Trip #2

Monday morning, like I told you, I arrived in Lijiang. I spent the day sightseeing, mostly walking around the old town, which is very beautiful. I met back up with Susanna and Peter and we went to a park north of the old town and climbed a mountain for a great view of the city. Yesterday I went to Tiger Leaping Gorge. I slept in and took a minibus, which took about 2 hours. It was an adventure to get the bus, as the tourist information person alternated between saying I had missed the only bus for Qiaotou, where the trail starts, and saying that yes, there were lots of buses to a further city that I could take as far as Qiaotou. When I got off the bus I had some trouble finding the trail head, but with the help of a nice woman carrying a huge basket on her back, I found the trail I wanted. Two "guides" followed me for a while but finally gave up; I understand this is standard and they can be much more persistent. Althought Tiger Leaping Gorge is one of the top tourist sights in the area, it was very quiet and I only saw 3 other hikers the whole day. Many people hike the whole gorge for 2-5 days, but since my time was limited and I'm only a moderate hiker, I hiked in for a few hours, stopped at a guesthouse for some fried rice, and hiked back. The scenery was beautiful! (Don't worry, I took pictures.) I was disapointed not to be able to take a bus farther in to see the falls and teh famous rock from which the tiger supposedly leapt, but it was getting late, so I took a bus back to Lijiang. The bus from Lijiang was a fancy new bus; the bus back was not! I spent the time listening to RC Sproul and reflecting on Chinese traffic. I think I've figured out some of the basic traffic laws:
1. The place of all other vehicles is behind mine. (mwwwhahaha)
2. The pretty lines on the road are just for decoration.
3. The middle of the road is the best place to drive. (see above)
4. Bright headlights are wonderful and should be used as much as possible.
5. Don't waste too much money on shocks or tire treads or brakes.
6. There are no rules, only suggestions.
Today I'm going to ride a bike to some nearby villages then take another night bus back to Kunming to meet up with the guys from the other school and we're going to take ANOTHER night bus to a town near the Laos border. I'm so excited to go to Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam!!
Update - it's Thursday now. The village was nice, but the bike trip was tiring - it was longer than the book said! However, I neither hit anyone nor was hit by anyone, so I'm pretty excited.
I had a good time, but was glad to get back on the overnight bus back to Kunming. Then I realized the bus was full of college students on their way home for winter break and was less thrilled. Those bunks are tiny! I met up with Bobby, Mike, and Tim as planned (ELT teachers from another school in QHD), and we're getting back onto another overnight bus tonight that will take us almost to the border. Given last night's experience, I may have to be coaxed onto the bus with promises of French food or Asian silks or something. Laos is first!!!