Phoenix Inn Shangri-La

... writing this the evening of Aug.<br>26 in ShangriLa. We are planning a trek to the Tibetan town of Naxi<br>which is 100km east by jeep then a 40km trek. We are going with an<br>American from Seattle who has lived in ShangriLa for 10 years and<br>speaks fluent Chinese. We will learn about the local culture.<br><br><br><br>

... awe inspiring The sheer volume and the energy required to change the direction almost 360 degrees over such a short distance is immense.<br><br>Then the most magnificent sight you could imagine. There had been a lot of rain over the last couple of days in the area and the Yantze was flowing well above its normal level. I do not have the words to ...

... from the town&#8212;we saw a large cloud of dust rising from the structure. We were dropped off at the bottom of another flight of stairs and climbed past what had once been a 600-year old monk settlement around the monastery proper. Everything was new and whitewashed, even the narrow alleys. At the top, we found the source of the dust. The monastery originally had 3 towers. 2 of the three 600-year old towers have been pulled down and rebuilt. Now they are 2 years ...

... traditional Bai Chinese costumes, carrying their fruit to the market or pushing a cart full of gravel towards the town construction sites. Mama's Guesthouse was a charming little place with a homely feel that was extended right up until our last morning -- when Mama came out to kiss us on the cheek, offer us a lucky necklace as our farewell gift and bid us a friendly farewell. Shortly after dropping our bags off, eating some food and getting our ...

So is there, or is there not Shangri-la. Who cares. Even if there is, it ain't here. Shangri-la is a huge disappointment and a stark contrast to Lijiang's uplifted Olympic atmosphere. The old town is much smaller, while Shangri-la is quite a large and very average looking city. It is drizzling and gray. Olympic torch is passing through today, but no one seems to take a notice. I rent a lovely little room in an old wooden house. It has a TV and an internet ...

Shangri-la is home to remote temples, rugged scenery and the start of the Tibetan world. It's real name is Zhongdian, only renamed Shangri-la after James Hilton's novel 'The Lost Horizon' described the fictional Shangri-la as an earthly paradise but particularly a mythical Himalayan utopia - a permanently happy land, isolated from the outside world. Infact, rumour has it the Chinese government are considering moving Shangri-la (the name) to ...

... the damn thing. It would not have been so bad except this time we are traveling with so many books that walking for too long at that altitude takes its toll. Apparently in this town they were renumbering and naming the roads which makes it a little difficult to find the address you have. Anyway after quite a lot of walking around and cursing we eventually found it. A very helpful local ended up asking some other very helpful locals who in turn ...

... prop of the Naxi. The God of Jade Dragon, Sanduo, is the greatest protector of the Naxi people. In the Tang Dynasty, the king of Dali, Yi mouxan, in the ceremony of worshiping the Great Five Mountains, granted Jade Dragon as the North Holy Mountain. He also ordered people to build a temple at the foot of the mountain for worshiping the God Sanduo. Glacier Park The Naxi people divide snow-mountains into white, green and black. The snow-mountains with glaciers are ...

... Die zie je dus geregeld voorbij drijven... heel gezellig! De volgende dag zijn we naar de Tiger Leaping gorge vertrokken, wat (volgens LP) de hoogste gorge ter wereld zou moeten zijn.  Het gaat van de rivier met struiken en bossen en maisvelden, naar kale sneeuwpieken van +6000m.  Op het hoogste stuk heb je zo'n 4000m hoogteverschil... heel spectaculair.  Daar onze rugzakken achtergelaten en licht gepakt voor twee dagen op wandeling vertrokken via het hoge pad ...

Alarm went off 2 hours later in order for us to get ready for our flight to Zhongdian. Felt surprisingly good although a little foolish. We had the buffet breakfast before getting the bus to the airport. Jesper wasn't feeling good and had already been sick before getting on the bus and continued to do so for the 90 minute duration. During the bus ride I had the worst heartburn ever, which I put ...