Blogs from Yunnan, China, Asia - page 10

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Asia » China » Yunnan » Kunming April 25th 2014

Geo: 25.0389, 102.708That was unusual. At 8.40 am there was still no sign of Lotus and given the extraordinary punctuality of every "friendly China guide" it was almost cause for concern. At 8.45 Lotus pulled up outside the hotel, sitting side saddle on a motor cycle! Apparently there had been an accident on the freeway (surprise surprise with the way everyone drives!) and after being stationery in the bus for so long, Lotus jumped off and hailed a scooter....."it's the local way" Lotus reassured us.First stop in the morning (if you don't count the interminable delays in the traffic) was the Yunnan Nationalities Village. This theme park showcased the different ethnic minorities of China. Currently 26 minorities are represented with small villages stablished in the park. The villagers actually live and work in the park. Each ... read more
Exploring the minorities village
Inside some of the villages
Lunch and the WestHill

Asia » China » Yunnan » Kunming April 24th 2014

Geo: 25.0389, 102.708Lotus was waiting for us at the railway station and helped us make the quick getaway from the station to Mr Driver and breakfast. The first sightseeing stop on the agenda was the Stone Forest - a two hour drive from Kunming. I am not sure what happened on the way because the gentle rocking of the vehicle put me to sleep before we had travelled too many kilometres. But Mac assures me it was more of the same......high rise accommodation, pockets of farmland, cars and buses, a pall of smog - just a much, much greener countryside and it was connected by an eight lane dual carriageway.....that continued all the way to Vietnam.The limestone karst forest simply takes your breath away. Stretching over 1 500 square kilometres these silent grey sentinels come in ... read more
Alone amongst the masses
Alone amongst the masses
Typical bed in China..hard as a ...

Asia » China » Yunnan » Kunming April 23rd 2014

Geo: 25.05, 102.7Last day in Lijiang and thanks to Lily we have a 2 pm late checkout. What a bonus! Gave me time to repack the luggage and restore some order while swapping winter clothing options for summer. We are leaving the cooler mountain regions and heading for warmer coastal climes...an expected 30C in Kunming tomorrow.Lunch was at 3 pm in a restaurant near the Black Lagoon and we were driven there by Lily's husband Peter (previously known as FLNMWLTCSF) and as soon as we got into the car Lily informed us that Peter was a really bad driver. We thought he was great - a very, slow, careful driver. It never ceases to amaze me how much we can eat! But this was an exceptional meal that included duck and roast pork. We have been ... read more
Jelly tea and eyeless maggots...I think
Old Town Lijiang train waiting
The soft sleeper experience

Asia » China » Yunnan » Lijiang April 22nd 2014

Geo: 26.8841, 100.221A late start with Lily saw us leave at 9 o'clock and I think we are getting used to this because we didn't stir till after 7 (unheard of for me!)We headed for the only park in Lijiang, a sprawling greenscape that is the cultural centre for the young and old of the city. We were still early enough to see Naxi woman starting their day with group dancing, large groups enjoying tai chi, elderly people doing their morning facial exercise (seriously...an organised group) and the lazy Naxi men gathering in the park to smoke, talk and showcase their beautiful singing birds.The park entrance is flanked by four dragons...the two inner dragons have their mouths open and the two outer have their mouths closed. These dragons symbolise the Naxi people...the two outer dragons have ... read more
The only park in Lijiang
Local Naxi tai chi in park
New hat - a bargain

Asia » China » Yunnan » Lijiang April 21st 2014

Geo: 26.9025, 99.9316We are loving the late starts - Thupten is really spoiling us. After a lean breakfast we departed with Thupten and Tofu for our 200 kms cross mountain adventure that included a visit to Tiger Leaping Gorge and the final destination of Lijiang.And yes, @MrsAngell the temperature differentials continue as we change altitude although we are not noticing so much as we only have to brave a brisk walk to breakfast and then to the car.We gave thanks for our driver as we travelled along the circuitous mountain road that included the mandatory set of switch backs. Our journey to Tiger Leaping Gorge took less than two hours thanks to the new road....two years ago it would have been a four hour journey on a less than favourable tract.The journey was worth it. Tiger ... read more
The steps
Perspective
Lunch on top of he world

Asia » China » Yunnan April 20th 2014

Geo: 27.8205, 99.7074Terrific day of hiking, boating, eco-busing and eating in Shangri-La. But how impressive is that Easter bunny? He found us in this mountain paradise and we started the day with a munch and crunch on chocolate ....the first chocolate we've seen in China. Mac has carried a Darrel Lea Easter egg in his bag for 16 days....my hero (.....and just think, without that box in his bag there is now some room for some shopping! I'm onto it!) I have to admit that I wasn't as prepared and had found some peanut M & M's at Chengdu airport.A leisurely breakfast in the restaurant with the slated floors and Mac even found a "real coffee" this morning. He went back in eager anticipation for a second, only to find that the machine had broken down.First ... read more
More views of the national park
Easter Sunday
Getting started...taking the bus

Asia » China » Yunnan April 19th 2014

Geo: 27.8205, 99.7074Well, halfway through our mainland China adventure and here we are perched on top of the world at 3 850 metres above sea levels the beautiful Shangri-La and feeling acclimatised after a couple of days at altitude at Jiuzhaigou.Yesterday was a mammoth travel day. The alarm rattled the darkness at 4.45 and this was followed by the hotel wake up call at 5 am. We had packed the night before so it was really just the electricals, the safe and a few zippers and we were in the lobby settling the account and were ready and waiting at 5.20.The car arrived ...the company van NOT the Rav4....but my spirits were immediately squashed...it was the Mad Mountainman driver. And so began the SLOWEST mountain journey in the history of Jiuzhaigou. We crawled at snail's pace ... read more
In transit
Shangri-La...at last
The Goodies Box

Asia » China » Yunnan » Lijiang March 3rd 2014

Geo: 26.9025, 99.9316After one day delay, (hum the fish in overdose is not good for the organism), we set off for the Tiger Leaping Gorge aka the mandatory hike when you are in this area! And it is well worth the effort. As we were leaving our hostel, we met three guys who were also heading to the Gorge. When they found out that we were planning to walk the upper trail and overnight in the Gorge they disappeared, only to reappear few meters further saying they would come with us! So along our travel we learn the magic Chinese word: "Itshi!!", which means “together” thus we start to slowly understand the Chinese psychology, that falls down on our head in many other times… (see next)I think the photos of the Gorge are going to talk ... read more
landscape
terraces and mountains
the river

Asia » China » Yunnan » Lijiang March 1st 2014

Geo: 26.9025, 99.9316Don't listen to what people say…or at least not always! People lie, hehe!!! We were told several times that Lijiang is too touristic and that we would found Shuhe, the second old town centre, more authentic. Well, this was probably true a few years back in time but now Shuhe has been completely taken over by tourists, guesthouses, restaurants and souvenir shops. And its small size make it very difficult to escape from touristland… The two cities (Lijiang and Shuhe) are connected by new built pavilions, all of them being the same, awful. I (Beryl) went to Lijiang while Elfi had to remain in bed (small stomach problems). Lijiang is indeed very touristy but in the morning there isn't so many people and it's much bigger than Shuhe thus it is very easy to ... read more
Black beard is back on the door in Shuhe
Smile on the door (Shuhe)
Grandma Art (Shuhe)

Asia » China » Yunnan February 27th 2014

Geo: 26.3, 99.85Béryl speaking: ''We celebrated my birthday in the tiny village of Shaxi. It is lost in the mountain somewhere between Dali and our next stop Lijiang. It was a memorable birthday! We ordered some take-away food for dinner. It is much more difficult than it sound to make the people at the restaurant understand that we wanted to have our food packed, but we managed. We ordered a bit more than we should have… We went back to the hostel and ate dinner with the bottle of red wine (Gaillac) Elfi had brought back from France. And for dessert we had wine, dark chocolate and the local cheese deep-fried. Just awesome!'' By the way (Elfi), the village is super small and kept its flavour of old and local architecture. After the famous night, we ... read more
view from the hostel
Beryl's back to school
Beryl is back to reality (29 years-old)




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