After a short ride out of the city we were suddenly riding through small villages with markets and then more small villages along dirt roads. It was amazing to think that rural China was so close to the town centre. We stopped a couple of times for photos but honestly, we could have stopped about 20 times for photos but we wouldn't get anywhere. We certainly attracted attention from the locals and after greeting them with either Ni Hao or hello we were treated to smiles , waves and return greetings so it was a lovely experience.
First test was a short uphill climb on dirt which seemed easy as far as effort but by the time we reached the top I was so short of breath I couldn't even drink. Took me about 90 seconds to catch my breath. This was my first experience of the effects of the high altitude. In Lijiang we are at 2,400 metres above sea level. Our highest point in a couple of days will be at 3,360 metres I believe so certainly more challenging things are ahead of us.
We reached our destination around 11.30, a Buddhist monastary which was fantastic. Quite a few of the monks were walking around and one group which consisted of an older man and some young monks who ranged in age between about 8 & 20 had a great time with us using sign language. They asked me if I could speak Chinese and I actually understood them and said no and explained in my broken Chinese that I was Australian but my parents were Chinese, and they actually understood me so that made my day. Adam was a great source of amusement for them as they all compared their heights to his and then they played a game with him, seeing how high up a tree they could touch by jumping.
After visiting the monastary, we gathered for some yummy sandwiches with Chinese mushrooms, chicken schnitzel, goats cheese and salad. It then off for our return journey where I had the distinction of being the first to come off his/her bike. I was so busy admiring the scenery and thinking of a photo that I didn't notice a big pile of gravel in the middle of the road and down I went. Ended up with some bad gravel cuts which took a while to stop bleeding but at least there are no sprains. To top it off I went down for a second time at an intersection when we suddenly stopped and couldn't get my cleats out quick enough, but no lasting injuries from that either. Hopefully I've now done my share of spills, but there are no guarantees as I know we have much more challenging rides ahead. Part of the problem I think is that my bike is a bit too big for me so it makes it more difficult for me to stop suddenly. I may see if I can get it changed.
On arrival back we were able to have a hot shower as this morning we could only get cold ones so that was nice. As Adam and I left the hotel we ran into our new Chinese helpers who walked with us to the old town. Cathy also helped me buy a SIM card (120 RMB). I then asked them if they could take us to a good restaurant and they joined us for a great meal at a Sichuan Restaurant which significantly was out of the old town. The bill came to a grand total of 140 RMB ($AUS32 ) for 9 people, needless to say, the six of us on the challenge insisted on paying and we had the tradtional Chinese situation of arguing over who was to pay but we won out this time.
The 6 of us were planning to then head over to the Naxi Ancient music concert but Adam decided against it when Cathy said it was very boring. The two youngest members, Phillippa and Rowena came with me, Barbara and Sue to the concert which ran for one and a half hours. The two young girls left after an hour but the older members all stayed on. It was actually quite enjoyable and interesting. The members of the orchestra were dressed in tradtional costumes and played original instruments that were used when the music was composed. There was an introduction of each piece in Mandarin and English which was very interesting. There were also a few solo performances, one man sang a very amusing opera piece and another man played a banjo type instrument and the song sounded like old Mississippi blues music (Chinese blues?)
After the concert we decided to walk up the hill in town to have a hot drink and have a look at the night view of the town which was very beautiful. So a pleasant ending to an eventful day.
We reached our destination around 11.30, a Buddhist monastary which was fantastic. Quite a few of the monks were walking around and one group which consisted of an older man and some young monks who ranged in age between about 8 & 20 had a great time with us using sign language. They asked me if I could speak Chinese and I actually understood them and said no and explained in my broken Chinese that I was Australian but my parents were Chinese, and they actually understood me so that made my day. Adam was a great source of amusement for them as they all compared their heights to his and then they played a game with him, seeing how high up a tree they could touch by jumping.After visiting the monastary, we gathered for some yummy sandwiches with Chinese mushrooms, chicken schnitzel, goats cheese and salad. It then off for our return journey where I had the distinction of being the first to come off his/her bike. I was so busy admiring the scenery and thinking of a photo that I didn't notice a big pile of gravel in the middle of the road and down I went. Ended up with some bad gravel cuts which took a while to stop bleeding but at least there are no sprains. To top it off I went down for a second time at an intersection when we suddenly stopped and couldn't get my cleats out quick enough, but no lasting injuries from that either. Hopefully I've now done my share of spills, but there are no guarantees as I know we have much more challenging rides ahead. Part of the problem I think is that my bike is a bit too big for me so it makes it more difficult for me to stop suddenly. I may see if I can get it changed.
On arrival back we were able to have a hot shower as this morning we could only get cold ones so that was nice. As Adam and I left the hotel we ran into our new Chinese helpers who walked with us to the old town. Cathy also helped me buy a SIM card (120 RMB). I then asked them if they could take us to a good restaurant and they joined us for a great meal at a Sichuan Restaurant which significantly was out of the old town. The bill came to a grand total of 140 RMB ($AUS32 ) for 9 people, needless to say, the six of us on the challenge insisted on paying and we had the tradtional Chinese situation of arguing over who was to pay but we won out this time.
The 6 of us were planning to then head over to the Naxi Ancient music concert but Adam decided against it when Cathy said it was very boring. The two youngest members, Phillippa and Rowena came with me, Barbara and Sue to the concert which ran for one and a half hours. The two young girls left after an hour but the older members all stayed on. It was actually quite enjoyable and interesting. The members of the orchestra were dressed in tradtional costumes and played original instruments that were used when the music was composed. There was an introduction of each piece in Mandarin and English which was very interesting. There were also a few solo performances, one man sang a very amusing opera piece and another man played a banjo type instrument and the song sounded like old Mississippi blues music (Chinese blues?)
After the concert we decided to walk up the hill in town to have a hot drink and have a look at the night view of the town which was very beautiful. So a pleasant ending to an eventful day.
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