No Naked Fire Here Please- - Lijiang
Trip Start
Sep 04, 2010
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3
6
Trip End
Sep 26, 2010
Where I stayed
Memory of March Hostel
Lijiang, Yunnan Province, China
Friday, September 10, 2010
Once we arrived in Shilin, they went off to the Stone Forest and I hired a taxi to take me to Dadieshui Waterfall area. Another experience with my lackluster Chinese speaking skills but I made it there. Not much was going on and there were a handful of guards at the entrance. I got out, tripod in tow and happy to have arrived at my destination. The guards then pointed to a sign written in Chinese. Of course I didn't have the foggiest idea what it said but figured it was closed. I got my little phrase book out and asked in Chinese if it was closed and they all nodded enthusiastically. I on the other hand was extremely disappointed as this waterfall is the biggest in Yunnan. There were two smaller waterfalls I was able to photograph. I rode quietly back to the Stone Forest where I quickly ran through the park in the drizzle before I had to get back to the bus station for my return to Kunming. My new acquaintances were on the bus back and we discovered we were all headed to Lijiang, Wenyi by overnight bus and Adel and Manu by plane.
I elected to take the overnight sleeper bus to Lijiang which was fairly pleasant except for when I missed the rest stop and had to trek into the unknown depths of the bus squat potty.....Bum Bum Bum. However, I made it to my destination safely and rather well rested. I caught a taxi from the bus station ready for what the day held. The taxi eager to get his overpriced fare just dropped me off in some random area and pointed me in what I thought was the direction of the hostel. Wrongo.
Lijang has two parts the old and new. The old, where my hostel was located, is much like Venice in which it consists of a twisty maze of cobblestone streets. I had a slip of paper with the address in Chinese and asked many times how to reach my destination but got a different answer every time. Therefore, I wandered the streets of old Lijiang, which doesn't permit taxis or buses, with my 48 lbs. of luggage in tow for two hours at six in the morning. I knew Emmanuel and Adel were arriving on the first plane from Kunming and tried to phone them with no luck. I finally arrived at the hostel only to see that it was about half a mile from where I was first misled.
I stayed at the Memory of March Hostel. I elected this place as it was where my new friends were staying. It is quite nice and they even had a Golden Doodle to keep the guests happy. However, it was a bit far from the main hustle and bustle of Old Lijiang. When I arrived Wenyi was already at the hostel showered and ready to go. Shortly, thereafter
Adel and Manu phoned the hostel with the same problem as me. The taxi driver was so eager to get her fare that she just let them out nowhere near the hostel. After we all finally settled in we spent the day wandering the quaint streets of Lijiang together.
We enjoyed sampling all of the local treats there were to offer such as the Dragon's Horn pastry, the wooden rice cup snack and the wonderful round fried potato ball. Manu even sampled the local Yak yogurt and one of the guys gave the Yak meat a try. I think I enjoyed the local cuisine of Lijiang the most out of the all the places I visited in China.
The next morning Wenyi and I got up early to go to the Black Dragon Pool for sunrise. We were told that if we got there before 7 we could skirt the entrance fee. This wasn't quite as sly as in Yuanyang but, nevertheless, free. The park was bustling with locals engaging in their morning exercises and yelling to clear their lungs. It was quite curious to hear in the silence of the morning. I tried this yelling ritual and found it quite enlightening. The local ladies were also doing a morning dance in the park and they invited me to participate. After wandering the streets of Lijiang all morning, we checked out and had lunch with Adel and Manu. We agreed to meet up in Shanghai later in the week and I departed for the airport for my flight to Beijing.
Comments
very nice pics!
thanks for the tag and the share.
cya
Adel
You hae wonderful photographs and I love the descriptions of your journey!
Beautiful pictures and interesting story. thanks for sharing.
Awsome....I want to get together soon and hear the stories firsthand!
You are so adventurous! Great photos and exciting tales. I'm already ready for the next edition.