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Published: August 30th 2006
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So we get off the plane at Shangrila airport, we stepped outside the arrivals hall and were met by a smartly dressed cowgirl who asked if we needed a taxi (which of course we did). We had taken photocopys of some pages of the Lonely Planet, so that we had some idea of where we wanted to stay. We showed them to the cowgirl and she drove us off into the sunset (well into town anyway). We booked into the Du Ke Zne hotel next door to the tibet cafe, on the edge of the old town ( 40 yuan for a dorm bed). Richard had told us that there was dancing in the old town square in the evening (7pm to 10pm), so that evening we took a stroll along there. In the square, there were hundreds of people from small babys that could barely walk, to old ladys in regional costume (who could barely walk), all doing some sort of strange circular line dance.
The next morning we decided to go to Ganden Sumtseling Gompa monastery, which was a short 4km bus ride away. The monastery was all but destroyed during the cultural revolution, is undergoing a huge
reconstuction and now has about 600 monks in residence. Having wandered for an hour or two, we walked back to town in glorious sunshine and planned our trip to Tiger Leaping Gorge.
In the morning we caught the number 1 bus to the main bus station, where we wanted to catch another bus to Qiaotou (the starting point for the hike). As luck would have it, a bus was due to leave as soon after we arrived. Two hours and a very smooth ride later, we were there. We headed straight for Jane's, because we had been told that it served the best food and she could give us advise on the trek and also had bag storage available. The rooms are basic, clean, cheap (30 yuan) and the food is great.
We started the hike in high spirits, walking down the road to where the track (marked with a red arrow) for the high trail begins. Two hours into the rising trail, we came to Naxi family guest house. A great place to stop and have a drink or just stop, as we did. Good food, great views and the cleanest toilets in the whole of Yunnan
province. We whiled away a lovley day, just admiring the view and talking with other walkers as they passed through. We spent dinner discussing Christianity with a young couple from New Zealand. The young man was studying theology, so it ended up being very educational. After a good nights sleep and a hearty breakfast we set off to tackle "26 bends". This was the hardest part of the trek, let me tell you a little secret.... "26 bends" is a lie, it feels like 126 bends, each one steeper than the last! But it is worth it, the views from the top were stunning.
After the bends the trail leveled out and became quite easy. We walked on until we reached the Halfway Inn, which had been recommended by a couple we met earlier, who were walking the other way. From the moment we walked into the courtyard we were sold on the idea of staying there a night or two. We chose a sparkingly clean room, that had the most magnificent views of the mountains on the other side of the gorge and settled into our new temporary home.
Later as we sat on the balcony watching
the clouds roll over the thirteen peaks, it struck us how amazing it would be to live in such a location. The owner told us that his family had been there for seven generations and as far as we could tell, they had only very recently adapted a portion of their land into a hostel. It must take remarkable courage to change a way of life after so many generations. I wonder which member of the family suggested it and how many days, weeks or years of discussions were involved. I also wonder how it has effected the families relationship with their neighbour, who still farms. Their houses back onto one another and not surprisingly there is a marked difference between the relatively large, sympathetically designed new buildings of the hostel and the dirty, dusty, one story wood and mud buildings of the small farm next door. I wonder whether being in such close proximity to one another, would put a strain on their neighbourly friendship?
NEWSFLASH! Michael Palin stayed at this hostel during his filming of Himalayas. He wrote in the guest book, that the toilets had the very best view of any toilet he had ever used.
We spent a thoroughly enjoyable day and a half staring at the mountains, eating, sleeping and having aspects of Judaism explained to us by a very friendly Jewish couple from Israel (Shuli & Philip). Who also recommended a wonderful cake shop in Dali, which we have subsequently tested over and over again.
N.B. I (Emma) said before we left home, that I wanted to gain a greater understanding of world religions, well if I keep this up, I will have achieved my goal before even opening a book.
The following day our two and a half hour walk to Tina's was pleasant but uneventful except for thetwo magnificent waterfalls that we had to walk through. Initially, I (Emma) was probably overly anxious about the slippery rocks and the long drop, but having stepped over them, I could fully appreciate the water cascading down.
I have to say, that having spent three days up a mountain, Tina's (with its main road and concrete bridge) seemed some what overly developed, so we chose to end our walkl there and caught a mini bus straignt back to Jane's. Even though we had only stayed one night, it felt like
home when we arrived. We spent the evening eating Jane's amazing food, talking to an Irish couple who had been teaching English in Japan for three years and also a group of Spanish. Who insanely enough, had walked all the way from Tina's in one day and only just arrived at Jane's as it was getting dark.
In the morning we managed to catch the bus to Lijiang (having had some difficulty identifying it), we then skipped onto Dali, without even leaving Lijiang bus station).
Thanks to everyone who is emailing us and putting comments on the blog, we love getting them. Please keep them coming, all our Love Emma & Marc XXX
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Inga
non-member comment
Your blog is superb
Hi, I am really enjoying your blog and I am also envious of your wonderful trip. I have been to some of the places that you visit and I share your interests and humourous attitude to traveling in China. I hope to see Tibet in Spring and certainly it is very good to get your first hand impressions for planning that trip. Enjoy Yunnan!