Blogs from Yunnan, China, Asia - page 3

Hi All. Just a day to spend in Dali so rented an ebike again for 100 rmb for the day. This bike was rather more robust than the one in Daocheng, which was a blessing as I did put it into a small ditch at one point. ?? There are markets in the villages all around Dali and on Fridays a very large market is held in YouSuo. YouSuo took just over and hour to reach on the ebike. The market was wonderfully colourful with many of the woman wearing traditional Bai minority costume. We were looking for the local Batik cloth and we managed to find some and the stall owner told us where to go to find larger pieces. After visiting the market we rode back along the west side of the lake along ... read more

Hi All. After Mingyong it was back to Shangri-la for a couple of nights. I was really looking forward to seeing the old town and I was really disappointed. It felt empty and lifeless. The monastery also felt to be rather soulless when compared to the temples and monasteries we had seen in Sichuan. Never mind. On to Lijiang. Enjoy the photos JAH Bless ... read more

Hi All It was an 8 hour journey from Daocheng to Shangri-la through a beautiful river gorge along roads which were generally good. After an overnight in Shangri-la we took a bus for another 4 hours to Deqin. To get to Mingyong we had to hire a car for 150 RMB. The journey to Mingyong was wonderful with the mountains in the background as we descended into the Mekong river gorge. Just so pretty. The price structure had changed for the park and a ticket for the glacier cost 78 RMB. Mingyong is a small farming village with a few hotels and a few restaurants and little else. Our driver was telling us that he remembers that it used to take his grandparents 2 weeks to walk to the nearest town and back. Up early and ... read more

Perhaps the essence of travel is discovering if your dreams are real. We conjure images of far-off locales based on what we read, hear or desire and spend a lot of time and effort searching to discover if the vision we see in our head can be matched by any form of reality. While most don't see past a warm sea, gentle breeze, swaying hammock and slightly bronzed skin, a few have more vivid visions of their own personal paradise. Some travelers have more advanced imaginations and maybe their travel palettes have a few more additional colors than the average housewife visiting Hawaii has. Throughout history, some of these 'destinations' have become legendary. Whether they actually existed or not, their descriptions have driven many an intrepid soul to follow their calling, no matter the cost or ... read more

On the 8th Lunar February in Shaxi is the Taizihui, indicated that on the same day Prince Siddartha opened the city gate to made a tour of the city, and find the life of the real world, sickness and sadness, sorrow and death, and that start his journey to Nirvana, Here they set up a parade with the Prince and also the Buddha, leading by many Chinese characters through the old city, offering blessing and receive honor. what a wonderful event.... read more