Mike In China

Lijiang was amazing. This time our hotel was actually in the Old Town part of the city, which was really nice. The Old Town in Lijiang is a maze of cobble stone streets, small stone bridges and alleys with a zig-zagging stream system running along side most of the streets. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage site in which you still see many local (but usually older) women and men walking around in traditional costumes doing the same chores and jobs their families have done for generations. Unfortunately it is starting to get somewhat touristy and I heard that UNESCO has been threatening to take away the World Heritage status so hopefully the commercialism will halt and even degrees. After dropping off our bags in our hotel we walked around the tangled streets while making our way to the Black Dragon Spring which is a spring fed lake just outside the Old Town. The water was crystal clear and there was a great view of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. It was kind of cloudy the first day we went there and unfortunately didn't make it back on more clear days, but you could see what it looked like with no clouds on all the postcards! Also in the park was a history museum for the Naxi people, the major minority group in Lijiang. While doing all this we got to know our guide for the next couple of days. A very nice man, who always had plenty to say about everything and spoke very good English, but (and you knew there was a but coming) somehow, someone in his life decided to tell him that to be really good at English like a native speaker, you have to master all the sayings and idioms (I think I'm saying this right, unfortunately my English ability has plummeted in China due to the constant surrounding of horrible, horrible English). Knowing "Don't count your chickens before they hatch" and that I am the "Apple of my mother's eye" is great, and does show that you know a lot about the English language. However, using one of such phrases in every THIRD SENTENCE is English abuse and, quite frankly, really, ridiculously obnoxious after a day or so. At first I thought it was somewhat funny (as did he because he would follow each phrase with a hearty laugh). But it god old REAL fast. Other than that he was a great guide. He would even try to help prevent us from getting ripped off by locals trying to barter with us (of course he would ALWAYS refer to it as "highway robbery," another one of his favorite sayings). The second day in Lijiang we hopped in our car and were taken to the Yak Meadow which is at the foot of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Oh wait, I mean we were taken to the "cable car" that would take us to the Yak Meadow. Being China and everything, of course this "cable car" was more like a chair lift and the simple thought of such struck fear in to the heart of Mom. In fact, after seeing this day on the itinerary I'm pretty sure she mentioned the "cable car" at least three times a day. Well, judgement day had come. Mom summoned her inner strength and got on! Of course she had her eyes shut and a death grip on the railing the entire 15 minute ride, but she did it. I also was barely allowed to talk. At one point the children in the car in front of us were trying to make echos and Mom muttered, "well at least someone is having fun." I thought, "I would be too, IF YOU WEREN'T FREAKING OUT RIGHT NOW!?" We safely arrived at the top to find that once again it was a cloudy up by the mountain and we couldn't see it at all. We walked to a Buddhist temple and Mom (I spaced out and stopped listening) got a long history/question and answer session with our guide about Buddhism. The cable ride down was equally as frightful for Mom, which is unfortunate because the views were beautiful. During the drive back to Lijiang we got a flat tire and had to stop by a touristy bus area. It was actually a very beautiful place to stop and I got to ride a yak! By ride, I mean pay money, sit on and have my picture taken, but it was still cool. After lunch we saw the old residence of Rock Joseph, a biologist who lived in a small village outside of Lijiang for several years studying plants. That night we saw another show of local dances and music but it was nothing compared to the one we saw in Kunming (except for the fact that it was still filled with a ridiculously rude Chinese audience).