Blogs from Deqin, Yunnan, China, Asia
Bussing Through Shangrila/Xianggelila/香格里拉 and Deqin/德钦
Published: February 15th 2011Asia » China » Yunnan » Deqin
January 30th 2011
The ride to Shangrila was pretty ridiculous, especially with Mary occasionally feeding me songs from her eclectic iPod shuffle. I highly recommend taking scenic rides with opera music as background. Shangrila used to be called Zhongdian, but it was renamed after a fictitious place discovered by Joseph Rock in the book Lost Horizon in order to promote the tourism industry. Besides a taxi driver who I think was just used to his old route and a "SAVE TIBET!11!!" French couple who also called Xinjiang "East Turkmenistan," everyone seemed to call it Xianggelila. We were clearly entering the Tibetan region of Yunnan. One time we had to stop the bus for Yak crossing and also we passed maybe 20 vultures circling a stupa on a hill, waiting for a sky burial (dinner!). The mountains got taller and ... read more
June 15th 2009
I took an overnight train from Kunming to Dali. The trains are pretty nice in China, but as usual the bathroom situation was rough. Dali is an historic old town built in the 14th century and surrounded by stone walls. It's tucked between the Cangshan Mountains and large Erhai Lake. The old town has been well preserved and maintains most of the original architecture and style. It's like walking in to a movie set. It does, however, attract a ton of Chinese tourists and most storefronts are now tourist shops. I will say its nice to see domestic tourists far outnumbering the foriegners. Its the opposite of most of Southeast Asia in that regard. Despite the droves of Chinese tourists following the colored flag their guide holds up, it is a beutiful place. There is a ... read more
August 8th 2008
The T62. An Insight by Farhat Jah. Every night the Tibetans would meet in an elevated square and dance in a large choreographed circular fashion to loud music. We could not work out whether this was practice for a festival in June, or whether this was a normal facet of life in Zhondian. In any event, the townsfolk seemed to enjoy their dancing enormously. Young women in jeans would dance next to city slickers in skirts, boots and stylish coats, next to old men in sports jackets and trilby’s. Every night we would gravitate to the square to watch the routine. It was an addiction to watch the dancers and, because we had no idea quite what was going on, it was fascinating. As usual on these journeys time was against us. Even our short list ... read more
June 30th 2008
Well its been a rocky ride and we’ve only been on the bikes for a bit over a week. It started tough after 3 weeks of leisure off the bikes despite the almost flat terrain. It was certainly flat compared to what we got a few days later, and maybe the only excuse for falling off my bike is fatigue coupled with altitude. So the daily stats: Tuesday 17th June: First day back in the saddle: Dali to Eryuan , 60.9km and less than 100m climbed net Wednesday: Eryuan to Jianchuan, 59.2km and less than 200m climbed net Thursday: Jianchuan to Qiaotou, 87.9km, overall descent but 620m climbed in the day Friday: Resting at the mouth of Tiger Leaping Gorge. Small trip into the gorge itself Saturday: Qiaotou to camp near Shangri-La. 73.9km and 1650m climbed. ... read more
June 22nd 2008
It has been so long since I published a log, I feel that I am really lagging! Although, I can't feel too bad as I have been away from a computer for a long time. I didn't see even see a car for four days! I had an amazing time in a valley right next to Tibet, literally a kilometer or two from the border. Of course, the area I was in really can be considered Tibet anyway, as one person I was talking to pointed out. This area was apparently part of the Kingdom of Tibet before China took it over in the 40's. Its just that now China does not consider it to be part of the Tibetan province. But everyone speaks Tibet, everyone is of Tibetan heritage, dresses in Tibetan clothes, lives in ... read more
July 4th 2007
I am sorry that I have been so horrible at writing. I have already been to some incredible places but am still writing about the beginning of my trip! I think I've gotten behind because I've been taking more time to soak in the new sights, smells, and culture. So although I am several days and towns behind, I will continue to write when I have the chance, and try to make up the days. I am extremely happy not to be in the city anymore. Certain cities seem to take life out of you...and the mountains just bring it right back. I'm currently in beautiful Zhongdian, but I have to highlight some of my experiences in Kunming, simply because it was my first Chinese city. I saw some amazingly bizzare things, and met some ... read more
Day 316 - Why we are glad we aren’t American
Published: August 10th 2007Asia » China » Yunnan » Deqin
May 14th 2007
We like Americans, maybe not the middle-aged vacationers when roaming in herds, but on the whole we like them. But today we are glad that our passports are red and not blue because today we enter Tibet, and Americans are not allowed in. (This may have changed by now - information is hard to come by here.) For those who don’t know, Tibet is a province of China with some claims for independence. Sort of like a high-altitude Scotland. Based on hearsay, the latest edition of the Lonely Planet guide to China is routinely confiscated by officials because on the map Tibet is in a different colour and that is provocative. After our Rough Guide to China experience we’d still suggest risking LP though. Anyway, some Americans last week went up a Tibetan mountain, perhaps Everest ... read more
November 4th 2006
We embark onwards to Deqin, the closest that we will get to Tibet this trip unfortunately, but were not disapointed in anyway what's so ever! The 6 hour bus journey from Zhongdian (Shangr i la) was through some of the most breathtaking scenery that we have ever encountered so far - and certainly justified the compulsory $2 Life Insurance ticket. Zhongdian sits at around 3270m above sea level, and as soon as we boarded we began to climb even higher. The surrounding areas consist of mountaineous peaks and large plains where herds of yaks and cattle roam the grounds. The animals here are so 'free range' it really is a case of building fences to surround patches of food and other agricultural products, while cows, and pigs the size of cows, take over the meadows and ... read more
October 9th 2006
Happy 23th birthday, and the marvelous Cora Kawa Karpo. My 23th birthday was also my best one. I guess it takes 23 times to get to perfection... :) I arraived to Shangri-La again after 4 months, with my two good friends Dan and Omer, met Zhang-nian and Helen Ye again, and felt like home. We came here to get ready for our Trek: the Cora Kawakarpo, whice we had no information about it in that time. At the same day we had a wonderful dinner with a local Tibetan singer (that later on become our friend as well). 26/9/06 Birthday in Shangri-La. Early in the morning Dan and me went out to buy some things for the trek. Amir arrived from Dali at noon. I saw Shio-Che, the charming worker of the guesthouse cooking somethings but ... read more
