Lijiang, Recently Rebuilt Ancient City

  Lijiang, China
Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Lijiang (1)

When I wrote the Dali entry I was so wrapped up in my crazy hike in Zhongeshan plus having escaped the Torch Festival with any serious burns, that I forgot about the 19 hour, all night hard seat train ride from Guilin to Kunming plus 2 hours of bus from Yangshuo to Guilin and 6 hours on two buses from Kunming to Xiaguan to Dali.

I guess by now this is one of the crazinesses of China that's starting to become 'normal'. Somehow being wedged between two complete strangers sleeping across from three more complete strangers with four more just on the other side of the narrow aisle and an open carriage with maybe another 100 didn't seem too bad. Sure I probably only slept about 4 hours.

On the other hand the views out the window were incredible. Mile upon mile clicked by of terraced fields on steep, green mountain sides with crops of corn, rice, sunflowers and what looked like marigolds. Twice I noticed kids riding water buffalo through irrigation canals, waterfalls coming from all directions down the mountains. Sure from time to time I wished that people wouldn't smoke or spit in the carriage, but from what I've heard from other travelers, my one hard seat experience wasn't that bad. Sure the toilet overflowed into the end of the carriage close to me, but it really didn't smell that bad. Sure it was annoying for about 5 hours that you couldn't use the sinks because there was two woman sleeping on top of each one, but I felt grateful that I was fortunate enough to get and afford a reserved seat.

When I was hiking I a lot of thoughts came to my mind. Hiking tends to stir my unconscious. A lot of crazy things now seem normal to me: water buffaloes everywhere swimming in rivers, rice paddies, and irrigation canals; 1 cylinder 3 wheel belt driven wonder trucks; families of 4 on motorcycles staring at me as they zoom past; cars parked in the middle of the street, even 1 lane roads, even major highways; cars driving backwards down the highway; driving into oncoming traffic; green everywhere; chopsticks; tour groups; spitting; bikes with massive loads; honking. Doesn't even phase me now.

Timo, Fanyui, and Joanhi

As for Lijiang, some absolutely loathe it, some love it. I found it beautiful and enjoyed my time there, lounging with Timo and his French friends at Old Town Garden Resort, sipping beers there and up on the hill above town. I have to admit that at night, when the lights come on and the tourists, foreign and Chinese alike, pour into the streets, have chanting matches from bar balconies across the narrow walking lanes, that the place feels like some sort of adult tourist trap Disneyland. Still for a half day and a night I enjoyed it and recommend the same to anyone. Old Town Garden Resort was a nice getaway still in the old town, near the real produce market and outside the tourist area.