Not Approved by LP

Arrived back in Lijiang yesterday from Lugu lake. Shared a car with 2 locals so at least travelled in comfort. But heavy rain and thick mist made it hard going and not great for mountain views, but then maybe best not to know !. At least the driver gave the road respect and didn’t put his faith in god as is too often the case. Even stopped for an excellent meal something you certainly don’t get going by bus.
Has rained since being back in Ligiang but still managed to take far too many photos last night.
As before very crowded but can’t fault the place. Will probably stay another day before moving on to Zhondian but could do with the weather improving as sightseeing in the mountains not at its best in these conditions.

Just got back from a 3 day wander around the lake. The effort well rewarded with good weather and a chance to see new sights and meet interesting and colorful people in traditional dress ansd just generally super nice people. The Naxi village probably won top spot for culture and people, despite being on the main road it didn’t seem as affected by tourism as elsewhere and a nice spot by the lake.
Stayed further along at the Shangri La hotel, a bit jaded and past its prime but loads of character and the views from the balcony with the mountains behind an excellent photo opportunity. But probably best avoided by dog lovers. In the evening the Shangri La ballroom made for fun entertainment away from the tourist hype elsewhere. The only people there were police and officials but the food and drink flowed freely and they insisted on me joining in and all in all a good night out.
Followed the road to the Zon Hun bridge, more touristy but once across the bridge there is a very abrupt change. There is no road, just a mud path which in places even that disappears under water and all you can do is wade thru. Horse and donkey replace motorbike and car and the villages and houses fairly basic and people shy. Proved more challenging than expected but only once once had to be rescued by a little boy from 2 over eager dogs which took a dislike to me, I guess its best to carry a large rock.
Finally hit the main road from Lijiang and spent the night at Luoshui. Not much to recommend about the place, popular with the Chinese taking boat trips out etc but little charm and lots of building work going on. However the Mosu cultural show good, staged in an indoor arena and all done in a professional manner, well choregraphed and colorful unlike the for fun effort her in Lige.
Made the last leg back to Lige today, a fairly mundane stretch, just in time for the rain to start. Overall all good only let down by never seemingly being able to get people photos, so much colour and wonderful expressions but either because of not wanting to hassle the people themselves or not having the camera ready opportunities missed. But certainly well worth seeing those wizand old ladies loaded up with their baskets or baby on the back, stooped down only stopping to use the mobile phone and check the latest share prices !. And the matriarchal system, with no marriage, certainly has left a very easy going society where people of either sexes can chat to outsiders with no hang ups and probably the only place where no one asks about marital status !.
Tomorrow back to Lijiang.

Just had 3 cultural nights in a row going to the Mosu singing and dancing display, as it’s next to my guesthouse not too much of a strain and nightlife here not the most active. The local Mosu dress up in native costumes and dance around a fire singing their love songs and at the end do the matchmaking. All very touristy but its on a small scale and provides a lot of fun, amusement and photo opportunities. And the young children all dressed up are so sweet.

Yesterday was a rain stopped play day. Never stopped all day and with the cold to match. Today better and took a long walk to Sichuan Province – actually the other side of the lake. They must be wealthier than Yunnan as the road is paved from the Sichuan border. And within minutes the locals were filling up my backpack with walnuts. Some of the little villages were so sweet, with the locals still wearing traditional clothes and a lovely mix of old and new.

In one of the villages a motorbike tuk tuk driver started yapping away in Chinese and pointed to the next village so I just thought whatever and jumped in. A bit further 2 chinese tourists joint us wanting to go somewhere. We went further and further away from my end of the lake and then stopped at some place and the driver asked for money and then said bye and pointed to a path for me to take. So now totally lost I followed the path only to end up lost amongst many paths with just the odd hamlet and farmers vegetable plots. In the end I had to double back and after a long walk was back on the main road but the wrong side of the lake and no traffic. Eventually a lama came passed on his motorbike and gave me a lift. This started well until the chain came of and jammed itself in the backwheel. Without tools this kept us amused for a while. Eventually it was half fixed and he insisted on us going to his place to clean up and eat and be shown the buddhist shrines. Then he offered to take me further by horseback but the horse looked big and if it was as well maintained as his motorbike it didn’t seem a good idea to start learning to ride now. So it was another long hike, I was actually pleased when I got back into Yunnan, just seemed closer to home despite being 3 odd hours away and 7pm. Not having warm clothes or a torch I was reduced to running as it gets dark about 8pm and walking of a cliff didn’t have much appeal. A group of girls did come pass and started singing their love songs to me, I don’t whether I was meant to join them at their place but mine has internet and a heater !
Eventually a car came pass and they saved my day by giving me a lift. So all in all a fun day .

Had planned to leave Saturday but now thinking of hiking around the lake, staying in some of the villages as they are great and given the speed of development here that won’t be the case for long.

The last time I did this trip was with Thai Airways and followed a hasty departure from Zhondian, on the Tibetan Plateau, when the Chinese decided to close the country down due to SARS. The trip involved countless medicals, a wearing of face masks and In Quarrantine stickers, not a pleasant experience. This time it was all a lot more sedate, with only the filling of a medical form with questions like ” have you been in contact with dead birds” – I know Thai girls like to sleep but can’t remember any being dead so I gather I was ok.

Kumming one of the more user friendly cities to arrive at and all straight forward. The people seemed better dressed and wealthier now and the shops doing a great trade. After all the talk of doom and gloom in the UK and financial meltdown no one has obviously told the Chinese.

Next morning it was an early start for the 10 hour trip to Lijiang. A fairly tedious trip in bad weather. They did provide a free meal which I ate only to remember what Chinese public toilets are like !!. Luckily it stayed down. Arrived at Lijiang to torrential rain so decided to check in to the first hotel I found only to be given that what are you doing coming in here look and basically told to leave. Some old Chinese habits die hard. But no problem, eventually found a great place with nice people. Checked out the old city, some of it probably not that old – ie not there on my last visit- but Lijiang is just so nice and all for a 80 Yuan entrance fee (About 15 Yuan to the pound I think) what a bargain. Ok it was late and I never had to pay. Yes it is fantastically touristy but with good reason and well worth the visit.

As I will be coming back to Lijiang decided to head for Lugu Lake next morning as not a place I visited previously and at 2600 metres a useful chance to acclimatise. The journey was actually surprisingly nice, over the mountains and passing some great little villages with the locals wearing traditional costumes. And unlike elsewhere not for the tourists benefit. The road whilst generally good was suffering from the heavy rains so numerous landslides and in places very muddy and some interesting passing manouvers, aforetaste of things to come. Lugu Lake required another 80 Yuan entrance fee but you get a CD, just hope its not A SONY cd coming back to haunt me.

Having got to Lugu Lake I then took a micro bus to a place called Lige. a tiny little village further around the lake. Being late and with rain starting decided to take the guesthouse with “recommended by Lonely Planets ” on it. Always a mistake but…. LP described the rooms as basic, at least they did have 4 walls and a lightbulb and a downstairs shared squat toilet. Shame the windows didn”t shut and the door didn’t have a lock. Down the road you could get lovely rooms with ensuite western bathrooms, hot water etc etc for the same price. But what the heck, this is China, this is what it is all about, going native. There was even a buzzing mosquito to keep me company all night. I moved out promptly this morning.

Now in a great place to the extent that I even have internet in my room and an electric heated blanket to go with the ensuite bathroom with hot water and a balcony to match. And the people are just so nice. Admittedly trying to work around the internet in Chinese took some time and they obviously use some tough filters, I am still waiting for the new pop up policeman to come up which warn people they are being watched. And Hotmail seems to be a no no, maybe tomorrow.

Initially thought the scenery over rated but once started walking higher up towards the next village the place does deserve its credits. The next “village” even smaller, no more than a few buildings but has a guesthouse recently opened. I asked about them about the possibility of food, they invited me to join them for a meal, really nice people. Then they pointed out a cable car which goes up the mountain so I got the girl to take me up there. At the top there are large caves to walk around and the various prayer flags and buddhist shrines. Amazingly for China we were the only 2 people there. Some great views at the top, only let down by the overcast conditions. But a worthwhile trip and a chance to start learning about the local matriarchal culture.

Have got behind on my blog updating, so will start now. The flight London to Bangkok harmless enough, only excitement was when the crew started rushing around and then the Captain announced they had an emergency. Not the best words to hear when you at 30000 feet or whatever. As it was it was only a request for a doctor onboard.

Shared a taxi from the airport to Pattaya with an Iraqui guy who made the mistake of telling our driver that he used to be a taxi driver in Baghdad. Our driver then took it on himself to try and impress. For someone reason the highway to Pattaya seems to be in a never ending state of rebuilding and now they have even given up with lanes. So it was a case of the wacky races as we sped and weaved at high speed across the four lanes plus extra ones as we needed. The “fun” was bought to en end by the police who proceeded to issue a 100 baht on the spot fine.

Arrived Pattaya and first priority was to apply for a visa, usefully it was no problem to get a 3 month visa, to be collected the following week.

So a week to spend in Thailands top fun city !. Low season so not quite as crazy as it can be and good weather however really best enjoyed with lots of money so next time…. The place still vibrant with its thousands of bars however the police were obviously going thru’ one of their periodic campdowns and so everything was very tame. The only noticeable difference was the main entertainment strip taken over by ladyboys. Possibly the Mayor had decided the girls weren’t pretty enough so it was time to bring in the “experts”. The newspapers were also complaining about an influx of British yobs who were now migrating from the Spanish Costas to Pattaya looking for cheap beer and fights. Not sure if there was a connection but a lady boy armed with 6 inch stilettoes probably a fair match for the hardest Brits.

So all in all a good week and the following Friday had my Chinese visa and decided to head for Kumming – slight change of plan there. I’m sure not the last.

The hardest part of any trip, waiting. But will be soon time to start thinking what to pack and deciding where to go after Thailand. At the moment flying to China and then to Guilin is the favoured option, I hear they do good pancakes there.