Wow. I wish I'd got to Yunnan earlier! I finally feel like I've seen a bit of culture in China. After my rather uncultured few days in Kunming, I got a sleeper bus to Lijiang. The old town was really beautiful, with incredible Naxi architecture everywhere. I immediately got lost after getting out of the taxi (the place is like a maze!), but thankfully a very helpful member of staff at the hostel took pity on me and collected me!
The old town is a pedestrianised area, with cobbled stones, chinese lanterns and small streams creating a magical feel. If only there hadn't been a million tourists there, I would have felt transported back in time. The Naxi women are much smaller than chinese women up north, and for some reason all very old! Seeing these little old ladies wearing baskets on their backs and flat caps was such a change from the modern chinese woman.
On my second day in Lijiang, I went to Tiger Leaping Gorge. I didn't want to do the 2 day trek (naturally) but I took a bus and then did the 3 hour round trip to the gorge and back up. Normally I'm so bad going down hill, but it seems that I've improved! I lead my group of 5 all the way and had to constantly keep stopping to let them catch up. I think the scenery was so incredible that I was too distracted to be bothered by the slippery rocks or steep drops just a few inches from the path. On the way back up we lost two members of the group, who eventually caught us up on donkeys! What cheats! It was a great day, and I felt that I deserved a celebratory Dali beer or two in the evening!
Speaking of Dali, that's where I headed next. My first impressions were that it was even more beautiful than Lijiang! The four gates surrounding the old town are very impressive, and the streets are much easier to navigate (once you get the hang of dodging the old ladies saying 'you want ganga?'). Today I went to a market for the local Bai people, who wear really colourful clothes and big headdresses. It was the first time in China that I can honestly say I escaped the tourist trail. And guess what? I loved it!
After I returned to Dali, I met an American family who spoke to me after watching me being asked by a few different chinese guys to have my photo taken with them (they do love the blonde hair!). They were amazed that I'd got around China on my own with very little Chinese. I think all you really need is some common sense and a willingness to smile at everyone. Anyway, they adopted me for the day and took me to get a foot massage and scraping after I showed them the state of my feet. The massage was incredible, painful but in a good way! My feet are still in a state though, as scraping involved rubbing the arch part of my foot with a 1 yuan coin until it really hurt. She totally ignored my manky heels, maybe they too big a job for the money we were paying?!
I've now booked my bus back to Kunming, where I have 1 more night in the wonderful hostel before making my way to Sapa in Vietnam. Can't wait!
The old town is a pedestrianised area, with cobbled stones, chinese lanterns and small streams creating a magical feel. If only there hadn't been a million tourists there, I would have felt transported back in time. The Naxi women are much smaller than chinese women up north, and for some reason all very old! Seeing these little old ladies wearing baskets on their backs and flat caps was such a change from the modern chinese woman.
On my second day in Lijiang, I went to Tiger Leaping Gorge. I didn't want to do the 2 day trek (naturally) but I took a bus and then did the 3 hour round trip to the gorge and back up. Normally I'm so bad going down hill, but it seems that I've improved! I lead my group of 5 all the way and had to constantly keep stopping to let them catch up. I think the scenery was so incredible that I was too distracted to be bothered by the slippery rocks or steep drops just a few inches from the path. On the way back up we lost two members of the group, who eventually caught us up on donkeys! What cheats! It was a great day, and I felt that I deserved a celebratory Dali beer or two in the evening!
Speaking of Dali, that's where I headed next. My first impressions were that it was even more beautiful than Lijiang! The four gates surrounding the old town are very impressive, and the streets are much easier to navigate (once you get the hang of dodging the old ladies saying 'you want ganga?'). Today I went to a market for the local Bai people, who wear really colourful clothes and big headdresses. It was the first time in China that I can honestly say I escaped the tourist trail. And guess what? I loved it!
After I returned to Dali, I met an American family who spoke to me after watching me being asked by a few different chinese guys to have my photo taken with them (they do love the blonde hair!). They were amazed that I'd got around China on my own with very little Chinese. I think all you really need is some common sense and a willingness to smile at everyone. Anyway, they adopted me for the day and took me to get a foot massage and scraping after I showed them the state of my feet. The massage was incredible, painful but in a good way! My feet are still in a state though, as scraping involved rubbing the arch part of my foot with a 1 yuan coin until it really hurt. She totally ignored my manky heels, maybe they too big a job for the money we were paying?!
I've now booked my bus back to Kunming, where I have 1 more night in the wonderful hostel before making my way to Sapa in Vietnam. Can't wait!
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