My trip to Lijiang Yunnan (section one)Now Ive been back to Guangzhou for 3 days already, but all the memories of the trip are fresh in my mind as if I never ever leave that place I belong to. I wish I would not go back to Guangzhou. Every time I close my eyes, all the things just swept over me.
I made up my mind just two days before I set off. Id been longing to go to Yunan for a long time, but Id never made any decision before. The night before I flew, a lot of friends telephone me, "Are you crazy, you want to go there alone and by yourself! Cancel the flight or join a travel agency. You know how dangerous for a girl to go to Yunan alone. I tell you, you would not even find a room for you in this high travel rush....." , With the air ticket to Kumming in hand, with my simple belongings packed, with a tentative schedule/information, I was determined to go, regardless a little fearness I felt from the bottom of my heart. I remember a saying goes, " Its better to be a lion for a day that a sheep all your life."
Just before I landed at Kumming, I met two people sitting behind my in the airplane. The couple is from Guangzhou and they wanted to go to Lijiang. I was very excited and said we could be travel mates. And during the following three days, we were travelling together and good companies.
We took a shuttle bus from Kumming to Lijiang. 9 hours ride. Maybe the shuttle bus was quite comfortable, maybe I have a strong desire to the destination, I didnt feel tired in the long ride. The bus stopped by Dali and then continued to Lijiang. I noticed that two out of three people dropped by Dali then I knew my schedule was right because normally people would go to Dali and then Lijiang, and to avoid the travel rush, wed better go to Lijiang first. On the bus, we met a guy from Jiangxi province, a saleman of eletronic communication appliance, who was on the bussiness trip to Lijiang.He also became one of my travel mates in the following two days.
By the time we arrived at Lijiang Old town, it was 10 oclock in the evening. Wed ordered two rooms in Wang Gu Lou inn and they sent a guy to lead us there. Walking along a laneway litted by red lanterns and layed by stone, I was amazed to see that this old town with many old wooden buildings was very crouded, just like a beautiful lady in her fussy make-up in the evening. Dropping down our luggages, we went to Mixi Lane, a most popular place for drinks, coffee and bars. I was very supprised to find that in these old wooden houses, you can find things from difference countries, attractive Menus and slogans in English, Japanese and Korean,wrote in wooden board outside the house, neon lights and red lanterns dotted side by side the house, and most updated pop foreign music was greeting us! All these bars and restaurants are along the small stream, and a lot of people sitting outside the house along the stream beneath the pillows, drinking and chatting.What a culture mixing! Cherry Blossom Bar is most famous one. Like the other bars, we found that special wood carving, photos of guests, special wooden furnitures, every details are arts indeed! In one of the small corner under the stars, I also found a PC that can logon internet. We sat down for drinks. And I said to myself, its place worth staying and living.
Going back to the inn we stayed, I spent some time to watch this inn in the moon lights. The house has two wooden buildings and one wall. Each building has two stayers. There is also a small but very comfortable lobby for coffee and drinks in the second floor and a very cosy frontyard. In the lobby, wooden tables and cane chairs covered by traditional local cloth, some carnations in the jars and gallipots. What I like most is the long porch in the second floor. Sitting in the cane chairs in the porch, you can have bird eye view of the whole old town. How can I decript the view I saw, a full moon on the above the old town, every house was sitting beneath, quite and tranquil. From time to time, I could hear some hastling and bastling coming from Mixi lane. I would never forget such a beautiful night.
I waked up at eight the next morning.Three of us were walking around the Square street. When I dressed up in the Miao customs I could not even recognize myself! According to Miao minonitys customs, girls will dress up during the grant dates, wedding and other celemonies. The customs is dececrated by a lot of silver and small bells, each pace I made, it made "dingling dingling" sound. And of course, the customs is very heavy, especially the silver decerations on the head. What amused me most is that when I stood by the Sifang Square, a group of old ladies (tourists) passed by and asked me if they could take pictures with me. They even thought that I was a model and asked me if I would charge them money! Keep an elegant poste and a standard smile, I stood there and was taken a lot of pictures with the old ladies! My partner even laughted that we should set up a board beside me, saying 5 yuan for one photo.