Yunnan Province alone has about 40 million people along with lots and lots of tourists (web information had it at 1 million overseas tourists and 30 million domestic tourists in the year 2000 – betcha it is much higher now). The point being – what are the chances of running into someone you know, in a foreign country with a population over a billion and in a city with over 1 million and 1000 miles from my normal Xiasha residence?
One evening we were wandering around the town looking for good pashmina bargains, ba ba and corn on a stick, when Cathy takes my camera and runs into a restaurant full of singing and yelling people to take a picture. As Cathy leaves the rowdy restaurant she finds me hugging a Chinese woman. It was Cynthia, a fellow teacher and friend from Xiasha. Cynthia is the friend that took me to my first tea-house, got me my first foot massage, explained the strange canteen food, and taught me how to buy train tickets. She and her mom and dad were touring Yunnan also. Strange wasn’t it?
To add to strange people sightings we also ran into the Austrian couple twice while in LiJiang: right in front of us at a cultural show and in a crowded town square. LiJiang wasn’t the end for Strange Sightings……
