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Published: June 24th 2009
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Dali
Pagodas In the morning we decided to head to the 3 pagodas in Dali,aiming to miss the crowds and cram in as much as we could before 12pm (when we had to get our bus to Qiaotou). Arriving at about 7am, we were the only ones there so we literally had the whole place to ourselves till about 8.30 when the tour groups started arriving.
Overall I'm not sure if the 120RMB entrance fee was worth it (luckily I used my student card for a discount). The three main pagodas are beautiful but those that followed were a bit repetitive, especially after having seen many others during my time here. However the views and setting of the place are quite phenominal.
After a few hours there we headed to the base of the chairlift up to Zhongle temple. Possibly the longest chairlift in the world...ever! It was endless. After 20 minutes to get up to the top we unfortunately had very limited time to look around and explore the temples. Having had more time available, we'd have probably spent the day there looking down at Dali old town and the lake but we had a bus to catch at midday.
Dali
Pagoda Dali is definitely a place that I'd recommend visiting. Although our time was short, I'd happily return for the scenery and laid back atmosphere. An easy place to relax, get some good food and I heard the nearby countryside is just as beautiful too.
A 5 hour Shangri-La bound local bus took us to Qiaoutou, the base town for the Tiger Leaping Gorge. Although the journey gave us some seriously sore backsides the journey was so worth it in the end for a list of reasons..3 in particular.
The man sitting next to me, Janes Guesthouse & the Gorge.
1st. Yang Kunhe
Before some of you think I've fallen in love..I haven't, haha! This old man from Shangri-la (Zhongdian) kept me company throughout my bus trip. Not speaking ang English I had Chinese conversations with him about the area, our lives, backgrounds etc etc..If it wasn't for him I think the boredom of the journey would have really got to me! Plus he really didn't want me to go to the gorge, so gave me his address tpo come stay with him & his family! I may take him up on that offer when I
return one day..
2nd. Jane & her guesthouse
Arriving in Qiaotou we paid our 50RMB entrance to the gorge area and headed to Jane's Tibetan Guesthouse. Now for anyone visiting the gorge, I cannot stress how great my stay was here. By the way, I hear that Jane, halfway house and Tina's are rival to Margo's, Naxi Family & Seans but when I was there I really heard no bitching about Jane's oppositions (whilst from other travellers I've heard nasty things said..)
Anyway! Extremely laid back and er...quirky..Jane, showed us our triple room and we later joined her family and other guests for dinner. I could have easily spent longer here. Although falling apart at the seams a little, this wooden structure of a guesthouse has been here 12 years and it's still going strong. Full of Tibetan artifacts, trinkets and walls covered in past giuests comments & grafitti, this place feels like a home. Whether it's the fresh air or there was a bit too much hash being smoked in the region, I really felt on a high when I was here...or maybe it was just because my birthday was the next day?!
3rd. The
gorge
I won't really go into this too much as I really can't explain how amazing this area is. The photo's will give you a glimpse..an idea...but they really don't do the views any justice. I'll put it simply. The gorge is spectacular.
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