Lijiang: A tourist town in ethnic culture clothing

The bus from hell...nothing more to say.
see all photos »

To be fair, I know the title of this entry may seem harsh, and I was only in Lijiang for a night and a morning. Thus, perhaps my assessment wasn't accurate. But talking to other travelers, and seeing Lijiang for myself, I can fairly say that the town is certainly dressed up for tourists. People are everywhere trying to sell things, and almost every restaurant had "ethnic dancing." Nevertheless, it was a fun town to visit.

My view of Lijiang may have also been tinted by the bus ride there. Knowing that I often get motion sickness, I made sure to take pills ahead of time. Little did I know that not even pills would make this ride bearable. We piled onto the bus, and many of the tourists shoved and pushed to be the first ones on. Ally and I found two seats together in the very back, and since one was by a window, I assumed that I wouldn't get sick. I assumed EXTREMELY incorrectly. The roads from Dali to Lijiang were clearly not new, and I don't think we once hit a smooth patch of road. Furthermore, the path was windy and curvy as we ascended into the mountains. On top of the bumps and the windy roads, the bus was also driven by a Chinese driver. Chinese drivers are much more concerned with getting things done quickly and efficiently, and much less concerned with the safety of the passengers, let alone their comfort. Thus, while I was clutching my poor stomach, I was also slightly fearing for my life as we heedlessly flew around curves in the road.

had read in travelers books that Lijiang was dressed up for tourists...Nevertheless, the town was clearly charming and fun.

Lijiang hotpot (huoguo)
see all photos »

We sat behind our friends from the train, who obviously were on the same path we were. Again, the elderly man tried to talk to us, but thankfully about an hour into the trip he understood that I didn't want to translate (perhaps it was the fact that I was laying on Ally's lap, or it might have been my slightly green complexion). The trip, which should have taken 3 hours (with how the driver drove, I would have assumed 2 and a half) took more than four hours. I thought I had reached the pinnacle of discomfort when a man behind me ran to the front of the bus, and the bus driver (still moving quite quickly) opened the door to allow the man to throw up. At this point I thought I had hit the pinnacle of fear, and I began to panic. Furthermore, the bumpiness of the trip really made me have to go to the bathroom. Luckily, soon after, we stopped, and I felt a little bit better, even though the bathrooms were some of the worst I had seen on the trip. I had to pay 1RMB to enter, and when I got in, it 4 open stalls with walls only about 2 feet high on each side. The "toilet" consisted of 2 ledges with an ally way in the middle filled with other people's discards. I managed, however, with my breath held, and once I got back on the bus I put on my headphones to distract myself, which led to an English lesson for Ally using American songs.

Our small Naxi guesthouse room: two beds and an attatched bathroom. Quite cozy and comfortable for 35 RMB.
see all photos »

Once we arrived in Lijiang, our Chinese friends wanted to first find a hotel, and then find something to eat. We found a small Naxi guest house with four rooms with bathrooms attached. I always became nervous whenever they offered places to eat or stay, or activities, because if I couldn't afford it I felt bad about saying no. The place we found, however, was 35 RMB a night combined for a twin room with a bathroom. It wasn't heated, but it turned out to be the best hotel (and the only sitting toilet) we had the whole trip.

Little old ladies dancing in the street, which apparantly they do every morning. We saw this in many villages, and according to the locals, it is a good way for the little ladies to excersize.
see all photos »

After we found our guest house, my appetite had returned a little bit, and we decided to find a place to eat. I had eaten hot pot in Shanghai, and very much enjoyed it, so I asked if we could eat hot pot again. We passed many places with grilled pigs on skewers, stands of chou doufu, or stinky tofu (which as promised smells horrible), and a lot of noodle restaurants. Finally we found a place with hot pot for four for only 50 RMB, and we decided to stay there.

While we were eating dinner, there was a program going on with traditional dances and singers singing modern mandarin songs. I recognized some of the songs, and started to sing along, but was careful not to be too obvious because I knew how much Chinese people liked to invite people on stage (especially foreigners) and I was much too tired to go on stage and sing.

Some Lijiang song and dance shows, usually in traditional costumes. The songs that were played were very generic, for wherever we went that had tourists, we always heard those songs.
see all photos »

The hot pot was not as good as the one in Shanghai, but that was because we didn't order anything but vegetables. The broth was filled with pork meat, which I ate some of, and the soup made my stomach filled better. Ally was obviously hungry, as she devoured the food. After we were all warm and satisfied, we went back to our guest house.

Before we left, our friends gave us a lecture on being safe and healthy. They gave us cold medicine in case we became sick (which I ended up using later on in the trip) and their phone numbers. They also told us that no matter how much money we had to spend, we needed to make sure we were warm in the Tiger Leaping Gorge and in Xianggelila. They then told us that friends look out for each other, which made me feel so wonderful. They bid us good night, and we went off to bed.

Ally and I had originally planned on waking up at 6:00 to catch an early bus, but we decided that we could sleep in a bit so we made sure we got enough sleep. We left the hotel around 8:30, and wandered the town a bit since I wanted a scarf before we left. Ally bought some breakfast, and I didn't since I was still terrified about getting on a bus due to my experience the night before. Still, we spent about half an hour looking around the town in the daylight. In the center of town there were little old ladies dancing in costume, which was really adorable. After walking around, we hopped on the bus.

I had read in travelers books that Lijiang was dressed up for tourists, and I could kind of understand why. Other than the guest house, the food was much more expensive, and the buildings had clearly been renovated to look traditional, but new. There were dance shows everywhere, and most of the waitresses were in costume. At the center of town, there were horses that you could sit on just to take pictures. Nevertheless, the town was clearly charming and fun. Even though we didn't get to spend a lot of time there, I was glad I got to see it.