At Tina's Guesthouse some of group decided to hike down to the water to see where the "tiger leaped the gorge". It was going to be a very difficult hike down and up with ladders! The competitive voice in me wanted to go and conquer. However, I opted to stay and take in the view with others who opted out of the crazy hike down and back up. My 2 other travel companions also decided not to go. We ended up catching a van back to the trail head. This wasn't so easy.
The guesthouse offered a ride but at a very high price. In order to make it reasonable we needed at least another person to share the cost. We waited a while before we found this guy from Poland. The four of us took the hour van ride down some pretty rough road. The road had obviously been destroyed by landslides and falling rock. I must say it was a little nerve racking. A truck had gotten stuck in one of the potholes. At one point our driver had to get out and move rocks so that we could pass. Needless to say we were all happy when we arrived back in Quiatou!
Again, our arrival to Quiatou was marked by bombarding taxi/van hawkers. Without Nick, our Chinese companion, we never would have considered a ride to Lijiang via anything but a city bus. Nick bartered our ride back to Lijiang with a local woman. She waited for us to grab lunch before we boarded her van. However, our ride wasn't as it seemed. We all boarded the van and were wondering why she wasn't getting our journey started. She was waiting for other people to join us. What? This wasn't what we bargained for. We got out of the van. Nick told her that we'd take a bus or her van, whatever was ready to leave first. A few minutes after we exited her van she was ready to leave with two other passengers. We thought we were well on our way.
About 5 minutes into the ride we were stopped by a police blockade. That is never a good sign, right? The driver spoke to the officer for a short time and then pulled the van over to a side street. She pulled up over to another van and driver. We were told to get out of her van and into the other drivers van. Nick explained that our driver had been fined last week for driving into the Lijiang region. She didn't have the right permit to take us to where we wanted to go. She was fined almost 700 dollars! She wasn't about to get fined again. So now she must be getting people to take her van and selling our rides to another van driver waiting down the road. Smart woman!
Having Nick with us made me feel at ease. It could have been a very stressful experience. But knowing exactly what was happening made us all feel safe. We got into this other driver's van and were off again. It didn't take us long to realize we were not on the main highway. It wasn't the same road we took on the way to Quiatou! The road was heading the right direction, thankfully, but it would take quite a bit longer.
At one point we stopped. The driver told us he had to call his family to bring more gas. We waited (the video above). No gas came. However, a man joined us. I have no idea if the driver ever was waiting for gas in the first place. We made our destination with no problem. I remember thinking I had a choice...get stressed out or just relax and enjoy environment and the ride. There was nothing I could do and I knew I was in good hands with our friend Nick. The ride back to Lijiang ended up being wonderful. No, it wasn't the main highway. Yes, it took us an hour longer to get there. Yes, we stopped more to pick up more passengers. But we got to see villages and people we never could have seen by the main road. I felt like I was in China! The villages and fields reminded me of the bus ride from Uganda to Rwanda. There were local people working the fields, working in the shops and just hanging out near the road. We passed by mud houses much like we saw in Uganda and Rwanda. The major difference was the tiled roof.
We met a most interesting Naxi man who joined our van. He was candid about his thoughts on American politics. He shared some Chinese peaches with us. He especially enjoyed talking with Dian because she is Australian. The Australian prime minster is a friend of China--he is fluent in Chinese. This Naxi man is a villager but it was clear to all of us that he was knowledgeable of world affairs. He shared that next year he plans to move away from his village. There is a dam project rumored to start sometime this year in the Tiger Leaping Gorge area. I'd heard that it was going to happen and that it wasn't going to. Yet, this man confirmed that it is a "go". It will cause many local people to lose their homes. However, it seems the people will be given support in making their moves. I'd love to say more but will restrain myself. But you can ask me about it in person.
We arrived to Lijiang and our driver wanted to drop us off in an area non of us were familiar with. Nick told him he had to take us to our Guesthouse or he wouldn't pay him. The driver looked frustrated but willing. Thanks again to NICK!! We were dropped of right near the Guesthouse. Our trip completed. What an adventure we had.
After cleaning up Nick took Dian and I to this massage center. We each received a 2 hour massage. We were put in this room with four massage "beds". There was a TV. We were served juice and watermelon while the therapists gave us a foot massage. As they worked we watched a documentary on the Shinchaun earthquake. The images and information about the earthquake about brought Dian and I to tears. What an odd experience...a massage while watching a powerfully sad documentary. It definitely gave us a better idea of the devastation in the earthquake zone. The massages were wonderful despite the documentary.
We ended a wonderful day with traditional Naxi food. I ate Yak meat.
Today has been rest day for me (and a computer day). Tomorrow I am on my way to the northern part of Yunnan. I'm going to two others (one is a Chinese girl who speaks English!). We've hired a car and will leave for a 6 hour drive tomorrow. This Lugo lake area is also supposed to be beautiful!
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