Gorging on Chinese Disneyland
Trip Start
Apr 27, 2006
1
85
110
Trip End
Apr 01, 2008
Lijiang,
China
Thursday, March 27, 2008
First, to address the travel (as I have become wont to do), it was a perfectly fine 4.5 hour bus trip on a nice new expessway - up from 1900 meters to 2400 (7,900 feet ). It was so almost pleasant that I dozed the trip away. Second, to clarify, I learned that the Naxi and their matriarchal society has to be differentiated from the Mosu and their matriarchial society. With the Naxi, some women never marry; they enter into multiple, fluid relationships with many men whereby the men care for any children they sire (sort of) until the woman ends the relationship, after which she is responsible (hence matriarchal) and he is free. That was the Naxi in Ligiang. As one went uphill, the Mosu tribe becomes more prevalent. And they top the Naxi. They have what is called "walking marriage." The woman can hook up with any man she wants (leaving the shoes outside the door means this van is rockin so don't come a'knockin) which works for me.
Third, I liked Lijiang. Sure, it was sort of the Las Vegas version of China, but the Chinese sure enough liked it - to the tune of hundreds cruising the streets and hitting "Bar Street" - a street split by one of the creeks lined on both sides with something like 50 bars, each of which offering its own type of entertainment, from solo crooners to group dance to drums to karaoke. My favorite was Sakura Cafe, a cave-like boho place with multiple guys pounding drums in the front and a dancehall in the back, although the 40ish degree weather meant that everyone danced in their parkas. Sure, the place is a little Disney-esque, but there is still something cool about wnadering the meandering strrets with the little waterways, bridges, crafts, and willows. Plus, I finally yakked - eating yak that is.
In between my nights in Lijiang, I did the Tiger Leaping Gorge trek, which is supposedly some sort of backpackers mastubatory rite of passage. Well, OK. The first day was relatively tough with a 3000 foot vertical climb, but the views of the gorge were distant and not that spectacular. However, that was partly because it was misty/drizzly so the tops of the 20,000-foot Himalayan peaks that crested the gorge were obscured. The second day was easier, but more more dramatic as one gets further into the gorge, which is allegedly one of the narrowest and deepest in the world. Staying overnight at one of the trail guesthouses, however, was prety cool (not literally since they had electric blankets) because I met and hung with the Naxi family that ran it, along with other "travellers."
Which brings me to my not so deep epiphany - that most backpacker-type "travellers" are offendingly pennywise and poundfoolish. What brought this home to me was two things. The first was when we reached a part of the trek where a detour cost an additional 10 Yuan (about $1.40) to go down a trail and ladders to the riverside. The six other people with whom I was hiking didn't want to pay, despite having paid god-knows-what to travel to China and then to Lijiang, 50 Yuan for the bus to and from the gorge and 50 Yuan for the park entrance fee. They came all this way to get hung up over less than two dollars.
The second was later that night - beers at the hostel were 5 Yuan and on "Bar Street" they were 15-20. Again, four people bailed over a few dollars - missing the chance to meet and mingle and see the hilarity that was the Chinese tour groups getting shit-faced. I viscerally came to the realization that I am in between demographics - I like lodging with the backpackers because you meet people from around the world who speak 'english and can be full of good travel advice and assistance and I don't care about accomodation frills, but I live much more extavagantly when it comes to restaurants and nightlife. I understand that most of them do not have my resources or income, but many of them go so overboard about saving the odd dollar that they miss out on much of the culture of places. They do and see only the physical places and things, but then spend every night in their hostel with similar "travellers" discussing the same fucking shit (how to get from here to there, whether such and such a place was "expensive," etc.). Hundreds and thousands on travel and pennies once they are there.
An interesting aside about going to the Tiger Leaping Gorge was that I saw hundreds of massed Chinese Army troops exercising in response to the riots and deaths in Lhasa, Tibet. The gorge is in between Lijiang and Shangri-La (allegedly) near the Tibetan border and the Chinese army was demonstrating its presence in areas of Tibetan influence. I also met several "travellers" who had either been evicted from Tibet or had their trips there cancelled. Particularly interesting, however, has been watching the crunchies try to determine their collective position on whether the indepence-seeking Tibetans (and their supporters) should or should not attempt to demonstrate and disrupt the Chinese PR-fest that is the Beijing Olympic games.
Since this trip is coming to its end, and I need to get to Hong Kong for my exit and to impose on Wogs, I had to choose a city to connect through, so I am going to:
Chengdu, China
