Tiger Leaping Gorges

 set off at dawn to the bus stop, and after only one and a half hours we arrive in Xiaotao. Petter is Swedish and is doing the same trek. We buy our tickets and while he is eating breakfast I try to find the entrance to the Gorges. In my search I meet a group of hikers: two are from India, 3 from Mexico. They are so friendly that after 5 minutes I feel like we set off on this trek together and that I’m part of the group.

Our sense of direction is not so good though and after a while we discover that we are on the wrong path and that we have to go back, general laughter. But once we find the arrows we’re on our way. 

What a beautiful day we spend walking, chatting, laughing! The topest toilet, a lady sells weed there. The scenery is extraordinary. The higher we get, the closer we get to the mountains, the highest one is over 5000 meters. The 28 bends are very tough, but it helps counting down.

 We are all very happy when we can sit down and have lunch as a reward. Sergio, Moha, Julieta, Ananya, Tejas and I, the Tiger group. Our plan is to reach Halfway guesthouse by five o’clock, but we meet some sheep, have to cross a dangerous bridge and it is closer to six when we arrive. 

Petter is waiting for us there and joins in the group for supper together. The next day is even better than the previous one. We arrive at Tina’s guesthouse around midday, there’s only time to do one thing: walk to Walnut Garden or climb down to the river. We agree to do the latter. The water is several hundreds of meters underneath us and it is quite steep. Down is ok, but we also have to go back up. Better not to think about it. The view is breathtaking. The water is so powerful, there is no way you can survive a fall into that current. On our way up we take a ladder. It is almost vertical, and we all try to avoid looking down while climbing. 

The group splits here, only Petter and I go to Lijang, the others are heading to Shangri La. We have to take two buses to get to Lijang. The first one drives us to where the road has collapsed, and then we have to walk to the other side to take the next bus which waits for us on the other side. Petter calls his hostel, great, they have space for me, and they even buy the tickets for Kunming two days later. Such a nice hostel! The price is nice too…but sometimes a little luxury is necessary. 

Shangri La

Shangri La is such a nice place! If I had more time I would stay longer here. My hostel is really nice, Tavern 47, situated just outside the old town. Again there is no room for me but they offer me a couch in the common room. I am very grateful and install my few belongings in a little corner. There are many beautiful temples in Shangri La but my favourite one is the Chicken Temple. It is situated on a hilltop and is so peaceful, almost no tourist goes there it seems. And of course there are a lot of chicken there! On my way up I meet a woman selling incense. She invites me for milk tea and Moon cake. I am really lucky to meet all these people. These moments are magical, and you never know when it will happen, that is the beauty of it. She tells me about her children and that she is not feeling very well these days, she has a bad cough and a runny nose. All with gestures and facial expressions, she speaks no English at all.

The old town is very touristy but still very enjoyable. I also climb up to a giant praying wheel on another hill and visit a museum about the Long March. The town is very peaceful and has a good atmosphere. The owner of the hostel helps me plan my next days. I want to go hiking in Tiger Leaping Gorges, two days. There is no problem to do it alone he says and indicates which bus I have to take and where I can leave my big backpack during the trek.

photos Shangri La

Xiang Cheng

To go to Xiang Cheng from Litang is not so easy. There is no bus so I have to find a minivan that goes there. Some of the drivers speak English, others don’t, but I don’t want to end up somewhere else… Finally there is one who speaks English and who assures me that he’s going to Xiang Cheng and that his brother even has a hotel I can stay in and that he will purchase a ticket for the bus next day to Shangri La. Things often work out better than you expected. And it’s only the start. Suddenly the girl in front of me turns around and invites me for supper. She calls her mother, it’s ok. She hasn’t been home for three months and still she’s so happy when I accept her invitation, her face lights up like a little sunflower. It is one of the best things that happened to me so far. I spend the whole afternoon and evening with Hang Yu and her family. They are adorable! The food is delicious, I drink some more milk tea, eat fruit and pickles. The mother gives me 5 kilos of apples (I wonder how I will carry those to Shangri La) and even bakes a whole bread for my lunch tomorrow. They are afraid I won’t find my hotel so the grandmother grabs my hand and holds it during our whole walk through the city. The hotel is a catastrophe… I even have to hide the ashtray so that the guy with whom I share the room doesn’t smoke inside the room. The toilet door doesn’t close and there are suspicious stains everywhere. Luckily it’s only for one night!

Litang

I think Litang must be my favourite city in China. Situated 4100m above sea level it can brag of being one of the world’s highest cities. My father said when I told him where I was: Lucky you, that is almost halfway to heaven, and it was. Getting there however is a different story! I have stopped believing the announced hours, as there is always something preventing us from getting there on time. This time it was a snowstorm, yes you read correctly, a snowstorm!!! People from my bus even had to get off to help push some cars stuck in the snow. 

I sleep in Peace Hostel as the only guest, no wait there was someone else there too, the first night. Apart from that it was very peaceful .I managed to bargain on the price of the room too, instead of 50 yuan it’s 30. I’m quite proud of myself. The city has a perfect size for walking around. There are some Tibetan villages inside the city too. “Tashi Delek”, hello in Tibetan helps me get in contact with the local population. I sit down to talk to a man with his granddaughter. Admire the Tibetan constructions, so different from Chinese houses.

 To get a better view of Litang from above I climb one of the hills surrounding the city. Not long after two little spots seem to approach from far away, making their way up the steep slope: two children. Tandzindjela and Fufujuma saw me climb and decided to follow me. Tandzindjela invites me to his grandmother’s house for tea, of course I accept. He studies at the monastery and speaks some English, the rest we show with our hands. He is very proud of his house and encourages me to take photos of the decorations The grandmother offers me milk tea and  bread to dip in the tea. Tandzindjela shows me his books for school, Fufujuma shows me her toys. We spend some really nice hours together

 . When it’s time to leave, my new friend accompanies me to the monastery. He scares off the dogs by throwing stones after them, catches a bull so that I can hold his horns and makes sure I arrive safely at the monastery. There I meet Julia, a Russian girl who is also traveling alone. She is a Buddhist and explains quite a few things to me. There is a huge mandala in coloured sand under a glass couple. The next day it will be destroyed she tells me, because in live nothing is permanent… What a wise thought.

Kangding

After visiting the north of Sichuan, I decide to go west, to the Tibetan region of China, in the mountains. I am actually kind of happy it’s the last time I have to take a bus out of Chengdu, it takes almost one hour and I’ve done it a lot. The bus to Kangding is supposed to take ten hours but in reality it’s closer to fifteen. We arrive when it’s already dark and quite late. Of course I forgot to book a hostel and with the Chinese holiday period everything is full. Luckily Konka Hostel offer me a couch in the common room for the first night. I am more than happy to sleep on a couch! The second night is worse, I sleep in a dorm which is actually a tent (!) outside. I get up really early, the one and only bus to Litang can only be booked the day before the ride and it gets filled up really fast. I am lucky and I get a seat after queuing for two hours. Finally I can go and explore Kangding, a charming little city, surrounded by mountains and full of monasteries and temples. A girl at my hostel gave me a printout of the Lonely Planet, and I photographed a map of the city in a guidebook of some other tourists, I am ready! The monks don’t mind me walking around and taking pictures, there are rabbits and hens walking about too. 

In 2002, an Englishman was murdered on Paoma San… should I not go there because of this? I climb the steep stairs up to the mountain (San = mountain in chinese). I’m really glad I didn’t miss this, the view is great and the temples peaceful as always… and almost nobody is there. 

  To end this great day I want to go to the hot springs. Four kilometers from the city center and only 2 Euros for one hours of private bath in a hot and a bit sulphur smelly water, it’s quite enjoyable after a whole day of walking around!