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prrrrl

131 Blog Entries
9 Trips
80 Photos

Trips:

Liaoning, 2013
Beijing I, 2012
Yunnan, China
China 2009
Beijing, 2010 or Liaoning, 2013. They are appear to be mixed up!
Beijing 2011
Philippines!
Beijing 2012 II
Beijing 2015

Shorthand link:

http://blogabond.com/prrrrl




TLG III Or, the not so perfect day starts

Qiaotou, China

Day two in the gorge seems so long ago... Today is Thursday, Day two was Tuesday. The plan was to hike to the second guest House away, a 4.5 hour hike that we had all day to do. No rush. Noodle soup for breakfast [I've stopped ordering noodles here as they really are a northern specialty, the noodles down here are just packaged pasta - not the homemade yumminess that they serve in Beijing.] Now for the most challenging part of the hike: 28 Bends, two dozen plus four switch backs [I did not count to confirm] with significant elevation gain. They were not the most fun for me, mostly because I had brought a chest cold with me and the air in my inhalations, under extra pressure of high elevation and under the weight of a backpack, were not finding the membranes of my aveoli as usual. Cough, cough, hack...

I was a bit dismayed to find that when we had accomplished this infamously toughest portion of the trail we immediately descended in altitude. All that gain in elevation was for naught? The rest of the hike was much easier. We made the first guest House [Tea Horse GH] hoping to stop for the hour Thai massage. It was closed! They served us complementary tea and we pressed on.

permalink written by  prrrrl on March 8, 2012 from Qiaotou, China
from the travel blog: Yunnan, China
tagged Tea, Cold, Massage, Elevation, Congestion, Cough, Bends and 28
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TLG IV Or, the not so perfect day gets worse

Qiaotou, China

We had a small lunch of Naxi Ba Ba [the local flat bread] and deep fried bananas. Had we known what was coming we would have loaded up some energy. But we thought we just had 1.5 hours to go to Halfway GuestHouse. We did. But the 1/2 Way had a school group and no en suite rooms. No heating pads on the beds, either. Noisy & cold was not appealing. The beds sans heat pads were in a room with breezy gaps in the windows. The non en suite toilets were down the hall, down the concrete steps and around the corner from the sinks. They were open air squatty potties with awesome views of the moutains [and completely private unless the Mountain goats have binoculars]. Pretty to see but cold to use on a windy Mountain night. We decided to press on 1.5 kilometer to th next guestHouse. We're tired but what's 15 more minutes?

Five Fingers GuestHouse was up - yes, UP off the trail. Stiff legs, just one more hill. We climb to the GH and it looks abandoned. We call out for humans. One responds. Can we have a room? Nope, too busy. To busy with what? Not a single guest there. Not a single remodeling project, though needed, in process. Not a single sound of industry anywhere. I tell her I'm old [I'm past the age of mandatory retirement in China] & sick [cough, cough, hack...]. She refuses to House us.

Go back 15 minutes to the noisy cold place?

permalink written by  prrrrl on March 8, 2012 from Qiaotou, China
from the travel blog: Yunnan, China
tagged Private, Cold, Old, GuestHouse, Retirement, Cough, NaxiBaBa and Bananas
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TLG V Or, what a kick!

Qiaotou, China

Corey [my new buddy & temporary travelmate] prefers to press on, on TWO MORE HOURS, to the last guest House, Tina's. I'm tired, I'm sick. I can do it! It's mostly down hill which is a killer on my knees. I don't remember if we made in 'time' or not. We crossed a Waterfall and were immediately met by a donkey. No, make that two, no, thre... Six? Several had bridles. All, I hoped, were not kickers as there was no space to get out of their way. We were up against The Rock wall, they were next to the drop off. I used my Uyghur, 'Chuh,' hoping they are multi-lingual. They peacefull marched in single file across the wettened by Waterfall trail. We were not kicked. Downward to Tina's!

permalink written by  prrrrl on March 8, 2012 from Qiaotou, China
from the travel blog: Yunnan, China
tagged Donkey, Downhill, Waterfall, Trail, Chuh, Uyghur and DropOff
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TLG VI Or, it's the pictures that count

Qiaotou, China

It gets windy. Water drops occassionally from the sky. We press ever downward.

Tina's is bland but has nice views from the restaurant. It's hard not to have nice views in this gorge so that's not saying much. We're REALLY tired. Maybe Corey not so much as he is half my age - if I shave a few years off mine. [Youngins!] Eat & crash. What was suppose to be only a mildly challenging day has turned into a near disaster.

But I've got great pictures!

permalink written by  prrrrl on March 8, 2012 from Qiaotou, China
from the travel blog: Yunnan, China
tagged Rain, Pictures, Wind, Disaster, Tired and Views
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TLG VII Or, Hot Pot, ya'll??

Qiaotou, China

Southern Hot Pot! Why order off the menu when the staff is eating wonderfully warm hot pot one table over. We only get spicy dipping sauce, not the sesame and/or spicy they offer in Beijing, the home of hot pot. [I'm guessing on that one but it is a Northern dish.] Veggies and organs are washed & chopped and in tubs on one of the restaurant tables, of these we can help ourselves. We are given the choice of Chicken, bones in, or beef for the stock. No lamb? We are definitely not in the North! The green veggies are numerous but the scallios disappear before I can grab a plateful. There are glass noodles, too - a favorite of mine. We eat till stuffed. Aaaaahhhh....

Here, rice is rarely served in individual bowls. A wooden bucket, or large bowl of rice is placed on the table for all to share family style. I like it.

permalink written by  prrrrl on March 8, 2012 from Qiaotou, China
from the travel blog: Yunnan, China
tagged Beijing, HotPot, North, FamilyStyle, Organs, Veggies and Scallions
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TLG VIII Or, big savings!

Qiaotou, China

Time to go to Tiger Leaping Rock. Down! We bypass the sky ladder and opt for the safe way down. It is morning and the trail is empty. Most hilkers come from Halfway Guesthouse in the morning and add this bit on in the afternoon before hopping the bus to Lijiang or Shangri La. Tuesday totally shattered by 'take it nice & slow' approach to the trek but today should be better. It is windy and cloudy but no rain.

We see people at the bottom already! They are on the large, jutting rock on the left. We explore The Rocks on the right first. A mightly powerful River through the gorge! The group on the large rock leave. We make our way over. A woman sits by the path up The Rock. She wants 10rmb from us. I had asked in advance where exactly we were suppose to pay as locals like to set up signs and road blocks and illegally collect 'passage fees.' If the information I gathered was correct, we do not have to pay her. I tell her so and walk right past her. Corey is too polite. She grabs her cell phone & calls. For back up? For police? For muscle? We'll see. I enjoy the views. Corey pays the fee. I over hear her give a sigh of resignation. Whomever she called did not make her emboldened to confront me. After a bit I leave. She does not follow; back up, police and muscle do not arrive.

I saved myself $1.61.

permalink written by  prrrrl on March 8, 2012 from Qiaotou, China
from the travel blog: Yunnan, China
tagged Police, Trek, Muscle, Powerful, Down, PassageFee and Polite
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TLG IX Or, no could do

Qiaotou, China

Sky ladder! A scary ladder that is about 3 stories high at an angle of 89 degrees, or almost vertical. The rungs are a reach even for me and my long legs. How does the typical Chinese do it? At least the treads are deep. Now I can say I did it.

Back at Tina's level we decide to have an easy horse back riding afternoon. The trail we want to do is called the Bamboo Forest. It is suppose to be a highlight of the Tiger Leaping Gorge experience. First we are told 'no can do' because of the Bridges & wind - not safe for horses. We end up at a very pleasant looking Tibet Guesthouse for lunch. We inquire about horses again. Sure, they can take you through the Bamboo Forest & back to Tina's. Perfect!

No could do. The Bridges & wind really didn't allow. We ended up going through Walnut Garden to a very nice look-out high above the gorge. Sure wish I had seen walnut cakes on one of the menus.

permalink written by  prrrrl on March 8, 2012 from Qiaotou, China
from the travel blog: Yunnan, China
tagged High, Horse, Walnut, NoCanDo, SkyLadder and BambooForest
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Five on a bus

Lijiang, China

Palled [pal-ed?] up with a gang of other solo travelers to bus to Bai Xia, rent bikes and explore the villages & remote temples. Once in Bai Xia, a quaint little village with many shops selling Chinese handicrafts and antiques [making me feel like I was in Beijing at the Dirt Market] we hunted for a bike rental. Despite assurances back in Lijiang that there were such establishments, there were no bikes for let to be found. Now what? We had endured standing room only on a very tightly backed bus for a trip several villages outside Lijiang. Hike? Just one sight was 8 kilometers out so we would only have time to see one thing. Rent a mini [as in smart car size] van for half the day seemed the best solution. We tried. The hostess at a cafe tried. No mini vans for hire. Now what? We decided to take the bus to the last stop and walk 2 kilometers to a 'sight'; I'm not sure if it was going to a temple or village. But, travel such as we do rarely goes entirely as planned: we met a senior citizen on the bus that was Naxi minority from Lijiang but currently living in the US. He showed us his Missouri Drivers License. He told us that he was going to see a temple with great views. We tagged along with him. He hardly spoke any English but all but one of our five solos turned group could speak Chinese to varying degrees. The bonus was he sort of knew where he was going and could speak the local Naxi when directions were needed. The first temple was nice, free to enter, small and gave me several good pictures. The second involved slogging up a hill & through some woods only to find out there was an exorbitant entrance fee of $17. We took pictures of the outside with its Tibet style banners and hiked on to a near by lake. Only the lake was not so near by. A second[third] attempt to hire a vehicle also proved futile and we walked back to the bus stop. This time we actually got seats. Well, three of us did. Back to Lijiang for dinner. Not the most effective touring day but pleasant none the less.

permalink written by  prrrrl on March 4, 2012 from Lijiang, China
from the travel blog: Yunnan, China
tagged Bus, Tibet, Rent, Bikes, Fee, Minivan, Pals and BaiXia
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Rat in maze test 3: FAIL!

Lijiang, China

My routine is to get up early to wander the maze, getting pictures before the crowds descend. I stop for breakfast early in my wanderings and stop for lunch at the end. Breakfast - check! Wandering - check! Lunch - no check. Where are the restaurants?? Not find a restaurant in China? Weird! I finally stop a smiling gentleman and ask him. I also tell him I prefer cheap, having heard earlier that the restaurants in this World Heritage Site are pricey. He suggests some snack eateries and even walks me to the street as that's the direction he's headed any. Perfect! I enjoy a nice lunch in a local eatery, not a tourist trap. Now to find my way back to my hostel. I think I'm south of the Old Town and my temporary abode is on the east side. Just walk northeast, right? I walked & walked and was eventually totally outside the Old Town. Oops! I can either back track or go around this huge athletic Field. I go around hoping I can reenter Old Town on the other side. Despite one dead end alley that I had retrace my way out of, it worked, obviously, as i'm here to type my Story. But I put many kilometers on my new hiking boots that day.

permalink written by  prrrrl on March 3, 2012 from Lijiang, China
from the travel blog: Yunnan, China
tagged Restaurant, Lunch, Cheap, Boots, Maze and Fail
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Quaint shopping mall

Shuhe, China

Shuhe is touted as the quieter Lijiang. I suppose it is but as I don't wander Lijiang's Old Town in the afternoon or evening I don't see the crowds that are so dense, passage is difficult. Shuhe is one of three remaining cities that dotted the Tea Horse Road [I think also called the southern Silk Road]. I was disappointed to find that it was a touristy open air shopping mall, buildings still lovely if they could be seen behind the signs, lights, banners and products. I suppose it's better than it being torn down in the quest for modernization.

permalink written by  prrrrl on March 3, 2012 from Shuhe, China
from the travel blog: Beijing, 2010 or Liaoning, 2013. They are appear to be mixed up!
tagged Shopping, Mall, Signs, Lijiang, SilkRoad and TeaHorseRoad
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