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Black Dragon Pool Park in Lijiang
I actually have this as one of my screen savers on my computer. Met a nice German couple to share a beer with and enjoy the afternoon. SPECIAL NOTE: MY SON, JEFF, HAS BEEN ENCOURAGING ME TO SEND MORE PICTURES WITH MY BLOGS. WHEN I BEGAN, THIS SITE ONLY ALLOWED SO MANY, BUT THAT HAS CHANGED. SO, THIS TIME I HAVE INCLUDED MANY MORE PHOTOS. THIS IS A LOT OF WORK FOR ME, SO I REALLY WANT TO KNOW FROM YOU WHETHER OR NOT YOU LIKE SEEING BUNCHES OF PHOTOS LIKE THIS. IS THIS TOO MUCH? WAS 3-4 JUST RIGHT OR TOO LITTLE, LET ME KNOW. I DON'T MIND DOING IT IF YOU ACTUALLY ARE ENJOYING THE BLOG MORE WITH LOTS MORE PICTURES, BUT, IF NOT, WELL....
REMEMBER: YOU CAN DOUBLE CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO MAKE THEM BIGGER.
My next destination was Lijiang. Taking an overnight train to Kunming(reservations made by the hotel manager and ticket delivered directly to him for me - not India style!) That still left a long (9-12 hour) trip beyond and the train didn't arrive in Kunming until almost noon, which meant maybe having to take an overnight bus ride. The idea made my poor heart sink so far that my little 'outside the box' problem solving gene kicked in. I knew there were no trains
Canal Town Near Lijiang.
I cannot remember the name of this lovely place. It's only 5 km from Lijiang and just a smaller, quieter version. PLus, it has lots more restaurants along the water to Lijiang, but, discovered there were planes. On the net, when I checked, I found the fare was very very cheap, about $50. Huge pleasant surprise. How great, I would fly from Kunming to Lijiang. Great idea. Unfortunately, an insurmountable barrier was banged down between me and those flights. To use a Visa with the Chinese Company I had to have it 'guaranteed' by PayPal. Nothing I could do could move Pay Pal fast enough to sign me up. I left Guilin with no ticket and dreading the idea of that night bus trip from Kunming to Lijiang.
In my sleeping compartment there was a young couple - no English. We got on at 5:50 pm in Guilin and didn't speak to each other - lots of smiles, but no talking. Next morning (we were to arrive in Kunming at 11:30), I showed them a Chinese question I had had the hotel people write for me - something to the effect of 'Can you show me/ point the way to the long distance bus station. I knew it was close to the train station. Well, that got a non-conversation, totally understandable, communication started. Somehow (don't ask, I couldn't tell
Traditional Dancing by Naxi Women
This photo closest shows what I was trying to describe in the similarities between their dancing and our Native American dancing. Dances in Lijiang main town square every day you) I communicated that my first choice was a cheap flight ticket but I hadn't been able to get it over the internet. They had the one necessary tool and the one absolutely necessary attitude. They had a cell phone and they were determined to help me. Oh, yes, I forgot, that little phone also had a little Chinese/English translation dictionary...so I guess I do know how we communicated...one word at a time. Well, that young man went to work. We were an hour from Kunming and many tunnels to go through that cut off reception. But, with these tools, by the time we arrived in Kunming, I had a plane reservation (even 100 rmb cheaper than my internet price, about $15, so my total was about $35) and they escorted me to a taxi. It took them a good hour to do this, but they never thought of giving up....again "...the kindness of strangers.".
One more of my ......kindness of strangers story. On the flight I sat next to a young Chinese couple. Perfect English and had studied in France for 3 years (where they met). I asked them if they knew where to catch the bus to
Chris and Melanie on Leaping Tiger Rock
I am just across the bridge. You can see it just in the left corner. Doesn't this all look like fun! town. I knew there was one and the airport was about 25 km outside, making a taxi expensive. They said they had reserved transoport in advance and were sure I could share their ride. As soon as we arrived they checked and soon we were all on our way to the edge of old town (no cars allowed) for about 1/2 of what a bus to a bus station and a taxi from there to the no-cars-allowed area would have cost. That wasn't the last I saw of Tao and Susie either. A couple of days later we met each other and decided to tour a village similar but smaller than old town Lijiang together (a sort of Lijiang wannabe, but quieter and more rural...in some ways, nicer). Both of these towns have have multiple canals criss-crossing throughout the whole area, clean and with fish, many of them koi. A great day and wonderful people.
'Susie', reminds me. The Chinese often take an English name when they are using English. My best friend in Taiwan is Mary; I have her real name written down someplace. We have known each other 17 years and she is still Mary to
Lijiang City Center
Part of the tourism. Horseback rides through town. me. Plus, my friend, Hwa Hwa, named her daughter after me, Charlene, (it's only her second name, but other than a cow I helped buy for some workers in Kenya, she is the only one who has ever been named after me) The Japanese never do this - not name their kids after me, take Western names. Fortunately, their names are a little easier to remember.
I remember telling someone that the towns were so perfect that they looked like movie sets. Found out that in 1996 there was a major earthquake that centered in Lijiang and destroyed much of the city. When the rebuilding started the government decided to make 'old' Lijiang like it had been in times past - with no traffic allowed. So. now the area jas'new' traditional buildings with indoor plumbing, electricitiy underground and no washing of clothes or dumping of waste in the canals. Everything is spic 'n span..and loaded with thousands of tourists everyday, with all the attendent tourist souvenier shops. One beautiful thing they do is light those buildings right underneath the eaves so at night you can see softly lit outlines of all the buildings in town and as they ascend
Naxi Girl in Traditional Dress
I can't tell you what they wear in their homes. Most we saw were dressed like this because they worked in tourist related jobs in Lijiang the low hills off the main square. Even though the town was totally touristy, my hostel was off the main beat and so comfty that I decided to linger. I was going to split the time between Lijiang and Dali, another big attraction for us tourists. But, upon reading more closely about Dali, it seemed liked the truly good part of that area was getting out and doing some serious outdoor stuff. With my hip still on the mend, enjoying Lijiang seemed a wiser choice. And, even with the crowds, it was fun to walk around and enjoy the general atmosphere
Lijiang is way in the southwest of China. Lots of travelers use it as one of the last stops before dropping down into Southeast Asia, or conversely, it is one of their first stops after coming into China from that area. It is in an ethnic area of non-Hans. The main ethnic group is the Naxi (Nakhi or Nahi), descendents of Tibetan tribes. You can see the way they dress from the picture I have included. They look very different than Han Chinese. To me they are most attractive people. They are bigger and hardier and looked so
healthy and outdoorsy. The kind of women that don't need a speck of makeup to look good. In fact, one can't imagine them with make up. Interestingly, they live in matrilineal families. Since men are the the rulers; it isn't a true matriarchal culture, although, according to the LP, the women do seem to run things. It gave the example that in the language the female attribute attached to a rock, meant it was a large rock, where if a male attribute was attached it was more likely to be a pebble. (Where do we join up, huh!).
An unforgetable experience I had was watching the women do their traditional dance. They would do it a couple of times daily in the town square. The first time I saw it I they were just doing some kind of Chinesey dancing going around in a circle. It wasn't totally Chinese, but it had a bit of that feel. This was done to recordings that they danced to. Then, about the third dance, the recording sounded different. All at once, I am watching them and they are going around in this circle, raising their arms and leaning back, then bringing them
forward and beinding forward. Then, I noticed the music - lots more drum sounds. When I put this together, my stomach did a huge flip. It was like watching our Native Amerians doing their dances! What a shock...and what an obvious link. I am sure anthropoligists have studied this, but, other than knowing the popular theory that people from North Asia migrated over the ice bridge to the Americas during the last ice age, I don't know much else. Once I saw this style of dancing, then I realized that these people looked like our Native Americans - not completely, but a lot closer than they did the Chinese. I'd never seen a live demonstartion of the obvious cultural similarities. I looked around for other Westerners and saw this couple across the square. I edged myself over to them and asked if they saw any similarities. They were American and had both been talking about that very same thing. It was really wonderful to be half way across the world and see how we all connect.
One other big experience to relate. Near to Lijiang is a wilderness area and the crown is the Leaping Tiger Gorge area. Most
Near Lijiang. Rape in bloom
This is the small town that I visited with the Chinese couple. The following 6 pictures are of this town backpackers come to Lijiang and hike at least a couple of days in the area. It is one of the world's deepest gorges, 10 miles long and about 13,000 ft. from the river to the highest point. Of couse, after my fall, in HK and still not feeling 100% okay, (but much much better, lucky me), I knew I wasn't going to be on one of those long hikes. But, I could take a local bus out to the start of the gorge area and catch a mini-van to taxi me on a lower road to about half way. It wasn't the ultimate adventure but that way I'd at least get to see the gorge. The adorable manager at the hostel, Shaoher, told me how to do it and wrote notes in Chinese for taxis, minivans, etc. I was set. Then, at the last minute (the night before) Shaoher hooked me up with a young couple who only had a day and at least wanted to see the gorge.
So, next day at 0620 we (Melanie, an Aussie, and Chris from GB) started out. All went well 'til we got to the stopping point. We were way above the
Backside of small town
Me beside the stream that ran throughout the town. river. The LP says it is a 45 minute hike down and 2 hours back. Well, every now and then I forget I just turned 68 and those two young ones provided me with a very false bravado. So, down we all went. At first the path was not so steep and it had been maintained to a certain degree. But, the 'steps' were the next rock, which sometimes meant sitting on my toosh to get to it. And, many times Melanie in front giving me her hand for a brace. It seemed to take a lot longer than 45 minutes, but we got down. Now, I am not one with knee problems. Going down is always the easy part for me, but boy, oh boy, my legs felt like they were just shaking and truly weak by the time we hit bottom. We still had to get out to Leaping Tiger's rock, a rock that sticks out and makes the river narrower there...thus, the idea that a tiger could leap it. We all carried on. I got to it with the help of a local woman - at least my age - who just bounced along over the wood-only-no-rail
Backside of town
Rape blooming among the vegetable gardens bridges like a damned gazelle. To get to the rock there was this last bridge I had to cross that had a few rough looking unplanked pieces of wood on the bottom, braced by these diagnonally slanted small timbers that kept it all together and I could use to 'sort of' hang onto half way. I got across to the rock but Chris, who went over ahead and was high up on the rock said it was 'not for me', slippery and not much place for holding on. I was 'this close'. But, at this point,, I had overstretched by miles my limitations and to fall into that river - narrow and very rapid - didn't seem like such a good idea. So, they frollicked on the rock while I rested and watched.....and tried to tamp down the panic I was beginning to feel, knowing that we had just finished the easy part (coming down) and my legs were feeling little jelly and I felt close to 100.
But, there weren't too many alternatives (I guess I could have lived down there, but those old ladies didn't look like the type who would consider me worth my salt)
so I just turned on that characteristic that has saved me more times than I care to count ...determination. When we started back up I did not think about getting more than the next few steps for the next 2 3/4 hours - LP says total time should be 2 3/4 hrs...we took 4. On the return trip it was Chris who was my savior. He was in front reaching back to help constantly. Sometimes the rises between rocks were so big and the 'lift' ability in my legs weak enough that it was a hands and knees climb. At one spot there was this ladder (not long - maybe a dozen steps up against the cliff face. But, it should have had at least twice that many steps. In between the step was so far that I had to grab my left leg (the strong one) and lift it to get it up onto the next rung. Then, I'd grab with both arms and hands the rung above and hoist my body up so I could get the right leg to the rung. Wow, was that an effort. Each step an endurance test. But, I made it.
About
Soldiers marching through
Event that happened periodically in lots of places I visited. Not in huge numbers, just to remind people they are there (I guess) 3/4 of the way up there were these guys with mountain horses, indicating we could rent one for the rest of the way and the path was wide and a lot flatter. Liar, liar... HA! That was the biggest con. Fortunately, we didn't bite. The path was still steep and narrow and I would have been scared s.......... on a horse on that path. As you can tell, because I am here writing this, we finally made it. I was so glad to see the lodge we started from. Would have been estatic, but that would have required too much energy. Proably not the trip Melissa and Chris expected (me neither). Chris did say, had he had any idea of my age he would have strongly discouraged me. Obviously, he was wiser than I in figuring out what we were getting ourselves into. But, not such a good judge of age.
On the bus home, we got stuck in a three hour construction delay. But, we were too tired to even care. I expected to have aches and pains for days, but strangely, other than a little sourness in my thighs, I was fine. I did sleep like the
Naxi women
In the back streets of Lijiang. They use those sacks on their backs to tote things dead that night though.
With that I leave you. An 8 hour 'luxury' bus trip to Kunming (couldn't find the cheap air fares for the trip back) and then a flight to Wanzhou on the Yangtze and the trip through the 3 Gorges. See you there. Charlene
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Sue B
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Photos
I, for one, love the photos, especially if you are in them. Congratulations on your physical feat - are you sure it was "determination" not "stubborness" that got you thru it? Love reading your blog.