* Spent the morning touring the home of Joseph Rock, an Austrian botanist-turned-explorer that is credited with uncovering a lot of the Yunnan province to western eyes (mostly through a
series of articles in National Geographic)
* In the afternoon we toured the “old town” of Lijiang City, which is not old at all but something created in the past 15 years to spur tourism in the city
* Got to the airport for our flight back to Hong Kong – one completely mismanaged, frustrating 18 hour delay later on the part of sh*tty China East Airlines, we missed our flight to the United States and got a “bonus” day of vacation
The Good:
* Learning about the life of Joseph Rock
* Learning about the life of Joseph Rock
The Bad:
* Lijiang Old Town – it’s nice, but completely fabricated. And, to create this old town, they pushed the local Naxi people out of their homes to the outskirts of town and cement buildings; the Naxi people still own their land in the Old Town and now act as landlords to the various shops and restaurants – they are apparently content with this situation because it’s lucrative but I do find it a shame the town could only be restored by forcing these people out of their homes
* Lijiang Old Town – it’s nice, but completely fabricated. And, to create this old town, they pushed the local Naxi people out of their homes to the outskirts of town and cement buildings; the Naxi people still own their land in the Old Town and now act as landlords to the various shops and restaurants – they are apparently content with this situation because it’s lucrative but I do find it a shame the town could only be restored by forcing these people out of their homes
* 18 hour flight delay and China Eastern Airlines (never fly them!)
Our last day (or so we thought). Not too many pictures but here
are a few of the “old town” of Lijiang. Definitely neat to visit, but you only need a couple hours (which is all Frank smartly budgeted).
are a few of the “old town” of Lijiang. Definitely neat to visit, but you only need a couple hours (which is all Frank smartly budgeted).
The visit done, our goodbyes to Frank and Mr. Yung said, we headed into the airport for what was yet another adventure to come.
Here was the original plan:
Saturday 6 PM: Fly to Hong Kong
Saturday 8:30 PM: Arrive in Hong Kong; dinner, drinks, stay overnight
Sunday 11:30 AM: Fly back to US
Sunday 9 PM: Arrive at home in Denver
Saturday 8:30 PM: Arrive in Hong Kong; dinner, drinks, stay overnight
Sunday 11:30 AM: Fly back to US
Sunday 9 PM: Arrive at home in Denver
Here’s what actually happened:
Saturday 6PM: Flight is “slightly” delayedSaturday 8PM: Flight still delayed; no announcement whatsoever from airline
Saturday 9PM: Flight may be cancelled, or it may happen, getting mixed messages
from airline
Saturday 11PM: Flight definitely cancelled
Sunday 12AM: Flight may not be cancelled
Sunday 2:00AM: Flight cancelled; they are going to bus us to hotel may or may
not give us back our passports
Sunday 2:10AM: minor revolt by a lot of the passengers – picture 15 Chinese
ladies all yelling in Mandarin at some poor low-level airline representative
(wish I weren’t so tired to have thought to capture this moment on video)
Sunday 2:30AM: get on bus to hotel, with passports in hand, and flight
scheduled for next day at 12:10PM
Sunday 3:00AM: get to hotel; nobody tells us when the bus leaves for airport
the next day
Sunday 7AM: get up to take a quick shower and then go downstairs (where there
is wifi) to make alternate flight arrangements home and ensure we don’t miss
the shuttle bus back to the airport
Sunday 12:30PM: flight leaves for Hong Kong
Sunday 3:30PM Arrive Hong Kong
Monday 11:30AM: Depart Hong Kong, 24 hours late
Big difference eh? Here’s a picture of the airport hall where we sat, helpless, for about 10 hours. We couldn’t get wifi to search for other options out of Lijiang (which, it turns
out, there are none) and didn’t speak the language so getting any information
was difficult. Luckily a lot of the Chinese people on the flight spoke English, and were kind enough to tell us what they knew.
out, there are none) and didn’t speak the language so getting any information
was difficult. Luckily a lot of the Chinese people on the flight spoke English, and were kind enough to tell us what they knew.
Here’s something you never want to see in your passport:
That’s a “cancelled” stamp, meaning your attempted exit from a country was not successful. I hope I never have another one of these in my passport!
By the time we got to SFO, someone was pooped…
So that’s that folks. Thanks to everyone who followed along. Western China is worth the visit – it really is a completely different experience than what you get in the cities on the
east coast (much like in the US, I suppose). There are lots of options – Sichuan province, Tibet among them – but Yunnan province has some stunning scenery and truly warm people. And, Frank Hitman of Zouba Tours is as good a tour guide as you will find. Not only is he a safe pair of hands, but he goes out of his way to make sure your experience is authentic and enjoyable. Can’t
recommend him highly enough. Thanks Frank!
east coast (much like in the US, I suppose). There are lots of options – Sichuan province, Tibet among them – but Yunnan province has some stunning scenery and truly warm people. And, Frank Hitman of Zouba Tours is as good a tour guide as you will find. Not only is he a safe pair of hands, but he goes out of his way to make sure your experience is authentic and enjoyable. Can’t
recommend him highly enough. Thanks Frank!
Until next time, it’s a big world out there…get out and see it!
Follow me on Twitter at @adonaldson1214
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