Wow, 5 days since my last post - I knew it had been a while.... During that time I've changed accommodations 3 times and cities twice. My original intention had been to stay in the Old Town of Lijiang for 3 days but I left after 2, which gives me an extra day here in Shangri La. The Old Town of Lijiang has been around for 800 years, and is very pretty and quaint,with rivers and streams running through it, stone roads and bridges. So pretty that it attracts masses of tourists to it's baffling maze of narrow streets that have little English signage. After wandering lost for some time, I was surprised how much better I felt after finding an oasis above the crowds in a 2nd storey cafe that sold coffee and western food - N's Kitchen. I went back for supper and breakfast. Although I left Lijiang early I'm glad I was there to see the town, the Black Dragon Pool, and Mu's Residence - a massive walled complex where the Mu Clan of the Naxi people ruled for over 400 years. Although the complex was destroyed in a war it has been impressively rebuilt.
On a clear day a visit to the Black Dragon Pool includes a beautiful view of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain - although there was some sun while I was in Lijiang it wasn't clear enough to see the mountain but I've included a stock photo. There was also pouring rain which I only got caught in once. The Pool is actually a park that is lovely to walk around and also offers Naxi music demonstrations. And it was here that I found out that the colourful equipment I'd seen in this and other parks was not for kids to play on, but for people to take exercise breaks on - I took some photos of that too.
Another high point of Lijiang was Lucy, the English-speaking daughter of the owners of the Shanghai Family No. 68 Hostel where I stayed, who was very pleasant and helpful even after I let her know I was changing my booking., and didn't apply a penalty even though I offered to leave my deposit.
Another high point of Lijiang was Lucy, the English-speaking daughter of the owners of the Shanghai Family No. 68 Hostel where I stayed, who was very pleasant and helpful even after I let her know I was changing my booking., and didn't apply a penalty even though I offered to leave my deposit.
So on Thursday Sept 22 I was on the 4 hour bus ride to Shangri La. As my booked hotel didn't have a room available for the extra night I went on Trip Advisor and booked a room at the Shangri La Lamtin Youth Hostel. After crossing a pass in the Three Parallel Rivers area the terrain, housing, and agriculture change drastically. The surrounding hills are higher, although the peaks are still below the tree-line until Shangri La. Farm animals, including long-haired, long-horned yaks, roam the plains and tall drying racks for mostly hay dot the countryside. The houses are spacious and imposing 2 storey boxes with ornate doors, windows and pillars. I get a sense of wide-open spaces and I was excited to see more.
The hostel was nice, in the Old Town of Shangri La (every place I've gone to has an Old Town except Kunming). My only complaint is that the mattress felt like a board (I put the 2nd twin bed's quilt over it which helped). Before checking out the next day at the civilized time of noon I visited the world's largest prayer wheel (incredibly large and gold coloured), had a yak hot pot, and visited the Shangri La Women's Craft Centre. Thanks to a miraculous chance encounter with a shaggy-looking white guy speeding by on his little motorbike I was able to find the rendezvous place for the Songtsam Lodge driver. This is how I described the lodge to Ian.....
"I think I'm in Paradise (it's funny how one's concept of what Paradise is after 2 weeks on the road). To me it now has:
- computer wifi that works on my computer so I can e-mail, Skype and download movies for the 12 hour trip back to Kunming (legally through MoviesCapital.com)
- a beautiful hotel with a beautiful view
- a library of English books so I can trade mine when i'm done, which will be soon.
- people that speak English and are able to answer all my questions and booked me a sleeper bus seat to Kunming
- the ability to take a Western credit card so I can use it for my meals, tours, and laundry
- a kettle and a cup so I can have a cup of UVA tea (with some sort of milk)
- a restaurant with an English menu so i know what i'm ordering with the optionof a set supper so i don't have to think!
- an amazing, multi-level, gold-roofed monastery next door
- faceclothes
- 2 apples and a knife iin the room"
I haven't made it to the monastery yet because there's a lot of climbing involved and I'm feeling the effects of the altitude, but will attempt tomorrow. Today's horseback ride was full of surprises - I was led by a woman from the village on a little horse for 1.5 hours in the area behind the village, through fields where cattle and yaks were grazing. Then she invited me into her traditional home for lunch - yak butter tea, yak cheese, yak yogurt and flat bread. The water was boiled over an open firepit that vented through a smoking rack up through the roof. It was amazing - her young daughter and I helped each other with our languages - she pulled out her English workbook. After lunch I went to the Tianshenqiao Hot Springs which are beside a river and a cliff overhang. The womens' sauna is actually a blocked off area of the overhang, laid out with a long wooden platform with a headrest for people to lie on and buckets of cold and warm water to cool and wash off with afterwards. Clothing optional! If I went back I'd be a little bolder now I have a better idea of how it all works.....
No comments:
Post a Comment