The lucky victim/There’s a dragon in my pool
My bike was stolen once, but I got it back. I’ve forgotten expensive gadgets, backpacks, and wallets in random places to find them safely where I left them upon returning. And now, the streak continues. I’ve read the warning to watch your stuff carefully on sleepers in China, but I got a bit lazy. So I wasn’t a bit surprised to find my poorly attended satchel gone halfway through the night on my way to Lijiang. There was nothing important in it, just little things that would be a hassle to replace. I turned over and went back to sleep. Obviously the thief wasn’t interested in the bag’s contents either, because when I heard a rustling behind me 30 minutes later, I turned to find my bag sitting beside my bunk, all items present. I must have a big tank of good karma stashed somewhere.
We arrived in Lijiang at 6:00. The mountain scenery that surrounds this gateway to Tibet is fantastic. And when I arrived in Old Town Lijiang there was a fuzziness about this place, with its tiled rooftops and white stucco, for it appears to have stumbled out of some dream that China had of itself. A maze of cobbled streets weave themselves over goldfish filled streams and past shops selling high-end items that may or may not have anything to do with the culture of this region. If you want to buy it, then it’s definitely Naxi, the largest minority of this region.
Damaged badly 10 years ago in a major earthquake, Lijiang has been rebuilt with the tourist in mind. It is a huge draw for domestic tourists, the streets swarming in the pleasant afternoons with Chinese, camera in tow. And it has been found by the backpackers also, with the clock ticking down for the true foreign invasion to begin. Perhaps this will be in July. I keep forgetting that I’m traveling in the off-season.
Just north of Old Town is the photog heaven of Black Dragon Pool where painted pagodas, the clear pond, and elegant bridges are perfectly framed by the towering peaks of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the distance. If Lijiangs beauty is any precursor to what is in store tomorrow at Tiger Leaping Gorge, I shouldn’t leave disappointed.
Tags: China
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