Alex's Asian Adventure

I spent the day cruising around Lijiang. By that I mean I spent time in the old part of Lijiang, which is all narrow cobblestone roads and old buidlings. Very cool.

What bugs me is that this nice area is surrounded on all sides by a ugleeeee Chinese buildings. What bugs me even more is that the streets themselves are crawling with loud Chinese tour groups. And I really hate the way the Chinese pose for pictures in front of nearly anything. Grrrr....

I also went to the Black Dragon Pool, which is an oasis of peace and quiet. I think the 60 kuai admission deters the Chinese tourists to some degree, while any foreigner with a driver's license written in a different language can claim to be a student and pay half price. Nice.

Anyway, the Black Dragon Pool is basically a park with a pond, some pagodas, and some expensive artwork shops that masquerade as museums selling Naxi art of various kinds. It's nice largely because it's quiet and has a great view of Yulong Xue Shan. I stole the picture from the interweb. Enjoy.

I also visited a museum-looking place put on by some American NGO that wanted have a self-gratifying (ie masturbatory) exhibiton of it's awesomeness. It's a building with displays of pictures depicting what this NGO does, although it's not totally clear what that is, exactly. I know that their Chairman shook hands with Jiang Zemin - there's a photo! It's a terrific waste of real estate.

The verdict on Lijiang: it's a lovely town to spend a few days relaxing. It's easy to get lost in the old part of town, since the streets are tiny and go everywhere. But, it is extremely touristy - much more so than Lhasa. Lijiang is as tourisy as Chengdu is flashy and cosmopolitan. I don't know if I can stand this town much more.

I'm staying at a guesthouse called Mama Naxi's, which is run by... Mama and Papa. They rock. I don't know how this woman hasn't dropped dead of exhaustion, since she seems to look after everyone's travel needs, arrange an enormous dinner for 30 every night, figure out where to pick you up when you get lost or arrive in town, among a myriad of other jobs. When I got in last night, she sent Papa to meet me at the bus station and take me to the guesthouse (I'd never have found it on my own). When I arrive, I'm told that the only room available is a gorgeous single room, with ensuite, for the unheard-of bargain of 50 kuai ($7 CAD). Oh the humanity!! Moreover, I got in kinda late (10:30) and when I arrived she immediately asked "Are you hungry?" and proceeded to get one of her minions to make me some dinner! I was a little floored.

This place is not in any guidebook I am aware of but every backpacker heading to Lijiang knows about it. It's simply amazing, a real diamond in the rough.

Tomorrow I am going on a 2-day trip to the Tiger Leaping Gorge. I hear people do it in one day, but I don't think I'll be one of those people. From what I gather, the Tiger Leaping Gorge is one of those places that should be savoured for a little while.