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Tiger Leaping Gorge
Vetty's on the watch for tigers The Wazza and Lynchie show is on the road. Greetings, loyal (perhaps bored, with no life?) readers from Zhongdian in the Tibetan world of China's northern Yunnan Province. Its been a busy 3 weeks or so since my last entry.
After spending a delightful (sorry, I needed a new adjective but that one really does suck) week or so on Koh Chang, Thailand's next big tourist island near the Cambodian border, I met the beautiful Yvette off the plane in Bangkok for a few weeks of travelling together. She was lucky enough to be immediately whisked from the plane to an irish bar on Khao San Rd to meet pommies Phil and Ben, who'd travelled from Chiang Mai especially for the honour (or so they said...).
And so, after one night in Bangkok, and the world thus being her oyster, Lynchie decided we should beat a hasty departure and search for that pearl in China's Yunnan Province (the southwesternmost part, bordering Vietnam and Lao). I'd had two nights there, so I just had to take whatever life dished out, so it was off to Kunming for us on Thai Airways flight TG612. Cities being what they are, we jumped
on the first bus to Northwestern Yunnan and after a mammoth day found ourselves in the town of Dali, a beautiful old walled city set at 2000m in the shadows of the Cangshan mountains and next to Erhai Lake. The dry, cold air made it feel like a "whole other country" from Thailand and its heat and humidity, and the smiling 'Bai' minority people were a welcome change from the rip-off merchants on Khao San Rd and the helpful 'backpack re-packers' on Thailand's overnight buses. We whiled away two days exploring the mountains (by cable car of course, stuff the climb), the old cobblestone streets (one of which is named 'foreigner street': I think some backpackers have ventured this way before), and sampling the local brew: Dali Red; before it was time to head further north by minivan to the city of Lijiang.
It was with a nostalgic tear that I relived the happy memories of my high-speed bus crash on this very route last year, but thankfully this year we arrived safely in Lijiang, the ancient capital of the minority Naxi people, an amazing city with an old town of traditional Naxi-style houses cramped together in a maze
of cobble-stoned streets and canals in yet more shadows of yet another mountain, the 5400m high Yulong Xue Shan (Jade Dragon Snow Mountain).
At this point, Yvette has asked me to tell you that she danced, with considerable poise and elegance, in the old town's market square with the local Naxi women. The frown and immediately subsequent place change by the little lady behind Yvette after she joined the line, may, however, tell a different story.
We spent some great lazy days in the cool coffee shops and restaurants of Lijiang, and despite its undeniable emphasis on tourism, it is still a great place for the western traveller to live cheaply and anonymously while the rich Chinese tourists are the ones that get hassled and ripped-off.
North of Lijiang, the Yangze river runs between the Jade Dragon and Haba snowy mountain ranges, through the most impressive gorge I've ever seen: the Hu Tiao (Tiger-leaping) Gorge, so-called because it is said that a tiger once jumped over its narrowest part. We trekked (or should I say, lazed) for 4 days in the gorge, taking the high path 1000m above the water, and 2000m from the summits, staying in
Lijiang's Canals
The classic postcard shot (really.) the nicest and friendliest guesthouses in China in the traditional villages on the trail. The best was the 'Half-way' Guest House, set opposite a 2000m vertical rock wall, and run by Feng De Fang, whose family have lived in the gorge for 7 generations. He graciously pretended to remember me from last year, which afforded Yvette and I a free meal when he invited us to eat with the family. At the end of the gorge is Walnut Garden, a small village with an eery undertone featuring a feud between cousins Sean and Woody (not their real Chinese names I think), who opened the first guesthouses in the gorge but have completely different philosophies: Sean, whose side we took even though his place has no wash basin, created the high trek and promotes traditional trekking tourism, while Woody brought the ugliness of China's classic White and Blue box buildings to this beautiful area, and is cashing in on the road which is starting to bring busloads of tour groups nowadays. Whatever, its one of the best sights you'll ever see regardless of how things pan out.
As I said, we are now in Zhongdian, known in Tibetan as 'Gyalthang',
and now known in Chinese as 'Xiang Ge Le La" (Shangrila), in an attempt to make this area the tourism capital of Yunnan, even though at the moment its just another typical ugly Chinese city. The surrounding area, with Yaks grazing in fields, mountains in every direction, and a large Tibetan Buddhist monastery on the hillside, is well worth the visit though.
It only gets better from now on as we head north to the small town of Deqin, and weather permitting, views of the magnificent Meili Snow Mountains.
So now you're up to date, and probably asleep. There remains, of course, only one more thing for me to add, that being, of course: GO YOU MIGHTY MAROONS (especially now we've got two Innisfail boys at the back)!!!!
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fainvel
Walking-AngelA
yes, that's it!
I went that route this spring there. Tiger-leap, the Tina's, the half-way, Meili Moutain, Lijiang, and the Shangrila. Plan to go for 2nd time. That's the sacred place not only for tibetans, but also for our hiking-ers. Enjoy your pictures.