To celebrate the Chinese New Years (a.k.a. 10 days off of work), Max and I traveled to Yunnan, a province in the west of China that borders Vietnam, Tibet, Burma, and Laos. As a result, it has the highest number of ethnic groups of all Chinese provinces. The ethnic diversity is obvious in the people, the art, and the food. We flew into the city of Kunming, known as the "City of eternal spring." Although I had my head in between my knees sick from the turbulence, the rest of the people on the plane reacted to the bumps as if they were on a rollercoaster, cheering and ready 
to take on the next one. Coming from the cold and cloudy weather of Shanghai, the weather was a perfect start. When we arrived at the hostel, I quickly situated myself on the roof order to soak in the sun as much as possible, FINALLY! After Max recovered from his 24 hour stomach bug, which I caught a few days later, we traveled 8 hours North by bus to Lijiang. The "old city" of Lijiang attracts thousands of tourists every year and we were there during the height of the tourist season, the Chinese New Year. Inhabited mostly by the Naxi group, the city has "the best preserved ancient town in China." Mini canals line 
the streets and are still used both for irrigation and to dump trash of course, while the old cobble stone streets provide a perfect paths to wander around the town for hours. Along with the cobble stone streets, amazing views of the "Snow Mountain," and gorgeous jewelry, we saw Chinese after Chinese walking by in Cowboy hats they picked up at one of the many tourist shops. Young and old, short or tall, male or female, if you were an Asian tourist in Lijiang, you were wearing a cowboy hat. From Lijiang, we bussed up to the famous Tiger Leaping Gorge hike. An amazing 8 hour hike along a gorgeous gorge, 
known for its 20 switchbacks in the first hour of the trip, provided a much needed work out. Huffing up the 18th of the 20th switchback, we were passed by two girls in heels goin to the next town. Hiking boots, heels, hiking boots, heals, no big deal. We passed a few guesthouses along the way, which provide hikers with overnight stays and meals. We finished the hike in one day and spent the night at the end of the trail at Tina's hostel, which overlooked the gorge. We hiked with an Italian, Luca, and a Korean, Lee, and ate dinner with a German, an Italian, some Israelis, some Koreans, and another American, one of the 
best things about traveling. The next morning we traveled back to Lijiang by way of a narrow dirt road with a straight drop down to the river below. We had to get out of the vehicle at one point to run across a landslide to avoid the falling rocks while the bus rammed up a hill. The Korean held a huge rock next to his head for protection and needless to say we made it safe and sound. After Lijiang we bussed to Dali, which sits on a lake below a large mountain. Dali, inhabited by the Bai people, is the Berkeley of China on a much smaller scale. Cafe after cafe line the streets filled with Asians with dreds, chinese hipster artsy 
types, Westerners who came 30 years ago and are still living there doing odd jobs, and old toothless women coming up to you every five minutes asking, "Hey...you want to smoke the ganja...marijuana?" As it grows wild there I guess it is not that far fetched...guess it's a way to make a living! Beats the woman who had a random table set up on the Tiger hike selling snickers, water, and marijuana. We spent our days in Dali eating breakfast on the roof of our guesthouse, Mao Mao Cool, which was brand new and gorgeous complete with a garden and a dog. We read in cafes, tanned in the sun, and of course ate 
local specialities like yak meat, and goats cheese. Yunnan is the only cheese producing province in China...yummmm. Even though I wasn't ready for the trip to end, it felt really good to be back in Shanghai. I felt like I was coming home and was excited to get back to my apartment. I know I won't be here for ever but for now I feel its where I belong, which is good enough for me.
to take on the next one. Coming from the cold and cloudy weather of Shanghai, the weather was a perfect start. When we arrived at the hostel, I quickly situated myself on the roof order to soak in the sun as much as possible, FINALLY! After Max recovered from his 24 hour stomach bug, which I caught a few days later, we traveled 8 hours North by bus to Lijiang. The "old city" of Lijiang attracts thousands of tourists every year and we were there during the height of the tourist season, the Chinese New Year. Inhabited mostly by the Naxi group, the city has "the best preserved ancient town in China." Mini canals line 
the streets and are still used both for irrigation and to dump trash of course, while the old cobble stone streets provide a perfect paths to wander around the town for hours. Along with the cobble stone streets, amazing views of the "Snow Mountain," and gorgeous jewelry, we saw Chinese after Chinese walking by in Cowboy hats they picked up at one of the many tourist shops. Young and old, short or tall, male or female, if you were an Asian tourist in Lijiang, you were wearing a cowboy hat. From Lijiang, we bussed up to the famous Tiger Leaping Gorge hike. An amazing 8 hour hike along a gorgeous gorge, 
known for its 20 switchbacks in the first hour of the trip, provided a much needed work out. Huffing up the 18th of the 20th switchback, we were passed by two girls in heels goin to the next town. Hiking boots, heels, hiking boots, heals, no big deal. We passed a few guesthouses along the way, which provide hikers with overnight stays and meals. We finished the hike in one day and spent the night at the end of the trail at Tina's hostel, which overlooked the gorge. We hiked with an Italian, Luca, and a Korean, Lee, and ate dinner with a German, an Italian, some Israelis, some Koreans, and another American, one of the 
best things about traveling. The next morning we traveled back to Lijiang by way of a narrow dirt road with a straight drop down to the river below. We had to get out of the vehicle at one point to run across a landslide to avoid the falling rocks while the bus rammed up a hill. The Korean held a huge rock next to his head for protection and needless to say we made it safe and sound. After Lijiang we bussed to Dali, which sits on a lake below a large mountain. Dali, inhabited by the Bai people, is the Berkeley of China on a much smaller scale. Cafe after cafe line the streets filled with Asians with dreds, chinese hipster artsy 
types, Westerners who came 30 years ago and are still living there doing odd jobs, and old toothless women coming up to you every five minutes asking, "Hey...you want to smoke the ganja...marijuana?" As it grows wild there I guess it is not that far fetched...guess it's a way to make a living! Beats the woman who had a random table set up on the Tiger hike selling snickers, water, and marijuana. We spent our days in Dali eating breakfast on the roof of our guesthouse, Mao Mao Cool, which was brand new and gorgeous complete with a garden and a dog. We read in cafes, tanned in the sun, and of course ate 
local specialities like yak meat, and goats cheese. Yunnan is the only cheese producing province in China...yummmm. Even though I wasn't ready for the trip to end, it felt really good to be back in Shanghai. I felt like I was coming home and was excited to get back to my apartment. I know I won't be here for ever but for now I feel its where I belong, which is good enough for me. Photos:
1) Market outside of Dali selling Patik
2) Weighing veggies
3) Tiger Leaping gorge
4) Max
5) Market outside of Dali
6) Angry child on hike
For more photos follow the link: http://picasaweb.google.com/106634987443650716423/Yunnan?feat=directlink
For more photos follow the link: http://picasaweb.google.com/106634987443650716423/Yunnan?feat=directlink
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