Yunnan

5 - 10 December 2014

(photos to be added)

Yunnan Day 1

3.00pm

We arrived at around 1.30pm at the Lijiang International airport which is as small as a shopping mall. It's around 12 degrees outside. It is quite amusing how the exit is just round the corner of the passport check and baggage collection point(^-^) It turned out that only the 4 of us booked with the travel agency so we had a private van and tour guide! (^з^)-☆Then we headed off to Dali, stopping at a mini convenience store and continued on a bumpy ride. Yes super bumpy as I'm writing this, like riding a horse + boat(no kidding) as the road is mainly gravel, rocks and sand(*_*) The scenery is beautiful though, with coniferous trees and autumn-coloured ones too! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

8.00pm

We then took a boat out to Erhai sea to watch birds catching fish. Along the journey to our hotel, the tour guide told us about the many names for men and women in each tribe, as well as the specialities of each province. The hotel room is super oriental btw, but serves gigantic portions of 8 dishes for 4 people(￣▽￣) Following that, we took a walk at the old city street in the freezing cold, it is cool how they have 2-seater and even 5-seater bicycles for rent(^o^)/

10.00pm

All in all, it's a meaningful day with great new experiences. Thank you Lord for allowing us to reach our destination safely and granting us a great day 1! ♪( ´▽｀)

Yunnan Day 2

12.00pm

It was freezing in the morning at 6 degrees. We headed off to the old city(古城) to shop. It started off at the old city gate, a remnant from centuries ago. The street was bustling with activities, shops selling many local delicacies as well as street performers. There were people dressed up as the monkey king and some deities. I took a photo with a llama/alpaca at a price of around S$2. It was really furry and adorable!(^-^)/ There were stalls selling seafood on satay sticks, we tried the prawns which were live before they were grilled. Yummy(´∀｀; )Then we went off to view the traditional tribe houses, watched a traditional performance, and drank 3 types of tea - bitter, sweet, and flavorful and memorable, symbolizing the different stages of life. We then had lunch, one of the dishes was crispy milk(pieces of milk fried till crispy).

7.00pm

After lunch, we took a cable car up the steep side of 苍山 to visit the 天龙洞. It is a splendid cave with magnificent structures on the inside. The oxygen level wasn't as high though and there were many junctures where we had to bend down low to avoid bumping into the low ceiling. After coming down to the foot of the mountain, we met a persistent fruit seller, who followed us all the way to the toilet. In the end, we bought 8 pears(-｡-; Then, we took a 2 hour ride back to Lijiang, stopping at another old town. The yellowish autumn leaves were beautiful( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ The little shops along the street were beautifully adorned with colourful flags and flowers. A little stream flowed past the entrances and the temperature was just right with a little wind. There were a few adorable puppies too! Dinner was great as I liked all the dishes.

9.00pm

All in all, it was another well-spent day(=´∀｀)

Yunnan Day 3

6.00pm

It was again freezing in the morning. We headed off to the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain after breakfast. We took a cable car up to around 3000m of the mountain, carrying oxygen tanks with us just in case. Then up there, we took mini electric cars to different scenic spots. The queuing was horrible though, people just pushed and squeezed(ｰ ｰ;) But other than that, the scenery was breathtaking. Lush, green forest trees as well as crystal clear blue waters. There were goats and cattle in the fields too! (^｡^) After that, we watched a tribal performance called Impression Lijiang. It was really great, with the 玉龙雪山 as the background. It showcased the different aspects of the culture in Lijiang, with their famous short-legged horses and spectacular drumming performance! (^◇^;) The music was brilliant too! We got a cap with the performance logo printed on it as a souvenir( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ Thereafter, we continued on our journey to the 玉水寒 park. We had fish and corn on sticks for a snack. The park had ponds with salmon in it. I took a photo sitting on a yak for a price of S$2(yes they have all these photo taking stuff everywhere) Our last stop was the Black Dragon Lake park. The park had tree-lined pavements surrounding the central lake. Finally, we had the famous Yunnan delicacy, 过桥米线 for dinner.

It was another brilliant day in Yunnan that I thoroughly enjoyed(besides the cold in the morning)(=ω)ﾉ

Yunnan Day 4

8.00pm

After breakfast, we headed off to Shangri-La, at an altitude of 3500m above sea level. We stopped first at a viewing gallery on the way to see the 长江第一湾. It was so cold that smoke escaped our mouths when we talked! We then continued on to a scenic spot, where we descended more than a thousand steps to view the rapid gushing waters of the Tiger Leaping Gorge. It was a splendid sight, with fast-flowing waters and a huge rock in the middle, where legend tells that a tiger leapt over the rock to the other side of the bank. Of course, after descending a thousand steps, we had to ascend a thousand steps back to the start(￣O￣;) It was super tiring as there was lesser oxygen going to our leg muscles at such a high altitude. After lunch, we took a 2 hour ride to our hotel, first stopping at a viewing spot to see the fields and houses from high above the mountains. The clouds were so near, like I could touch the sky! It was a picturesque view! ♪( ´▽｀)Then we arrived at 龟山公园 to view the temple and museum. I wasn't very interested though, as I'm a Christian(^-^)/ It was getting cold as evening arrived and that night we had dinner at the hotel. The walk to the outside restaurant was horrible, with the cold wind blowing at our faces that also seemed to sneak beneath our 5 layers of clothing to caress our skin with an icy touch(＞人＜;) Upon reaching the restaurant, we felt warmer as it was slightly heated.

10.00pm

The beds are heated! That was the terrific realization that night（≧∇≦）

Yunnan Day 5

9.00pm

Today after breakfast, we headed off to the Shika Snow Mountain. We rented jackets before heading to the station to take the cable car up to the first stop. We looked like 4 penguins wearing the long red jackets(^_^;) It was -4 degrees then(＞人＜;) After 20 minutes, we arrived at the first stop, and we saw snow! Little thin pieces that floated down slowly from the sky! There were black mountain pigs too. We then took another 25 minute cable car ride up to the second stop. We went out from the warm resting spot into the freezing cold. It was so cold I couldn't feel my toes and fingers!(￣O￣;)We ventured up the wooden viewing path. It was very foggy and windy. There was snow on the ground and railings and I felt snow with my bare hands for the first time!（＾∇＾）I continued on the path with my dad and aunt while my mom went back into the resting spot. We had to take small steps and use the oxygen canister at times because we were at an altitude of more than 4000m. Finally, we reached the peak of the mountain at 4500m, it was a great achievement!( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉLater after lunch, we headed back to Lijiang(again). It was a 4 hour ride and we all slept. This time we were staying at a 客栈 called the Old Castle Hotel. It is built on a hill around 3 stories high and we had to climb up the stone steps. The hotel consisted of a cluster of olden day houses, the ones you see in movies with the pagoda roofs and wooden support pillars. Everything was traditional, even having a garden with a stone bridge and pond, as well as a pavilion for drinking Chinese tea(^O^). At night, we went down to the old city street(they have one of these in each city) to shop. They are very energy saving so there were no street lights, all the light came from the shops along the street. We had dinner at one of the cozy little restaurants along the street. As we walked around to shop, we met a group of little children selling flowers, one little girl held on to my dad's leg and followed us around. Such a persistent flower seller(･･;) It is very cold in the hotel room though, and I almost can't wait to return to Singapore for its hot climate(￣▽￣)

Yunnan Day 6

8.00am

I woke up excited that I would be returning to Singapore.

2.00pm

After a cold breakfast(it was literally cold as they stopped heating up the food when we went there), we went to shop at the old city streets again, this time to see the view in the daylight hours. After walking a bit, we realized that we were in the midst of a major cleanup. The town's folk, many dressed really nicely and even wearing boots, were holding brooms and scrubbing the floor as well as pouring detergent all around. It turned out that they do this every morning, we just happened to be early enough to see it. We went about shopping for last-minute souvenirs while avoiding the soapy waters. We had a rainbow popsicle(^з^)-☆ I managed to get a stuffed donkey keychain carrying a backpack with the words 丽江 printed on it(=ﾟωﾟ)ﾉBefore heading to the airport, we bought McDonald's for our lunch.

3.00pm

Yunnan is nice, a place of culture, heritage, beautiful scenery and where you can wear 5 layers and still feel cold. But Singapore is still my home to me, there's no place I'd rather be ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ