Before traveling to Ximeng, I had heard many things about the Wa. They are considered by many to be Yunnan’s most primitive culture- they once were avid opium growers, as their brothers and sisters across the Burma border are still. I’ve been told that the name “Wa”used to strike fear into children’s hearts.  After hearing this talk, of course I was intrigued and jumped at the opportunity to see the people who had caused such a stir.
    I arrived in Ximeng after a flight to Simao and a long, fast drive over what surely is one of the world’s most curvy roads.  It was night and I lay down in the back seat of the car to keep from being sick from the swaying of the car.  Occasionally I opened my eyes to see deep forest bathed in moonlight whizzing by.  The tree branches swayed gently and I had the sense of traveling to distant places within a dream.  At one point, I thought I saw eyes peeking out of the woods, round and yellow, like those of a tiger, but then again, maybe it was only a dream.