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Published: October 28th 2007
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I am now on the train to Jinjiang/Panzhihua...12 hours! As the train was pulling up I saw all these beds that looked like soft sleepers and they were open with no doors and three up. I was nervous that my car would be similar. But still thought I'd be ok since I was one of like two people lined up in my area along the platform as opposed to the masses elsewhere. As it turns out the latter thought was correct. I am in a room with a guy who speaks some English...looks like a student, a man who looks like a businessman and a father and little girl. I feel pretty comfortable with this arrangement. Don't think there will be much hacking (although I have been surprised before) or smoking in the room...they seem pretty civilized. What a relief. I wasn't sure my bags would fit on top but unzipping the extra bag from the main pack and the additional hands of the guys helped out.
I am supposed to get a local bus to the bus station to get to Lijiang but I am going to see if there is one directly to Zhongdian aka Shangri-La. It will
make life easier. We shall see how that goes.
So the train was uneventful (now on the bus). Slept pretty well. Relatively nice soft sleeper, top bunk. Western toilet and separate room for sinks, just lovely. I've learned to manage my special double roll of Charmin tp...Sar, you could really save a few trees if you tried too!! Finished my book, The Great Gatsby and will start the only other one I brought on the bus...Catcher in the Rye. Anyway, let me tell you this bus ride from the train station to the bus station MORE than makes up for it peaceful train ride. I know the Chinese talk loudly but this is ridiculous. And just as I am thinking so, nearly the entire bus erupts in shouting. I have no idea what it is about but the bus money collector seems to be against everyone else. All I know is that it ends up near me and he lifts his shirt to show a scar and then his pant leg to show that it has been entirely burned. It has been 10 minutes and it is still going. I thought maybe it was a Chinese-Tibetan thing but I
don't think I see any unless I missed someone. Who knows. But I have scooted over in my seat to avoid any missed physical contact with each other that they decide to get into. The bus even stopped for a bit while the altercation went on. Happy there are two other westerners on here. Actually, when I put my bag under the bus I saw one of them and my eyes lit up! Always nice to run into someone especially on a route that isn't written up by lonely planet. We were all heading to Lijiang if I couldn't get a direct bus to Zhongdian.
So I could get a bus to Zhongdian but it wasn't until like 1 in the afternoon and it was 8am. So I took the 9AM bus to Lijiang and hope I will be there by 5 (supposed to arrive a 4) to catch last bus to Shangri-La. We shall see.
Time doesn't really bother me but I do like efficiency. I’ve become very good at just not worrying about the time. I will get wherever I get when I do and if something is not meant to happen than I’ll be off
on my timing. Must mean there was something else I was supposed to do. I can take this time to stop and take a step back. When I do, I am amazed with what I am doing. I really am. I love everything about this and I feel so fortunate. I have decided I want to do a train ride around the world at some point in my life.
Bus ride to Lijiang so far pretty good. Scenery is covered in a hazy mist but you can make out some of the beauty although it is nearly ruined by all of the industrial plants that surround it. However, we made it past that and there are some truly beautiful spots on this journey. It’s a little reminiscent of Bhutan where they dry chilis all over outside…now the area I am going through has corn on the cobs hanging all over… Oh and we left a girl at the lunch stop. Oops! The bus driver stopped to let the poor girl run after us about a half km in the rain.
So during my bus trip I decided not to go to Shangri-La, even though I did arrive just in time to catch the last bus. For a few reasons, but mainly cuz it seems to be a tourist trap. My friend that was here a few months ago said not to bother and I can only imagine that the real Shangri-La is probably in Bhutan or Tibet and the Chinese just wanted to coin it for themselves. Hostile maybe, but I have already been to Tibet and I decided to use the extra time to see the Yuanyang Rice Paddies, south of Kunming when I get there. I also now can do laundry…although I’m not sure when it will dry since its like two degrees here!
The funny part about going to the bathroom is that I find that as soon as I decide I have to go, there is no turning back. I have to go so badly! Its kind of bizarre. Still have a solid stomach so no complaints by me... Knock on wood
Speaking of bathrooms, many children here don’t wear diapers so their trousers (if they are wearing any at all) have slits in them at the backside. And they just poo wherever. Ain’t so fun when you catch a glimpse of this!
After arrival in Lijiang, I found a hostel and set up shop. Walked around a bit and again, was so shocked at what I found. This is like club central here. The central area (thank goodness not where I am staying) is packed with bars and clubs and blasting music and drinks and people and it was just SO crowded…mostly Chinese tourists…didn’t see all that many westerners. Although I will give it that it is very beautiful and picturesque here at night. However, when you know that it was built up more recently to look “vintage” it sort of takes away from it.
So much for knocking on wood. I think it was maybe the street food I had at the lunch break during our bus ride to Lijiang. Hopefully that was a one time deal, but waking up in the middle of the night was not the most fun experience so far!
So today it’s sunny!! The weather is still on the cool side, but I love fall. I pretty much got myself lost meandering through the cobblestone streets of Lijiang’s old town. Don’t really have much of a desire to do anything but that today, especially after my eventful evening last night. It was great. Definitely got off the beaten track and down some side streets that avoided most of the Chinese tourists. Went into a tea shop to taste different teas and purchased a few that I liked. It’s almost like going wine tasting.
Found a nice Tibetan restaurant for dinner…I was actually pretty excited about it since I haven’t had my vegetable curry with rice in a while. Met the two nicest Chinese girls I have the whole trip…maybe I should mention that they are from LA.
I decided that I would do another two day trek. This time I am to go to Tiger Leaping Gorge.
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