Blogs from Tiger Leaping Gorge, Yunnan, China, Asia - page 6

So, we left Tokyo, stayed one night in the mountains of Japan - arriving in the evening it was so beautiful, and next day we realised waking up in the middle of a golfing field (what a dissapointment!), came to Kyoto - had a much better time there than last time, and even saw Yoko Ono live (!!), and then we left with the ferry again, this time heading for Shanghai, China. On the ferry I thought the same thought as so many times before on this trip: how happy I am not to fly, and how sad it is for the people that travel by flying - they miss so much, so many wonderful ferrytrips (over whole oceans!) and traintravels (trough big forests, open deserts, high mountains and small villages). Coming to Shanghai, we decided ... read more

FINALLY! we arrived at tiger leaping gorge around 10am on the 18th. it is supposedly the world's deepest river canyon/gorge. As we walked down the road to try and find the entrance to the high route (really the only hiking route, the lower route is just a road) we failed miserably and had to hike up to it at the second entrance farther down the low route. I think we were the only morons on the trail with bags over five to ten pounds. my bag weighed around 55 pounds, and i lugged it the whole way for ten hours before we arrived at the halfway guesthouse for the night. while spending the night there i smartened up and lightened my load a bit. we made good friends with a dutch couple and a guy from ... read more

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 ... read more

The morning after the fire riot, I was up bright and early to take a bus to LiJiang, where I planned on taking a three day hike through the Tiger Leaping Gorge. I was planning on doing it alone, hoping to meet people I could join on the trail. However, on the bus I ran into three Irish girls and an Australian guy I’d met in Dali. I convinced them that they should come with me to do the trek in three days rather than two… and off we went, immediately from the bus station. It was great having yet another group of solid friends while traveling. The gorge was beautiful and absolutely worth savoring over a course of three days. The first night, we stayed at a Naxi Family Guesthouse where I introduced the girls ... read more

I guess it was something that I ate, but I woke up and did NOT think I was going to be able to make it on the 27km trek...which was a major blow since it was basically one of the main reasons I chose this trip. My stomach was aching something awful and right up until the moment the bus left, I decided I wasn't going to go. Then, I convinced myself to pull it together and make it a go....after all, life only happens once. The first few hours of the hike were a difficult ascent, which made me extremely nauseous. Luckily all that working out paid off a little. We followed along the side oft the gorge which is known as one of the deepest in the world. Legend has it that it is ... read more