Leaving Sipsongpanna

It was hot on my last day in Sipsongpanna, and yet the weather was remarkably cloudy most of the time. The hotel’s owner very kindly took me to the airport, politely alluding to the reviews for his business on the internet – I was happy to oblige.

As I was checking in, I overheard a conversation between a man and an airline employee. The man was apparently transporting a hunk of meat in his luggage, causing some alarm among the staff. The ensuing exchange went a little like this:

The airline employee: “Hey is that meat pork?”

The meat-carrier: “No it’s beef.”

The airline employee: “Oh all right.”

I was reminded of my trip to the Dai village yesterday, when, on the way out of the Sipsongpanna, all transport was systematically stopped and searched for pork. That was the first time the recent outbreak of swine fever, which has been all over the news lately, affected my life. The driver repeatedly implored me not to say anything as the policeman looked into our car – he was as insistent as if I were planning to start jumping up and down and shout that we’re carrying Peppa the Pig and her whole family in our trunk.   

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