Sichuan 15/7 to 22/7
It's been really long since I last posted here. I have waiting for the photos to be developed and scanned. In the mean time, I had been deliberating between starting a new blog to record the finale trip, or to write it here, or to write it at my home blog.
To save the trouble of posting a new post for each day of the trip, and still maintain some sort of logical arrangement, I have seperated the whole finale trip into two parts, documenting the time I spent at each province. The first part records the starting of the trip at Sichuan, while the 2nd post will record the 2nd leg of the finale at Yunnan.
Here it goes:
Day #1 - 15.07.06 Saturday ChengduLodgings:
"The Loft"Travel companions:
Jo, Jeff n AristalJo and I flew in to Chengdu from Beijing. The plan was to meet up with Jeff, who took the 26 hour train from Beijing, and Aristal who arrived 2 days earlier, at "The Loft". Jeff actually reached the hostel first in the wee hours, but there were no available rooms and beds. So he dropped his stuff at the counter and went to the bus station to buy the bus tickets to 九寨沟 for us.
It was steaming hot in Chengdu!
Jo and I reached at about noon, and tried to check in. The hostel initially reserved non a/c beds for us, which were really unbearable. When Jo and I went in, the 2 chaps inside were stripped to their undies, and still perspiring. Felt back stabbed coz whoever answered my phonecall for reservation told me that the hostel has a/c. Thought about it for a while, and decided that if they could not spare us any a/c rooms, we will shift to the other hostel which I have also reserved (a sucker's move, a bane to all hostels).
Eventually, LaoCheeHong Jeff saved the day for all of us. He went and cheehong the counter staff with 龟鳞膏, and that got us a/c beds! Nvm that means some bugger got bumped off a/c beds ... hehe Felt like a true blue bastard. One of the staff (Louise) is quite good looking though. To paraphrase Jeff, 四川食物辣，四川女子更辣.
We went to 武侯祠 after settling our beds, and lunch was a fiery event. The weather was super super hot, and the food sold near 武侯祠 was super spicy.
At evening time, we went to see the Sichuan opera and 变脸 shows. We paid low price and we got shitty seats. It was also very hot, luckily got complementary paper fans. Came back to hostel to find Aristal back in Chengdu. Glad to see her again.
Ratings for "The Loft":
10/10 - Cheap and good.
Minus 10 -> if you get the non a/c rooms
Minus 1 -> super hot internet lounge
Minus 1 -> Lack of common space
Plus 1 -> for Louise
Day #2 - 16.07.06 Sunday 九寨沟Lodgings:
"??? hotel"Today was just a damn shag 12-hour bus ride. And we dio duah into a non a/c hotel for the same price we were offered at the place we originally booked. The hotel we originally booked said that we did not call back to confirm, so they released the space to other guests liaoz. Well, we are a bit pissed about the a/c being not part of the room package. Fortunately, 九寨沟 is still very cooling at night.
Walked about the area near our hotel at night. Basically nothing to do at night lah.
Day #3 - 17.07.06 Monday 九寨沟Lodgings:
"??? hotel 2"We started the day very early at 6am, and it ended at about 6pm. We checked out and hope to find better lodgings, somewhere else. We 'fleeced' the bag deposit counter at the 九寨沟's entrance and saved 10 Yuan. We squeezed 2 backpacks into a small locker and 'zao' just before it burst open.
We then entered 九寨沟 and negotiated for 'student price' for the entrance fees. Jeff, Jo and my PKU student pass has already expired, whereas Aristal's FDU's student pass des not have a expiry date ... darn. Our 'application' were initially denied, then I actually told the staff that our next sem's card is not ready yet ... So they relented and gave us a refund of 50 Yuan (abt 10 SGD).
So got off to tour 九寨沟 and it was stunningly beautiful. The weather was very cooling (almost freezing) and we saw smoke out of our breathe once again. We spent the whole day taking the internal shuttle up and down and walked on the roads whenever we were not caught and taking lots of photos at the same time.
Lunch was the killer. Heard of the 15 Yuan lunch box from a fellow hostellite at Chengdu, but never found it, until we had our killer lunch. We were forced to eat a 'VIP' buffet lunch that costed a princely 48 yuan. Not particularly exciting, not at all. Especially when we came out to see the 15 yuan lunch box laughing at us. Sian 1/2. In Chinese terms, 郁闷 1/2.
We looked for another hotel after exiting the fairy tale land. And the new place was slightly better. The standard lie applies; 1) Air con costs additional and 2) Hot water is provided, only at selected hours, and only revealed after u probe.
Day #4 - 18.07.06 Tuesday 黄龙Lodgings:
Hotel at 川主寺We left 九寨沟 in the morning to head towards 黄龙. Poor Jeff kenna puke from a fellow bus passenger and had to endure 'stepping' in the puke pool. His dear tripod was not spared either.
黄龙is very beautiful as well. In fact I liked it more than 九寨沟. Did a straw poll with the Jo Jeff and Aristal and I am the only guy who liked 黄龙 more.
Then I got this headache which I couldn't shake off. Must have been altitude sickness.
Our trip (in general, not just today) has been perforated by shitty meals. We refused to eat at stop-over eateries and ate the packed food we bought the day before (I like 妙芙 muffins the most!!!). And whenever we buay tahan and wanna eat at the 'convenience stalls', we always got tokked. It can cost up to 10 yuan for instant noodles or a choc bar, where it costs only 3 yuan elsewhere.
At 川主寺, we went to a few places and finally went into one restaurant that we thought it look cheap. And our instincts were awfully wrong. Poor Jeff got 'conned' when he ordered BBQ chicken wings. “中间那边leh?”. The 4 yuan 'wings' only had the winglet, the part of the wing we never eat.
Day #5 - 19.07.06 Wednesday On the BusLodgings:
"The Loft"We left 川主寺 at 7am, and expected to reach at 3-4pm. But we kenna stupid jam in the mountains, again! We eventually reached Chengdu only at 6pm. We still took the same bus predeparture activites; buying breakfast and lunch for the road. Usually it has my favourite 妙芙 muffins, 旺旺 and whatever bread we can find from local bakeries.
And on the bus, you can only sleep, look at other people sleep, and then alight heavy headed and groggy.
At Chengdu, we broke off for a while; Jeff went off to get his Tibet travel permit, I went to get bus tickets to go to Leshan, while Jo and Aristal went back to 'The Loft'.
We got worried for Jeff because he is the blur type, and it didn't help that his hp ran out of batteries. We also suspected that he got our hostel's address wrong and would not be able to make his way back to the hostel. But well, 傻人有傻福, he got it right after all!
Then we all went to eat 麻辣火锅. Shiok! But Jeff and Aristal only ate from the non-spicy half. Some how it wasn't as spicy as my first experience eating it. But the same thing always happens the next day; you get a upset tummy and a fiery anus!
Day #6 - 20.07.06 Thursday 乐山/峨眉山Lodgings:
"Teddy Bear Hostel"Travel companions:
JoToday we parted with Aristal, who gotta go back to Shanghai, and Jeff who bang-seh Jo and me for Louise, while being undecided about his plans. Anyway at that juncture, we don't know where he is going either.
So I went to 乐山 with Jo. 乐山 is a freaking big buddha statue with freaking many people... I cannot imagine how packed it might be during national holidays. It already took us 1 hour in the queue to get from the top to the bottom and back up to the top again. But then again, 乐山 took us a much shorter time than expected, and 峨眉山 was even nearer than we thought. So by 2pm already got our room at Teddy Bear.
Then at Teddy Bear, I got caught in a messy translation shit for an angmoh and a Sichuanese driver. It's really shitty when you are translating conflict of interests. And to make things sound polite to both sides, I always gotta lose something in translation on purpose. I bailed out when I forsee that things are already beyond me.
Ratings for "Teddy Bear Hotel":
9/10
Minus 1 -> lack of a/c. Trust Jo and me, freaking hot both in the day and at night.
Plus 1 -> Towels provided!
Plus 1 -> great cafe
Plus 1 -> great service
Day #7 - 21.07.06 Friday 峨眉山/成都Lodgings:
"The Loft"Travel companions:
JoWoke up at 0230 to catch the sunrise on top of 峨眉山. Damned shag already from the warm hotel room, and we were utterly shocked to see, through my groggy eyes, sooo many tiongs are already chionging to see the sun rise as well ... worsed still ... a lot of them are on tour groups ... jitao kee xiao liao.
Before we even reached the top, we had to
Queue up to get the bus tickets to go to 峨眉山.
Queue up to get 峨眉山's entrance tickets.
Queue up to get cable car tickets to get up to 峨眉山's summit.
Queue up to take the cable car.
Sooo many queues!!! Damn xian 就对了lah. Early early morning squeeze with soo many grouchy tiongs. Don't talk will die. Don't complain also will die. 不说话嘴巴会烂！
Jo and I ended up missing the sunrise, coz we were stil in the queue for the cable car. So pissed ... coz it was so expensive. Over rated and over crowded. We ended up leaving 峨眉山 without seeing much of the other stuff, coz already quite shagged from the early setting off ... We had lunch at Teddy Bear's and returned back to Chengdu.
Day #8 - 22.07.06 Saturday 昆明Lodgings:
"Camellia Hotel"Travel companions:
Jo, EstherFinally we got a chance to 自然醒 after soo many hectic days. We had our last lunch with Jeff at 'The Loft', and took photos with Louise ... what a dangerous girl to know and take photos with ... felt that if the photos 'leaked' I could be blackmailed or something like dat.
Our flight out of Chengdu to Kunming was delayed following cock ups after cock ups ... the poor airport staff was bombarded and abused by the ever impatient tiongs. I wanted to offer him some sort of encouragement but I was in some sort of hurry as well ... we were shuffled to different boarding gates, and I didn't want to cock up either.
And so, we finally met up at Esther around evening time. We checked in at Camellia, bought tickets to Dali for the next morning.
Yunnan 23/7 to 3/8
Day #9 - 23.07.06 Sunday 大理Lodgings:
"四季客栈"Travel companions:
Jo n EstherWe reached 大理 nearing noon time and we proceeded to the 古城 section where we stayed. 大理古城 is a big and nostalgic 'city'. It's a very ... relaxing and cooling place. It feels so comfy to walk around without sweating like crazy like we were in Chengdu.
After checking in, we popped over to the 三塔 but couldn't find the scene that I see in travel guides and postcards. Frankly speaking, I am a little dissappointed. The 'scene' that I am expecting to see has been 'closed to public' and I would have to go to an 'alternative which is also the same' that costs sooo much more. Luckily, we managed to pay student prices for admission.
Ratings for "四季客栈":
10/10 - Perfect!
Super ambience.
Pretty good location.
Standard rooms includes free buffet continental breakfast which is super good!
And we managed to 'obtain' soo many rolls of toilet papers that they lasted all the way till the second last day of the trip.
Day #10 - 24.07.06 Monday 大理We went to the 沙坪赶集, which was a weekly bazaar some what at the northern tip of the 洱海 (pun: went Shaping to shopping, hur hur). It was quite a true blue local market where there were more locals than foreigners, and after all, it's mainly a wet market selling fresh produce. I tried to barter the Malboro Lights I got from BL's bf for a smoke pipe and I failed.
It rained the whole afternoon. Should have spoiled the day but 大理 is just too cooool and relaxing for that. We ended up in a cafe and watched DVDs inside for the afternoon.
Today we came up with a acronym that could summarise our trip: BMW
B for Buddha
M for Mountain
W for Water
Day #11 - 25.07.06 Tuesday 丽江Lodgings:
"First Bend Inn"Took bus (again, again, and again) northwards to 丽江. I had much higher expectations of this place, only to see the snow on the 玉龙雪山 has already disappeared. Sian 1/2, 郁闷 1/2.
We rented a bike and cycled to a 束河古镇, which the hostel staff recommended us to go see. It's pretty nice, and if you wanna see how 丽江 was before it was infested with tourists, you can go take a look there. There is a 茶马古道 musuem in there that was very nice too. We got free 普洱 tasting and free tour guide there. The tour guide was a charming 纳西族 girl -> 越看越美丽 ... but alas ... married liaoz.
Ratings for "First Bend Inn":
9/10
Clean and comfortable.
Minus 1 -> Tiong style toilet.
Day #12 - 26.07.06 Wednesday 丽江Today we went up to 玉龙雪山's 云彩坪. I thought that since it is the cheapest and of lowest altitute 'site' to go up to, surely, there must be lesser tiongs ... I was soo wrong. We had to queue up for the cable car, again. Xian.
The 云彩坪 is quite nice though, minus all the tiongs and the photo taking 'services' pests. Esther said it looks like Brokeback Mountain ... especially with all the horses aka XiaoHong around.
Day #13 - 27.07.06 Thursday 丽江Signed up with a tour to go to 虎跳峡 and 长江第一弯.
I always thought that it is a waterfall-like thing ... guess I had been sadly wrong about what a 'gorge' means.
As with ... quite a fair lot of attractions in China, they are always 3 'O's; Overpriced, Overcrowded and Overrated. The watever 第一弯 is like ... popping a 'so-this-is-it?' bubble all over our heads.
We all know SG's obsession with acronyms. China also has its obsession, but it's with numbers. You have all the 八荣八耻, 三个代表, 五不出站, 十字文明, 云南十八怪 ... etc number namings with their 'policies' and slogans.
Well ... after these days in Lijiang, then I realised maybe I should not have spent so much time here.
Day #14 - 28.07.06 Friday 中甸Lodgings:
"龙行客栈"Skipped our original plan to go to 泸沽湖 after much considerations ... it's a 10hr ride, stay overnight, and another 10hr ride back to Lijiang. So we scrapped the plan, and moved furthur up north to 中甸, the place they call Shangri-la.
We reached only quite late in the afternoon because we didn't manage to get the first bus out of the previous towns like we used to. In fact we got one that departed quite near noon. So when we reached Shangri-la, we were all quite tired and hungry liaoz.
This place of the world sits high up at 3000plus meters. So when we reached there, gotta start keep things easy liaoz.
Found a cool eatery called Puppet Restaurant, had a meal there and made acquaintance with the boss there (达瓦), who eventually hooked us up with his driver friend, 扎西, whom we engaged to bring us around the next 2 days. Do go to the restaurant if you are going to 中甸 yah?
Ratings for "龙行客栈":
8/10 - I tot I saw marijuana plants in the compound.
Minus 1 -> erratic supply of hot water
Minus 1 -> not so enthusiastic receptionist.
Day #15 - 29.07.06 Saturday 德钦Lodgings:
Nameless "hotel"Today we went up to 飞来寺 to catch the full view of 梅里雪山. Our intend was to stay over there to catch the sunrise on the next day but turns out that the cloud cover was too thick for us to see the sunrise. 扎西 said it was because a group of Japanese had arrived, therefore no sunrise for all to see. haha! Well done, Chinese propaganda agencies!
En route to 飞来寺, we stopped over at 德钦 for lunch at a restaurant, and the 白族 服务员 at the restaurant is really cute and hot! =P
Today we also had new inspirations for our BMW acronym, but we had some problems with the letter M. We had a very representive idea but ... it was not very appropriate to publish. But no .. guys .. it's not another word for DIY. So when we have the best answer, I will write abt it.
Ratings for Nameless "hotel":
7/10
Minus 1 -> tiong style toilet
Minus 1 -> no shower facilities
Minus 1 -> no indoor wash up area
Day #16 - 30.07.06 Sunday 中甸Lodgings:
Shangri-la HIWe hiked up 明永冰川 of the 梅里雪山, which was a damn tiring 2 hr upslope climb. The uber thin air didn't help at all. I was xibei shag and xibei slow loh. I was quite regretful that I didn't hire the horse ride up ... jitao 犯贱 loh ... And then on the way up, gotta siam all the XiaoHong poo. XiaoHong is really full of shit!
After the damn tiring hike for the great view, we went back to 中甸, another 7 hour ride back.
Shangri-la has big 温差. During mornings and late evenings, when you breathe, you can see steam out of your mouth. And then during afternoons, it is very sunny and 晒.
Ratings for "Shangri-la HI":
6/10 - I think I saw poppy flowers there. Shangri-la is a really HIGH place ...
Minus 1 -> tiong style toilet
Minus 1 -> lack of room space
Minus 1 -> for being far from everywhere
Minus 1 -> distance of bed from sockets
Day #17 - 31.07.06 Monday 中甸Today is designated lobo day. So we opted for 自然醒, and went to the 松赞林寺, and went to the 古城 to jalan jalan.
I couldn't find any nice backpacks to replace my torn Lowe Alpine. The backstrap was badly damaged as we stuffed too many things (a lot of them not belonging to me) into it, resulting it being too heavy for what it was intended for.
Then we finally found a cafe that has internet connection, and ate junk angmoh food there. We had brownies with ice-cream and played Chinese Chess with Jo, and taught Esther how to play. And we burnt the whole afternoon like that. Esther felt the altitute and we went back to the hostel after a short trip to the Xinhua bookshop there.
It's also 七巧节 today. Where's my 织女?
Day #18 - 1.08.06 Tuesday 昆明Finally we have the 2nd BMW;
B for Bus
M for Mei Nv (美女)
W for Walking
You could interpret the M part ... in anyway you wish. But my original idea for M was for the 白族 and the 纳西族 girl I have met earlier on.
And today, we rotted on the 12hr bus ride back to 昆明 from 中甸. They played 3 movies and repeated the same 口水歌 CD for countless amounts of time. And I am utterly bored.
When we finally reached Kunming, we went out to the 昆都夜市 we read about only to be dissappointed. It's a super big KTV/club/pubbing place. Not the 夜市 which I thought it is. So we had a BBQ supper and came back. Jo gotta catch a early flight the next morning.
Day #19 - 2.08.06 Wednesday 昆明Travel companions:
EstherJo went back to Beijing today. We had breakfast together and then sent him off to the airport. There goes my travel companion for 18 days ... He had to fly back from Beijing.
After he left us, Esther and I went to the museum and then the 花鸟市场. The musuem is quite cool and we were very very tired after all the walking and looking at the exhibits. Then the 花鸟市场 was like ... erm ... 'just like that ah?' type of feel.
So I tried to shop for a backpack since 扎西 said it was cheaper in 昆明 and 达瓦's recommendations at Shangri-la .. didn't quite interest me. Sigh, even the cheaper ones are still quite expensive and not good looking. The quality and build also does not feel as good either. Whereas the expensive ones are too expensive liaoz. I'd rather buy them in Sg instead. Should have bought the North Face knock offs at Dali man. Cheap and good looking.
I ended up walking damn lots around in Kunming, walk until leg ache. Went for foot massage at night, only to find out that it's a sleazy place after all. Luckily got Esther, if not i might have got raped inside.
I finally dumped the useless Malboro with some French hostelites. And Esther finally saw some shuai ge.
Day #20 - 3.08.06 Thursday 新加坡!!I dumped the Lijiang postcards, shower foam and shampoo with the same French guys again. Then I gave my Watsons' Super Collagen hand cream with the attendent who was going to clean up our room. I also dumped a Chinese guidebook with a Korean traveller at the hostel as well. I must be the most-loved guy on the block that day.
And Esther said the French shuai ge is quite a inconsiderate chap by leaving his stuff all over the steps. Well ... we have told her soo many times how good Sg guys are and sg girls are missing out on so much when they hanker over caucasian guys.
And the moment to fly home finally came ... we squeezed everything we could into our bags and tried to check in at the airport counter saying we are students so that we could get 30kg baggage weight limit. We got through eventually without any weight penalty since there were so few passengers on that flight. They didn't even bother to check our visas, I said we had student visas, which we didn't. I really thought we held student visas, but Esther said it wasn't. As long as I need not pay for the extra weight, I don't care lah.
When I touched down, I was so elated and happy that I am home. It has been a long time away from home. Although the world has shrunk with technological advances, but nothing beats the touch of the real thing. The air, the smell, the familiarity just brings a smile to your face automatically.
It had been a great experience and people have been asking if I would be going back there again. I can only say, a lot of many things need to be considered first before I can commit. Besides, you guys know I have
bayderophobia.
Travel ConclusionBy the end of the trip, I feel that I already 麻木 liaoz. I am not so easily excitable as before liaoz. Travel fatigue, perhaps? But I would definitely be back for Shangri-la's 梅里雪山.
Also,
never never never never never never never never ever travel to China during their own peak period (April to early Oct). Everything is at least twice as expensive and it's full of tiongs everywhere. The 公认 best time to travel is on end Oct/early Nov where there is fewer tourists, and the season (late autumn) is the best for spectacular views.
If you are taking long distance bus, always add about 2 - 3 hours to the claimed arrival timing, just to be safe. And pray that you have a nice neighbour; not some chimney or brat.
The pictures on this blog are not by any means exhausive or special in any meaning. Do visit my flickr site, and leave comments if you find it nice. Keep it to yourself if you think it sucks. I have a delicate ego.
This should be the concluding post of this blog.
