Zheng Yi Homestay Shangri-La

... Tai. I didn't want to go as far as Shangri Las as it was a very windy mountain ( not good) road & they would be driving in the dark. Arrived at this village at 5pm & there was 1 place to stay which if it was a guesthouse(????!!!) didn't even have a sign. There was 1 dodgy room & a bathroom ( which ...

... sexual partners) and marry noble women who bore them children." http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?it emid=218&amp;catid=6&amp;subcatid=34 "Monks live as simply as possible." - hmm, even the head lama? The Dalai Lama lives pretty well in his huge estate.<br><br>Shangri-La is just starting to look a lot like Lijiang with a fancy, touristy old town with tons of jewelery shops, paintings and hotels. If all the tourists were like me, those shops would go bankrupt. Maybe a lot of ...

... br>The buildings all very rustic, with dark wood and intricate wooden carvings hanging from its rooves, were angled, rising and falling with the hills that the town's built on. Just this walk alone, and we were already experiencing a slight tightness on the chst, heavier breathing; it is simply that high above sea level. The old town meanders from alley to alley, where lone men lead tiny herds of cattle, and local women sell fresh fruit. Where the ...

... clogs noticed the abundance of tourists in Lijiang and Dali, hijacked the name Shangri La (sacrilege for James Hilton fans like myself) and sold the town as a Tibet outside of Tibet. Despite the name (the place clearly has no real connection to Hilton's entirely FICTIONAL monastry), I love the place. We spent the day first exploring the old town and it's small temple overlooking the snow fields and buildings. The highlight however ...

... on stories that may or may not be true. If I say the word "Tahiti," doesn't that bring up "Mutiny on the Bounty" and all the imagery that goes with it? And for the sailors on the Bounty, Tahiti was paradise. Based on a true story too, though details were fictionalized. Movies and books about certain places inspire us, drive our dreams, turn destinations into passions. That's what Malraux is saying. James Hilton's "Lost Horizon" has inspired scores of people to go ...

... we stayed in. After like 6 hours of pretty rough hiking we get to this guest house...Halfway Lodge. The rooms were less than 10 dollars for the two of us, and the window of our room looked right at Jade Snow Mountain. It was really the best place I have ever slept! So everything is going great. We are meeting cool people, mostly Europeans and they keep turning up in the same towns...so it's funny to go to China and ...

Halli Hallo. Mein letzter Bericht ist zwar nicht lange her, aber da ich ab morgen fuer die naechsten sechs Tage am Rand des tibetischen Hochland zugange bin, sieht es mit Internet eher schelcht aus. Ich fahre die naechsten Tage durch die Berge (4000m aufwaerts) von Dorf zu Dorf um dann irgendwann wieder in Chengdu anzukommen. Wie das so klappt weiss ich nicht, da dort einige sehr hohe Paesse lauern, die zugeschneit sein koennten. In Chengdu treffe ...

... their head they wear a bright cerise scarf. They are still very friendly and happy to pose for photos. We wander the old town, taking in the ambience, and find ourselves at the monastery up on the hill, which gives great views over the slate roofs. It also has the biggest prayer wheel I have ever seen, about the size of a 2 or 3 storey building. Andrew attempts to push it by himself to little avail, I think it only moved a metre ...

... ever done but still in the heat it wasnt easy. Myself, rob and martha ambled up this section at a slow pace to preseve energy whilst peite, antonio and nadia marched on at a much faster pace. At the top the views were even more spectacular and it was quickly becoming the highlight of my trip so far. The rest of the route took us back down about 600m past waterfalls, mountain goats and yet more breathtaking scenery until we reached the Tea Horse Guest house. There were a few ...

... rather than put on for the tourists, but in either case, the locals were enjoying dancing to the tibetan style music, and we were enjoying it also! Back to Kevin's, we were glad we had the electric blankets - we hadn't been this cold since Chengdu 6 months earlier! It was a bit like the Tibetan weather, except still a little damp - not quite as dry. Our thermals, beanies, scarves and winter jackets that we had been lugging all around in the heat of South East Asia certainly came ...