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Published: January 13th 2010
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As I saw the imposing buildings of both sides of the Lao Cai - Hekou border I can honestly say I was nervous. To me China was the least known country I would be visiting. I was fully equipped with phrase book, point at it book and a fully recharged emotional battery after the fantastic friendships forged in Vietnam. These things I hoped would make the transition bearable.
I'd heard nightmare stories about people being turned away at the border on the whim of the Chinese border guard so breathed my first sigh of relief as the customs process went smoothly. Within a short time I was ensconsed in a hotel (a few hotels down the line and I now think that they all come equipped with free internet and assorted viagra!) and headed out for food. I passed a peaceful night and sorted the bus to Kunming the following day without once seeing another Western face - certainly the first time that I've had that experience on this trip.
The bus to Kunming passed through stunning countryside and I was quickly captivated by the scale and natural beauty of this country. I also met my first Westerner on
the bus and he was to be the first of most of the people I have met so far - not a backpacker but instead someone living and working here with a decent grasp of the language - it's exceptionally humbling!
With his help I found my way to the university area of town and quickly out and about. The first impression of Kunming has to be how incredibly modern it is. I had been expecting the old and new to be sitting next to each other. Instead there are the type of skyscrapers, electronic billboards etc that I'd been expecting to see in the capital or Japan. Apparently Communists are quite into ripping things down and starting again according to some of the people I met! In the local eating spots I was to find lots more Westerners who all lived in the country and had been attracted by the short working hours for a relatively comfortable standard of living - I haven't met anyone who works more than a 20hr week! That and all the incredibly cool shops and cleanliness of the city I could see could be incredibly captivating and the cogs of my brain started
whirring (as they are prone to without tight control!)
I spent an amusing afternoon trying to arrange a train ticket up to Lijiang, a 45 minute queue at the enormous Kunming train station involving two phrase books and a lonely planet finally got the message through and later that night I was sat in a waiting room the size of a football pitch waiting for my night train. The night train, as all I've experienced in Asia was great and the other people in my cabin were lovely and happy to practice their English.
The old town of Lijiang is absolutely stunning. Some would say too much so and that the place is too polished and touristy to carry any traces of authenticity. I could see all that but thought the place was still cute as ... and Black Dragon Pool really is a picture postcard. I had an enjoyable time there but figured that I should follow the relatively mild weather while the going was good up to Tiger Leaping Gorge.
At 3900m deep and 16km long Tiger Leaping Gorge (TLG) is one of the deepest in the world and is also under serious threat from
development. If you love your trekking you will love this. Don't believe the guidebooks about doing it only in the summer months. This is a great time of year to be there and if you like peace and quiet you'll probably only see 10 people in your whole day (and most of those will be in the lodges at night!) Sadly both the development and blasting you can read about of the new road is putting this area under serious threat and that is only going to get worse and possibly ruin the area completely if a dam is built (and there are signs of this devleopment afoot just beyond the gorge).
On my first day the bus arrived at Qiaotou - or so I thought - and after hitching a ride a further 7km I was at the start of the trail! I was initially worried that it would be a very paved path but I was quickly off the road and onto a trail. You rise quickly from the valley and in no time the views are stunning. Peeling off the layers as the sun brought its warmth to the gorge I walked with a few other
people and, after a few hours we arrived at the Naxi family guest house.
The Naxis are the indiginous people of the area and as luck would have it there was a wedding in the village that day. Unlike a Western wedding where we would be shooed away instead the more visitors the better philosophy applied and we were enthusiastically welcomed in. It was a fantastic experience where plates of nuts, sweets, food and cigarettes were passed generously around.
Having not long eaten we made our polite excuses and set off for the steepest part of the climb - the 24 bends. It was great to have the others for encouragement at that point and we all egged each other on in fine style to finally gain the awesome perspective of the whole gorge. From there the trek levels out giving you the breath to savour the views deep down into the gorge. Given the time of year the sun doesn't reach right down the river until about midday but it's like a light switch when it does and the effect of the light on the top of the mountains is simply stunning.
After a relaxing night
at the halfway lodge (if you don't mind dorm rooms you'll struggle to spend more that 10GBP per day on this trail and given the time of year they're not charging the entrance fee into the area) I was off again. This time the destination was the Walnut lodge and from there I followed the trecherous path right down to the river. This really gives you the full perspective of TLG and but be very careful with your footing - I personally don't want to try out any countries health service!
The following morning I was told that there had been a serious land slide (from the blasting that rumbles through the region all day) and had blocked the road. Suddenly the taxi price to get me out of the area went through the roof so I set off walking. The road is alive with activity all through the day and this showed me how quickly and massively the area is being ruined. These things won't affect your view at all from the high path ... but surely it's only a matter of time?
Eventually I reached the landslide ... and it was big. After a few hours
waiting, many people in hard hats pointing and pondering one guy scrambled across it. Another guy in a hard hat pushed some of the looser rubble to the side but all in all this was going to be a moment that a) wasn't going to be covered by my travel insurance and b) was only worth mentioning to my mother
after the event! As Baz Luhrmans song 'wear sunscreen' would say 'do one thing every day that scares you'. Well I did! Only for a few moments but it got the adrenalin up and the rest of the journey to Qiaotou seemed to take moments! I was so grateful to have seen this site at this time. If you're visiting this area, even if you're not usually very active consider giving yourself the most beautiful workout of your life while you still can!
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See this Tiger
I have been to China, but have/had no chances to see this place, your travel and tours to china helped me know more about the suburbs, and I am more likely going to visit there once again in Mid-August for business travel and tours and spend few holidays there :)... Lucy http://www.bmcoaches.co.uk / Coach hire service