Traffic Hotel Shangri-La

... was again a problem to find where to sleep. I went to a luxury hotel(all are luxury and facing the Himalaya mountain), bargained about the price (Y120) and took 2 hours rest. I went for a walk - all the area is under construction, so:full of dust.They re-build what theirs parents destroyed at 1966, and also "traditional" places for tourists. They block the view, planning to charge admision soon. At least they cann't do it to the hotels, as they ...

... a doctor of tibetan medicine but we left quickly because he was harasing the people before us to buy large anmounts of very expencive medicine.<br><br>We visited a temple on the highest hill of Shangri-la old town, the temple itself was nothing special but down a few steps there was a huge golden, well im not sure what it was but people ...

... 14 93;&#1514;, &#1500;&#1491;&#1512;&#1493;&#1498; &#1506;&#1500; &#1495;&#1500;&#1511; &#1502;&#1492;&#1489;&#1512;&#1497;&#14 99;&#1493;&#1514; &#1493;&#1492;&#1514;&#1510;&#1493;&#15 12;&#1493;&#1514; &#1492;&#1502;&#1497;&#1493;&#1495;&#14 91;&#1493;&#1514; &#1513;&#1504;&#1493;&#1510;&#1512;&#14 93; &#1513;&#1501; &#1489;&#1502;&#1513;&#1498; &#1488;&#1500;&#1508;&#1497; &#1513;&#1504;&#1497;&#1501;. &#1493;&#1500;&#1492;&#1490;&#1497;&#15 06; &#1500;&#1499;&#1500; &#1502;&#1511;&#1493 ...

... and walking us through a brief history of the philosophy, some of the main practices and 'amazing healing herbs', we sat and chatted about his background as a son of a father who practised Western Medicine and a mother who practiced Traditional Chinese Medicine. He also revealed his views on living in Shangri-la, the impact of the ongoing construction and 'preparation for tourism' and of the Yunann food on his health. He also ...

... approached the bottom of the gorge.<br><br>Once we reached the bottom of the gorge, we climbed atop a large rock standing over the roaring rapids of the Yangtze River. The view was stunning and the experience of being right over the longest river in China was exhilarating. After we spent some time resting on the boulder, we worked our way back up. The hike up was no easy task. The steps were tall and shallow, and we ...

... into the gorge and it was grueling hot climb up to 2900 meters. We were down to our wicking layers and shorts while she passed us all to the top in long sleeves and basket no less. Shame felt hot and salty as the sweat coming down my forehead. The girl at the Tea Horse was peeling a pound of garlic under the sun of the kitchen canopy when we arrived. She was a student in Hebei province but came to Yunnan 2 years ago to make money for her family. She ...

... Midnight's Children", of all unexpected sources), that according to Lost Horizon, beautiful women shrivel up and die after leaving this Shangri-la. So what to make of this last frontier (at least, for Jesse and me) from these random bits of knowledge and actual glimpses we've gleaned? Zhongdian (I don't feel right calling it "Shangri-la" until I've actually read "Lost Horizon") IS indeed the last frontier, for all foreigners at the moment, at least. Jesse and I ...

... sign. We were crammed into a 16seater minivan with a chain smoking driver and set off on an icy road that clung to the side of a mountain. The first pass we crossed peaked at 4300m as we gradually climbed until we were level with the clouds and visibility was near zero. Thankfully the bright sun had thawed out most of the ice by the time we crossed the next three mountain passes at 4400m, 4550m, and finally an altitude sickening 4718m above sea level (the ...

This Tibetan town has officially been renamed "Shangri La" by the Chinese government to bring in tourists (with much success). Shangri La it is not but despite the emphasis on tourism it is a decent little town on the edge of the Himalayas. While still touristy, the exposure to local culture feels much more authentic than the other 'minority' places that I've visited. In unrelated news re: the Thai King ...

... guide, Frankie, who owns one of the guesthouses in the gorge that we would stay in on the first night. We had a quick lunch, and after consultation between our guide and Frankie, it was decided we would stay that night in Frankie's guesthouse. Which meant a hasty repacking of our larger backpacks into daypacks that we would carry in the gorge. It must have been a sight - 15 people in a restaurant with the contents of their backpacks strewn all over the ...