Blogs from Yunnan, China, Asia - page 147

So we are back in Lijiang after spending two days trekking through Tiger Leaping Gorge, feeling exhausted but pretty good. The gorge was amazing! It is the deepest in the world, and looking down from the top made the ardurous climb up the 28 bends all worthwhile. As you peer over the edge the stones rumble their way down to the raging river below and sheer snow capped mountain faces climb up to tower above on the other side. Along the way we passed through idyllic hamlets with terraced farms and cute little cottages in the valleys. We met goats, horses, donkeys, various other farm animals and even a few yaks! We clambered over rocky mountains and slipped down through pine forest, spending the night at the Halfway House where the beds were warm and soft ... read more

Dali Rocks! (or kinda bobs its head kinda mellow-like) This morning we arrived in the ancient town of Dali, about 4 hours by express bus from Kunming in South-Western China. The main part of the old town in still surrounded by its walls with the four compass point gates visible from all around. The streets are cobbled and largely void of traffic besides bicycles and the crazy electric scooters that seem to be all the rage in China at the moment. Beautifully lanscaped, small rivers and waterfalls run the length of many of the streets, and the majority of the shops and buildings are of the traditional Chinese shopfront kind. It's very cute, and has its fair share of locals in minority costumes to give it colour and amuse the tourists (who are mostly Chinese it ... read more

After completing our trek of the Gorge, we decided that night to continue west (towards Tibet) to Zhongdian, otherwise known as Shangri-La. We initially planned to return to Lijiang, but we had the time, so we took a five hour bus northwest. Because we planned to return directly, we packed an overnight bag for the trek (and left our large bags in Lijiang). This was good in that we didn't have to lug our huge backpacks with us but bad in that we were wearing dirty and, for me, smelly clothes. But, that's how we do these days. Zhongdian is on the edge of Tibet but not officially on the Tibetan plateau. Therefore, you are not required to obtain a special permit to visit. (For Tibet, you need pay a few hundred dollars for a permit ... read more

So we packed an overnight bag (left our main baggage behind at the hostel), and headed by bus to the Gorge. We started at noon - it was Jill and I, a Dutch couple, Dutch John, and English Rob. The Israeli couple dropped out due to a bad knee. The trek took us two days - 6 hours during the first day and 2 or 3 hours the next day. The only difficult portion was the middle 2 hours of the first day where we climbed the 28 bends. Throughout the first four hours, there were these local men with mules escorting us...just waiting and waiting for one of us to drop so they could make some loot of off their mules. We preservered and enjoyed the amazing scenery along the way. This was a definite ... read more

Throughout our almost week-long stay in Yangshuo, Jill and I repeatedly were told that Dali and Lijiang were so much prettier and better than Yangshuo. Though the old town in Dali was bigger (Yangshuo was essentially one pedestrian thoroughfare) and more "old-town", we still are partial to Yangshuo. Dali (and Lijiang, our next stop) have been wonderfully done to attract the loads and loads of Chinese tourists. Like a Disneyland without the rides and all the cheesy tourist shops you could ever need. Regardless, these are cities not to be missed on your standard itinerary. The best and most memorable part of Dali was our stay at Jim's Tibetan Guesthouse. Spotless rooms and comfortable beds (and heated mattresses for those cold days). There's only seven rooms so we got lucky to land of the larger rooms ... read more