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Published: August 23rd 2008
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After a short flight from Lhasa to Shangri-la we expected to walk into the usual airport scene...tons of taxis and black cabs(unmarked taxi drivers trying to make a quick buck) all fighting for the fare...we were wrong. Not a single cab, and only one black cab that was already packed down with people and luggage. Luckily we had made friends with a Tibetan kid that was getting picked up by his friends and had room for a few more stragglers. He knew exactly where our hostel was so we jumped in and headed to our next home. Shangri-la is a very small town that has an old quarter that is pedestrian only. Some vendors served up freshly grilled potatoes and mystery meat while other stuck to the normal jewelery that you see on every corner. It was kind of a odd place...not much to see or do but had enough hotels and accommodations to sleep an army. I didn't understand it. Went to the best "western food in shangri-la" where we ordered pizzas, french fries, onion rings, ice cream, brownies, and drowned it all in a few Dali beers. We had been eating nothing but Tibetan food for the last 2
weeks and were over it. Plus, we had to put the weight back on before our 2 day trek through Tiger Leaping Gorge.
It all started at the town of Qiaotou. We got off the bus and stored our bags with a crazy Aussie bird that won me over by her interest in USA basketball. She was helpful but very scatter brained. Tiger Leaping Gorge is a 2 day, 20 mile hike that can make any grown man cry. We started late that day so we only got in a few hours before dark and stopped at the Naxi guesthouse to eat and sleep before we moved on to the next section. 24 bends, a series of uphill switchbacks that takes a few hours to scale. Legs burning and out of breath you climb to the top of the hill to look out over the Jinsha River. It was a beautiful sight once the clouds move through the valley. It took us about 8 hours straight to hike to rest of the way. Only stopping a few times to pet some local farm life, play in the waterfalls, and take in a view. Along the way we encountered some
pretty crazy bugs that were the size of small birds and made a noise like a chainsaw. As we would approach them the chainsaw would slow to a light buzz and then stop which meant they were about to fly. Usually they would lad on us or give us a fly by...which would result in us running along a narrow path on a steep cliff side. No the brightest idea but when these bugs could practically fly off with me i had no choice.
Once we reached the end of the hike and got to the actual "Tiger Leaping Gorge" we took a rest at a local guesthouse for a light meal and then headed down the cliffs to the water side where rumor has it an actual Tiger jumped from one bank to the other. Not possible by any stretch of the imagination but whatever we made it...so take a picture...yeah. The Hike up/down was tough. Almost vertical at times, having to use all fours to scale the path. The way down we watched Chinese people huffing and puffing on there return...i thought it cant be that bad. Plus i saw one girl in heals doing it. Once again,
i was wrong. It sucked. By the end you are exhausted. Might have had something to do with that 8 hours of hiking before this two hour journey but none the less i was drained. It is pretty crazy to be down by the waters edge. The rapids are powerful and the path along the way is not very wide and there is nothing to stop you from falling in. One wrong step and you can say goodnight. I tried to take pictures of it but it does no justice.
After a long day of hiking we took a Bus back to Margo's(the nutty Aussie) and picked up our bags...well we tried but when she got the key stuck in the lock we couldn't get into the room for a good half hour. as she panicked and ran around trying to find a locksmith one of the neighbors opened it and left us in. We bartered for a cab to Lijiang which would then be our home for the next few nights.
We arrived in Lijiang late and extremely exhausted. It was a cool looking town laid out over typical Chinese streams with red lanterns everywhere. But It was pouring
rain and our cabbie decided that she had gone far enough, told us to get out and point to the "old town" where we were to go. Oh well, these things happen and you are powerless against it. We were to tired to enjoy anything at this point. We carried our stuff to the town and wandered around looking for our hostel. After an hour or so we found it. Booked our room and just wanted to shower and relax. Easy as it seems it was to no avail. The shower was coupled with the toilet, and when i say coupled i mean literally on top. If you wanted anything to stay dry in the bath room after a shower you would be sadly disappointed. Plus the toilet was not a western toilet. It was an eastern toilet...the kind where you stand overt a hole and do you business. After a two day hike your legs don't really feel like squatting for any amount of time so using this thing was not fun to say the least. The other thing we needed to do was use the "free Internet" which was basically one PC that was in use all day
everyday. During one attempt, i sat in line for an hour while i was out witted by an entire family. When each person was done they would call the other on there cell phone and the next person would hop on before i could. I decided to leave when the dad put the kid on his lap and let him play video games online while i waited. I tried to interrupt a few times but a blank stair was all i would get as a response. Once again, this is china and these things happen. I guess when you have this many people crammed in here you have to fight for what you want.
One of the only things in this cool little town that i was really interested in experiencing was a Mexican food joint owned by a lady from Mexico city. We cant lose! It was expensive as hell the food was good but waaaay too small and the "volcanic queso was really mozzarella cheese melted into a bowl with tortilla to dip. We lost. damn it! I am too tired for that and need to get the hell out of here. My stay in China has been
great but i am ready to move on. I think we all are. The last night we booked at a different hostel to save some money. we figured we had to be up at the crack of dawn to catch out next flight so we might as well go really cheap. Well it comes with a price. The beds were nice...but the giggling Chinese staff that insisted on doing laundry at all hours of the night in our dorm room wasn't very nice. I had to get up and tell them that i was trying to sleep and that they were being loud...again, blank stair. I couldn't find my earplugs and toilet paper wasn't working...i had to blast my headphones until i passed out. Yup i am ready to leave.
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