too excited. We arrived at the bus stop in Liuku and bought a ticket on the next bus leaving for Bingzhongluo (which Was 7am the next morning), left our big bags in storage, and found a 'pointer shop' for lunch (greens soup ... And eggplant).. With our day bags in tow and lots of energy we set out to find accom for the night and explore the town.

First impression of Liuku... A towering abolishment of high-rises blocking the sun and destroying a gorgeous valley. Cranes clouding sunset as huge Chinese symbols glow on the side of the mountain implying "HOLLYWOOD"... Well mate your far from it!!! After walking up the hill into the town of high-rises we realise it's a ghost town.. No one lives here... The building are brand new, brightly coloured and all supporting the same ugly exterior..

The lonely planet exceeds itself once again!!! **cough** the few hostel it recommends has been demolished to make way for the new Liuku.. It's as off they are waiting for an arrival of a new species to be dropped down to earth... To Live excluded and isolated yet in total gluttonous wealth. This is serious. It's a f***in weird place!

We ask passers by where a place to sleep is and we keep being directed to the huge high-rise further on. We enter.. Eery silence.. An empty coffee cup.. A used ashtry.. But not a soul..
We leave and investigate Around the building and realise there is another entrance... Plain weird. We are greeted by immaculately dressed Chinese people who inform us that we cannot stay here. No explanation or nothing we preceded to be escorted off the premises and even down the road and around the corner.. Have we uncovered a national secret??? I don't know.. WEIRD??

We get pointed in the direction of the old town to look for accom.. Walking for 40mins we Are back in the hustle and bustle of China as we know it. Small guesthouses surround us but when we ask for a room we are immediately responded with no and a then ignored. After four attempts and the night was getting on we say 'f*** it' to Liuku and it's madness, stock
Up on beers and snacks from the supermarket and sat on the step outside the closed bus station.. Plan: get pissed, eat chocolate and get on the bus in the morning...

Our rebel plans went out the window when a sweet old Chinese man, with no English, invited us into his storage unit-like house for tea. His mates came along and soon we were mucking around on the guitar, smoking and smiling (no one could communicate to each other).. The old man gave becks the phone and she spoke to his daughter for a while with the little English she possessed. It was a warm, friendly atmosphere where it's one of those times humans surprise you! He let us use the bathroom then let us sleep in his bed for the night! His room was what we would call a garage.. Roller doors, tools everywhere, a motorbike, an old pool table... And his bed was a piece of wood covered with a thin blanket! The gesture was so innocent.. He was a dad seeing his daughters sitting on a step outside a bus station. We accepted his kind offer and slept in his 'bed'. China hits you unexpectedly... When your feeling like your about to be invaded by aliens a man with a heart of gold brings you back to earth and makes you fall in love with china all over again!

tip of the day: Avoid Liuku at all costs!!!

Xxx