He is also a freelance translator and editor. Learning Chinese raised the multilingual bar and makes his life in the city more at ease. It will also help him get a better understanding about China from Chinese books.

Sander met Lynn, a reporter from InKunming, in a cafe on Wenlin Street. He told about his beaming fascination for biking around distant villages and countries bordering Yunnan, euphemistically complained about challenges while living here, and sincerely offered some suggestions.

InKunming: How is your life in Kunming?

Sander: The weather is very good, people are friendly, and the price is not very expensive. There are a lot of interesting natural and cultural landscapes around. To go out to some towns and villages with my bike is very interesting. However, it's not a very comfortable place to live. As, generally, China is completely different from my hometown.

I have a lot of problems with food. I think I am allergic to MSG, so I have to cook at home. I don't want to live in a place where I can't eat food or go to the restaurant. It's hard to find good and healthy restaurants, and snacks are too often the same, for example, mixian, rice noodles. I like noodles, but almost all of mixian in Kunming are the same, too much oil, too much Lajiao (chili). It gets tedious very quickly.

InKunming: Why did you choose Kunming?

Sander: It was just on my way biking in Vietnam. I biked to the north of Vietnam and I wanted to continue, so I got a visa to China. I wanted to go as far as I could get. I went all the way to Shangri-la. Then I decided to learn to speak Chinese. A Tibetan suggested me to study in Kunming, so I went back.

InKunming: Do you usually travel alone?

Sander: Yeah. If you come by bicycle, you seem vulnerable because you are one person on a bicycle. When people see that someone looks vulnerable, they tend to be friendly. They are more helping, more open. I like the way to be received as someone who is vulnerable.

InKunming: What has been appealing to you while biking in Yunnan?

Sander: All those Minzu (ethnic groups), different people with different traditions. They look different, they dress differently, and their food is also different. Yet, they are all in China. It's interesting and uncommon for me to see. So I like to go to those places and check out how they do, what they are doing, eating, what their traditions are. They usually have their own lifestyles. They are very traditional, but at the same time, they are very open. Maybe it's because they don't live in the cities. They are very welcoming to foreigners, and that's something I appreciate.

InKunming: Can you tell us some humorous stories from your journey?

Sander: When I just entered China from Hekou, I was biking on the road to Yuanyang. Of course I got hungry, but I don't speak a word of the language. I just had a little guide with some words, like chifan (to have a meal). I was nervous because I didn't know the language very well and I didn't know the people, either. I knew I looked so different because I am tall and blond. People were all staring at me. So I didn't want to go to place with a lot of people. I continued to look for more restaurants with fewer guests. All of a sudden, I saw a woman cooking, and I thought it was a restaurant. I went there to say "chifan". She said no. But I kept saying chifan. Finally she led me in, but it turned out not to be a restaurant, but her home. Her father, mother and children were eating there. In Vietnam, many restaurants cook outside, so that had me confused.

InKunming: If asked to rate life in Kunming, which score will you give? (The full mark is 10)

Sander: 6.5 -7. For one reason it is changing quickly. One of the reasons I live here is that I like the place that are changing. It's interesting to see something new happening every day. At the same time, Kunming is sometimes a little bit like a nongcun (village). It's built up but mentality is not the same thing as its counterparts in the east or in Chengdu. People are very friendly, but it's often difficult to relate to people because you don't have the same education, background. You don't have the same culture, exposure. However, if something could be done about theft and if the chuncheng (spring city) would cease to become a smelly ducheng (traffic jam city), I would easily rate it 8 out of 10.

(Editor:Lynn)

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