Blogs from Lijiang, Yunnan, China, Asia

So I have discovered that I do not like overnight train rides. I rode a train from Kunming to Lijiang on the top bunk in the cart. There were 3 beds on each side. I liked that I was on the most top because Kelly gets motion sickeness and she was below me so I knew that she wouldn't throw up on me. But the train left the station at 10:30, lights were out at 11:30 and the first time I woke up was at 1:10am with motin sickness. I had rolled over onto my stomach that caused me to feel sick. So I flipped over, drank some water, and fell back to sleep. I didn't have any problems after that but I kept waking up because the train kept stopping at various stations because the ... read more

These photos are from an epic hike through The Tiger Leaping Gorge (TLG), Yunnan. That was definately one of the best hikes I did. I have thousands of photos just from those few days. Along the route are hostels that cost less than $2. The later part of this set is from BaiShuiTai. These are natural terraces just a few hours by bus from TLG.... read more

Our flight to Chengdu was an assault on the senses. We were packed in with nearly 400 over-excited Chinese pensioners all jabbering away and constantly moving from their allocated seats. As the plane landed on the runway the chaos continued with people up and collecting their bags before we had even taxied to the stand! A most entertaining experience. Chengdu is a city of over 9 million people, and many of them were in People’s Park on Sunday morning. It was great just wandering around watching people practising Tai Chi, badminton (including one old dear in red high-heel boots), martial arts and even ballroom dancing (…cha-cha-cha). A particular favourite of ours was the older group of people and their rousing renditions of traditional Chinese songs. These were punctuated by the screeching sounds of karaoke, courtesy of ... read more

We had a bit of a hassle getting to Lijiang from Kunming, but with some help from our new international friend- Berry- we made our way to a hotel right outside the old city (aka the shopping). We explored the views surrounding the old city and then had at it and shopped our heads off. It was probably the most beautiful place I have ever shopped, and I will admit, I transformed into a shopper for the first time in my life. :) Then we went back to the hotel with our ridiculously full bags and slept blissfully.... read more

--Badminton Escapades-- I am sitting next to an Australian English teacher as he discusses the cultural plight suffered in the last half-century of China's history. Next to us is a young girl with bright eyes and dreadlocks; she is from Belarus and is studying to be a linguist at a local university. We three are among eight or nine others waiting and preparing for an annual home-cooked feast of salad, mashed potatoes and lasagna, made courtesy of Signore Fabrizio. I don't know exactly how many Italian hippies are roosting in the slums of various Chinese cities, but I've found at least one of them. What a pity I would get sick later that evening and most of his delicious meal would end up half-way down the concrete pit that is a traditional Chinese toilet. "After the ... read more

We made it to Kunming before noon which gave us opportunity to admire constantly changing landscape on the way. Suddenly we could not see any rock formations and lush green fields but dry earth and desert plants. The mountain range in Yunnan is amazing and it kind of feels like spring is always there. Kunming town is located nearly 1900m above the sea level and temperatures are always mild and pleasurable. We did not intend to stay too long in Kunming as we only wanted to get our Vietnamese visa sorted over there. We took a local bus from a train station to the lake area and walked around to find some place to stay. We wanted to stay in Cloudland Youth Hostel but some guy we met told us there was even better place by ... read more

Prague cafe - preciously discovered this morning! Nice jazz with pleasant interior by the stream. I like especially the glass-window throughout the cafe, sun is unbelievably charming! I took Vegetarian breakfast set (38 Yuan) trying out their local fresh mushroom from the markets! Bravo!! Owner Jenny creates a perfect place, a place very special indeed... (XinYiJie, MiShiXiang #80 0888.512.3757)... read more