It was a quick four hour trip out from Shangrila. It was time for me to move town here in Yunnan as I slowly make my way back to Kunming, the provincial capital. The view along the way a gorgeous as our bus made its was along the mountainside. The fog along the way made it doubly interesting. Much of the road was following a very large river which I take to be the Yangtze River. It was quite mind boggling to realize that the river is so long that it reaches all the way to Shanghai way, way downstream.
I am heading towards another ancient town, perhaps the most well known of them all, Lijiang. I have heard much about the beauty of the town and I have also heard how touristy it is, I’m not longer a stranger to these kinds of place and I have taken everything in stride, it seems that it is bothering me less and less. The town of Lijiang is likewise a great place to explore the surrounding areas which are filled with famous sights. I was deposited at bus station of modern Lijiang. The anicent town is just nearby but I needed to get my bearings right first. I found a bus stop which has a route map and apparently it goes to the entrance of the ancient town. For some inexplicable reason, the bus made a U turn soon after I boarded it, taking me the wrong way. I quickly got off and boarded another bus going the other direction.
The ancient town of Lijiang is massive. And it would be very easy to get lost inside the numerous lanes. First things first, I needed to find a place to stay, it was already mid afternoon by the time I got to the ancient town and I was already tired. Somehow I got the idea that looking for the Hostelling China partners would be easy here, it is most definitely not. I took forever looking for one, and when I did, they didn’t have any room. I then settled at an interestingly named guest house called the Crouching Dragon Guest House 卧龙客栈 (yes, that is crouching dragon).
The nice lady at the guest house had a room for me but it would only be available for two days, as she already promised someone who would supposedly come back. Anyway, she gave me a discount for the two bed room which came with its own bathroom (whohoo!). The place was nice and clean, my only complaint was that my room was at the ground floor. People could easily see through the window if I am not careful. Just remember to close the windows and draw the curtains.
Crouching Dragon Guest House
49 Baowu Lane, Lijiang Ancient Town South Gate
Lijiang, China
+86 (888) 5110785
卧龙客栈
丽江古城南门宝屋巷49号
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