200907 Hiking through Bulang & Aini Region with TRUI and CHRIS

Trui and Chris were a couple from Belgium, interested in local ethnic groups and authentic lives in villages. To discover the true facts about ethnic minorities, the best solution is to hike through their residential area out of the way, and stay in villages for one or two nights, so we recommended to Belgian a hiking tour we had been operating, an unbeaten route that connected some communities of Bulang and Aini Nationalities in mountainous region.

DAY 01

Thursday, market day of Xiding, we first drove around 2 and a half hours there to see the bustling occasion of Aini and Bulang people, after lunch, driver sent us to some village of Dai at the edge of basin, we started our walk up mountains, across farm land, village of Bulang People and some forest, around 17:30, arrived at a small Aini villge, where we would spend night.
　
View of Mengzhe Basin before arrving at Xiding 　 Thursday Market of Aini and Bulang in Xiding
　
Thursday Market of Aini and Bulang in Xiding 　 Walking up mountains, boy on the right was Steff
　
We passed by a Bulang village, it's their temple 　 Hospitable Bulang People, they invited us in for rest
　
Very cooperative for taking photo even with heavy load 　 Arrival at the village of Aini, where we would stay
　 　 　

DAY 02

Continue walk in mountainous region, we passed by some villages of Aini, some sugar cane fields, and met with some ethnic people working in their farmland. We were lucky, when passed by a Aini village, there happened to be an engagement ceremony, we saw many women in traditional costumes, very bright color and elaborate headdresses, Trui tried their hat and had picture taken happily. Today we walked around 7 hours, on later afternoon, arrived at a big Aini village with over 150 families.

　
Aini was industrious, even old lady worked everyday 　 Some Aini village we passed by during hiking

　
Running water in village, bamboo used as aqueduct 　 Aini women in traditional costumes for ceremony
　
Anthropologist would feel hard, new nationality? 　 Square home dinner, looked very inviting
　 　 　

DAY 03

After saying bye to hospitable host family, we did the last section of our trekking. It's a 3-hour relaxing walk, one ascent and one descent across nice forest,  for most time we were under pleasant shade. Our walk was ended at a village of Bulang, where our car was already waiting. In the afternoon we visited a village of Dai who's still making paper with tree bark in traditional way.
　
Walking across forest, very relaxing section 　 End of hiking trail, a village of Bulang Minority

　

A beautiful Bulang lady, she posed generously for photo 　 Pupil monks were playing in front of temple

　

Dai lady was making paper in traditional way 　 When it's dried, rough paper would be done
　 　 　

DAY 04

Relaxing day. We spent the morning in ethnic Sunday Market of Menghun, to see different ethnic minorities, it was a weekly gathering of tribal people around the area, Dai, Aini, Ake, Lahu and Bulang, but compared with 10 years ago when I began to be a tour guide, market people lessened a lot. After lunch, we drove back to Jinghong, Trui and Chris's tour finished.
　
Dai women were selling fabrics on the market 　 Ake woman responded strongly to my shooting

　

An Ake women was intently selecting merchandise 　 A Lahu woman was selecting snacks for her kid

Trui and Chris enjoyed the trip very much ! Hiking through countryside and home stays in the villages gave them chances to find out how authentic life of minority people was going on, through chatting a lot with villagers when stayed in their houses, they strongly felt the most pristine hospitality of local people !  RELATED TOUR