Home At Last

It’s a drastic change from subzero temperatures to 30+. My nose is
telling me that. Ah choo …

Now, where were we? Yes, I was in Deqing, trying to find a way out.
On the first day of Chinese (or Tibetan) New Year, a man from Xiamen
who was also stuck at Deqing just had to get down to Lijiang. We
shared a chartered jeep all the way from Deqing to Lijiang.

The road down via Dian-zang Highway 214 was less spectacular than the
Shangrila Canyon route, but travelling on this stretch for the first
time (and in winter to boot), I found it to be a lot less frightening
than I had anticipated. The road was almost completely sealed. No
steep inclines, but plenty of snow and ice were encountered when we
crossed the 4000m pass over Baima Snow Mountain. However, our 4WD
made it across without any problems at all.

As the Chinese government aggressively promotes Lijiang with
supercool MTVs and Zhongdian as Shangrila, the motorability of the
Dian-zang Highway becomes vital to the success of tourism. Deqing
automatically becomes the next frontier. Far from a route that only
attracts Magellan-like explorers, the Dian-zang Highway is now a
viable route for ordinary tourists to enter Tibet - even in winter.

Our journey started at 0930 and we drove into the glitter of Lijiang
at about 2100 that night. Many shops here were closed, but almost
every shop in the Ancient City was open. The whole Sifang Jie was
packed with dancers. Naxi music filled the air and so did the smell
and sound of firecrackers. Al fresco diners sat by the crisscrossing
streams, Naxi girls offered floating lanterns and everybody
(including the shopkeepers) seemed to be having a great time. This is
a real Chinese New Year celebration.

The next morning saw me back on the road. Buses were very limited. I
headed down to Xiaguan on an express bus (3 hours) and then changed
to another bus bound for Kunming at Xiaguan. I entered the provincial
capital at about 2120 and headed straight for the Camelia Hotel (Cha
Hua Bing Guan), the first place I stayed the first time I visited
Kunming 10 years ago. Much has changed, the most welcome of which has
to be the attitude of the hotel staff. Even though it looks pretty
posh now, the rates here are still very afforable.

I stayed one night here, went to Cui Hu (Green Lake) in the morning
and then flew back home in the afternoon.

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