Lijiang,
China
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Yet again, another stepping stone on the way to Tiger Leaping Gorge, but worth the visit. The Old Town is made up of traditional style Chinese architecture and is very quirky with it's cobbled streets. The only problem is that it is overwhelmed with Chinese tourists; rivers of them flow around the narrow streets all day long,and the bars are bursting with them at night. Luckily I wandered the streets the morning I arrived, when the locals were going about their business and only a few tourists were about. It's a shame that places like this are ruined with mass tourism, the locals have moved out of their homes which in turn get converted into some tourist related venture, be it shop, bar, restaurant or hotel. I guess SE Asia is better in a sense as the natives don't have the money to go on holiday, meaning the tourist industry is primarily generated through foreigners. Which in turn means more English speakers.....the universal language of the World.
The hostel was sweet and I bagged a double room with a TV for the princely sum of Y30, which is about 2 quid. Bus in the morning for Qiau Tou, the beginning of the trek.
The adventure continues...
