Paifang Guoluo Hostel Lijiang

... more mundane goods and services necessary for daily living.

We learn that Lijiang is on what is known as the “Tea Horse route”, an ancient trade route between Tibet, China and India. As such, goods and services were it’s purpose and it would be natural for the townspeople to have the shop-front on the street and to live either above or behind the shop.

Another day we spend an hour or so sitting in a lovely garden overlooking ...

... Through a Gorge in Yunnan

... usually used by bus tourists (the majority of Chinese take the bus, 90% of the hikers I saw on the high trail were foreigners).
http://en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Tiger_Leaping_Gorge

The ticket price is 50RMB. After about 300m, I came upon Jane's Guesthouse, run by Tibetan Jane. She told me where to get on the trail and off I went. Many people do this hike in either one day (pushing it) but more will do it in two days, staying over at ...

... br>we walked some of the way but the heat was intense and we had to turn back but we had a good 6 hour walk. the scenery was amazing and being so high up was a new experience for me.

Jane's guest house was a nice place to stay but Jane is a bit annoying. as our visas are running out, we decided to go the next morning to Dali, on the bus for 5 hours.

... Yes, there are an almst unnatural amount of Chinese tourists here, especially around the main square and the notorious wooden water wheels. But if you were to see if only for the souvenirs and people, then you would be missing the point. Lijiang is a place of enchantment. You go there to lose yourself in the outer alleys, passing locals washing their clothes, and chefs washing their fresh produce in the streams. If still a cynic, then this town's ...

... listening. There was just silence, and the stillness that precedes dusk. Eventually, through the thin pines, I spotted my friend, and we started along the trail. It skirted some fields, and then divided. Then continued to split in twos and threes. Each choice seemed equally muddy and equally trodden. We opted for one track that headed towards more light, something we would soon be requiring. Half-walking, half-running, we continued on, up and down, climbing up to one ...

... ce, proving once more, ever-so-precious in this country of such unf*thom*ble numbers. Pretty much being over the pl*ce before we even got there (*ctu*lly, we didn't go to Liji*ng out of *ny volunt*ry desire. We'd decided, on *n extr*v*g*nt whim, to forego the p*in *nd time of l*nd-hopping *nd just jump on * flight out of Liji*ng bound for Chengdu.), Liji*ng didn't re*lly offer *nything to redeem our expect*tions of the pl*ce. More hordes, more souvenirs shops selling the s ...

... in the cold Chinese air. Yeah, it's as cold as a witches titty here, and I know I ain't in Texas anymore. I remember boasting before I left that I would try damn near any kind of food. Well I've succeeded admirably. In the beginning, I just closed my eyes and pointed blindly with trembling fingers at the assortment of fried bugs on the street cart in front of me, unwilling to accept the fact that I was willingly buying a cheap plastic baggy full of edible flying ...

... people will discover that the card is not fake. However, I forged the necessary documents to obtain it before leaving the US (thanks again Cynda!).

We've been struggling to find reasonably-priced plane tix from Zhondiang to Lhasa. We toyed with doing it overland for a few days but have decided against it. I'll be overlanding from Lhasa to Kathmandu anyway and that's just too much time in a 4x4 in the middle of nowhere. The rub is that the Chinese ...

... all honesty we were actually quite brilliant! Some poor dutch guy, the only other person staying, sat and watched until he decided he couldn't watch any longer and left. Latso came out at one point and presented us with a guitar so Kate no longer had to play on the broom. We made it all the way through to the end to a huge round of applause - I think they were just grateful we'd finished. Coming soon - our precarious journey out of the gorge!