Shangri-La

4th September- Shangri La

After a long slog to get here and a well deserved rest we awoke yesterday morning with the ambition to take it nice and easy. This was further underlined by the fact that we both had stinking colds (as did a number of others in the hostel it seems.) Nevertheless, of all the places we could find ourselves feeling rough, this is the most homely and welcoming, so we were pleased to be here.

After a tasty breakfast served in the cosy common room- tables laid beautifully and two large sofas around a traditioal wood burning stove, patio doors looking out to the flower filled courtyard, and more often than not the two huge, beautiful and friendly year old alsations, we slowly got ourselves ready and headed for a gentle stroll around the old town.

We were instantly struck by the sense of well-being here. On the drive in to Yunnan it seemed this was the richer provnince- dirt tracks turning to paved roads. This was the first town that wasn't piled high with rubbish and seems quiet for the size- the drivers don't seem to honk their horns nearly as much. For the first time at night, we hear nothing!

The size of the town came as quiet a shock. The guidebook, written two years ago, describes Shangri- La as a taste of Tibet that is just starting to get recognised after a clever council official renamed the sleepy village of Zhongdian after the James Hewitt novel in a bid to encourage tourism. It has certainly worked! The buildings everywhere look new and well maintained and the cost of a meal is far closer to what I would expect to pay at home (however, we have had our favourite meals here- Marco's pizza was amazing!)

As we walked through the cobbled old town (though clearly newly aid cobblestone) we looked at rows of Tibetan handicrafts and traditional items- silver and turquoise jewellery, woven cloth, Buddhist regalia, various body parts of yak and, most astonishingly to Blakey, rows of hunting weapons such as longswords and cross bows.

At 3200m high the climate here is quite pleasant and we enjoyed the gentle stroll through the bright sunlight, both feeling particulalry atrractive having showered in a clean room, put our jeans on as opposed to the most practica;l clothing we could find and even taken the time to brush our hair. I had make-up on no less!!

Aftre exploring all the old town had to offer, coming across some lovely rugs and furniture we headed for the area where the locals would shop, found an internet cafe and spent a lazy afternoon typing our previous experinces, not moving much at all.

Although an utterly lazy day. particularly in comparison to what we have achieved so far, this was far too much excitement for us in our stuffy states. We slowly ambled back to the hostel for a 45 minute nap before going out later that evening.

Despite the fact it was only 5pm, aftre a Lemsip on our lovely big bed we decided to cut our losses and just stayed put. I read all about the political journey of China whilst Blakey brushed up on his Chinese. He is getting pretty good now, despite trying to check that my dish was vegetarian with a waitress that could not understand English by saying "No chicken? No pork?" in English, but with an attempt at a Chinese accent! What a clever boy!

After an extremely long sleep we decided to go the whole hop and has an equally indulgent lie in. Still suffering , we drank our Lemsips slowly and made no effort to move quickly. When we eventually did leave our room at gone 11 it was for another breakfast cooked by the lovely lady that runs it here. We wanted to build our strength before our visit to Gandem Sumtseling Gompa, an important monastery just out of town that was built for the fifth Dalai Lama.

We took the bus as it said to do in the guide book but it stopped far sooner than we were anticipating. We got off at a new building and were shown to a ticket office. The entry fee to see the monastry had risen from 10Y to 85Y in two years! Still, we used our student cards to pay half price and went through the turnstiles to what had been described as the most religiously significant monastry in the South West.

A tour bus came to pick us up and drove us through a far more traditional looking Tibetan village- what I had expected the whole town to look like. The strange thing was that it all seemed so empty. I get the impression that everyone has moved for the more modern convenieces of the exanding town below.

We approached the huge gates to the monatsry and read the long list of rules and regulations visitors must observe- the first time we had been faced with such a sign. As we wlaked up the stairs and around the complex we had mixed emotions about the place. It was lovely to ook back down the hill nad at the surrounding mountain scenery, the bright sunlight and dramatic clouds made for some good photo opportunities, but nothing here felt genuine. Although not BUddhist the Wenshu Temple in Chengdu and mei Shan had a sense of reverence and significance which we could truly appreciate. This place felt more like a Buddhist amusement park, though there were not many visitors.

We sauntered back to town, glad to have been though starting to look forward to leaving China now. It's a fascinating culture with many paradoxes that have me contemplating the ethical significance of its recent economic growth. This town was so refreshing and homely to us because they had invested in keeping things clean. They had put money into sustainable resources- every new roof was fitted with a solar powered water heater- but this came at the prie of turning significant historical relics into cliched tuorist destinations.

We returned to our hoster- honestly worth coming to Shangri-La for alone- and started to organise our stuff ready for tomorrow's early start. We headed out for another fanatstic dinner (in yet another tourist restaurant- we had burritos in preparation for South America, delicious but somehow still Chinese style!) and then took a walk around the old town at night to see the traditional Tibetan dancing in the square. It was very similar to Line Dancing, just with Tibetan/Hip Hop music for accompanimant and everyone joinging in.

Walking back to the hostel Blakey practised his bargaining skills and knocked 2 pounds off an SD card and 18 pounds off a mask for his collection- he was fairly pleased with himself! Now we are packed and readyfor an early morning departure. Colds nealry gone, tomorrow we attempt to trel Tiger Leaping Gorge!