Left the Camellia Hotel this morning right on time after being berated by our tour leader Kim for being tardy the day before. We're all good children now. Our flight to Lijiang was delayed slightly but I was more worried about the name of the airline, "Lucky Airlines". I was hoping that didn't mean we would be lucky to get there. We flew over clouds just about the whole way so were pleasantly surprised on landing to be greeted by clearing skies and what turned out to be a beautiful day. Our accommodation is in a beautiful old building of the typical hutong style with a central courtyard and is actually connected with a more modern Hotel building next door, and we are all very happy to be where we are, rooms are relatively small but clean and comfortable and a great atmosphere.
After checking into our rooms Kim took us to a very interesting outdoor noodle place which turned out to be very nice. She then took us on a quick orientation tour of the old town and we had the whole afternoon to explore until 6.45pm for our dinner. Adam and I ended up walking all day buying a few things and generally admiring the whole ambience of Lijiang which is home to an ethnic minority group, the Naxi. In the traditional Naxi society, Women are the head of the household rather the men so I guess it isn't really that disimilar to our society :).
The town is very geared to tourism with hundreds of shops selling local handicrafts and other goods. In some ways it is like a big market but it is still very charming because of its people, architecture, location and canals which run through the town. During our walk we saw an interesting doorway and when we walked up the stairs to investigate what it was, a young girl approached us and asked if she could help us. We thought we were going to be kicked out of a private house as she told us it was her
house but invited us in and said we could see the whole town from the top part of the property which consisted of a few buildingas going up a hill. It turned out to be a guesthouse and I think she was hoping we would move from our current hotel as she asked us lots of questions about where we were from and how long we were staying. I was then thinking there must be catch in all this and she did lead us back down her jewellery store where I ended up buying a silver necklace for Kristen (my daughter) as the prices were very good and she had been so nice to us I couldn't resist, so her strategy works very well.
Dinner was at a very nice place called the Shi Mo Fang Tea House within the old town. Kim gave us the run-down of what is to happen tomorrow which is our first cycle day so it will be quite exciting to finally get on the bikes, but all this walking over the last two days is giving me aching muscles already. I then walked around the old town with Barbara, Sandy and Leesa who are all from the South Coast of NSW. The old town at night is probably even more entrancing and atmospheric, at least until you get to the main canal which is lined with cafes, bars and restaurants all having their own musical entertainment, which all blends together as you walk pass them all, disco, hip-hop, jazz, folk all blending into one wall of sound as you walk through.
So its now with some excitement that we prepare for our first day cycling.
After checking into our rooms Kim took us to a very interesting outdoor noodle place which turned out to be very nice. She then took us on a quick orientation tour of the old town and we had the whole afternoon to explore until 6.45pm for our dinner. Adam and I ended up walking all day buying a few things and generally admiring the whole ambience of Lijiang which is home to an ethnic minority group, the Naxi. In the traditional Naxi society, Women are the head of the household rather the men so I guess it isn't really that disimilar to our society :).
The town is very geared to tourism with hundreds of shops selling local handicrafts and other goods. In some ways it is like a big market but it is still very charming because of its people, architecture, location and canals which run through the town. During our walk we saw an interesting doorway and when we walked up the stairs to investigate what it was, a young girl approached us and asked if she could help us. We thought we were going to be kicked out of a private house as she told us it was her
house but invited us in and said we could see the whole town from the top part of the property which consisted of a few buildingas going up a hill. It turned out to be a guesthouse and I think she was hoping we would move from our current hotel as she asked us lots of questions about where we were from and how long we were staying. I was then thinking there must be catch in all this and she did lead us back down her jewellery store where I ended up buying a silver necklace for Kristen (my daughter) as the prices were very good and she had been so nice to us I couldn't resist, so her strategy works very well.Dinner was at a very nice place called the Shi Mo Fang Tea House within the old town. Kim gave us the run-down of what is to happen tomorrow which is our first cycle day so it will be quite exciting to finally get on the bikes, but all this walking over the last two days is giving me aching muscles already. I then walked around the old town with Barbara, Sandy and Leesa who are all from the South Coast of NSW. The old town at night is probably even more entrancing and atmospheric, at least until you get to the main canal which is lined with cafes, bars and restaurants all having their own musical entertainment, which all blends together as you walk pass them all, disco, hip-hop, jazz, folk all blending into one wall of sound as you walk through.
So its now with some excitement that we prepare for our first day cycling.
2 comments:
Thanks for the necklace :) xo
There is more info about Lijiang and the places on the bike trip at www.travelpod.com/travel-blog/happysheep/shangri-la-la/tpod.html
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