I organised a bus in Lijiang through a near-by hostel. It actually turned out really well, as I met a whole bunch of cool people that I ended up hanging out with for the next few days. But there was an interesting story about the bus ride... We stopped at a hostel located at the beginning of the gorge. The driver indicated this was the spot where we could leave our big bags (and just take our day packs). While inside the hostel the bus driver just took off, leaving me and three other guys in the hostel. He made no indication at all that this was the start point of the trek, or that he would be leaving. The other three were a little more cautious than I, and managed to grab their day packs. I waited for about 10 minutes for him to return before calling the hostel. They called the driver, who said that he was not going to come back, and that he would leave my bag at the hostel located at the end of the trek. That bag contained my camera, about Y1,000 in cash, and my PASSPORT! I was stressing balls.
Being stubborn men, we decided to bush-whack our way through across the mountain and find the path, rather than go back down to the bottom and start again. Through thick forest we made our way for a good couple of hours. Most of us having second thoughts about whether this was a good idea or not. Eventually we came across the first village. When I say came across I mean saw it wayyyy below us. We had climbed much too high! And had taken around four hours to reach a village that should have taken us just over an hour. But no worry - we made our way down, called in at a Naxi (local minority) guesthouse, for a good meal and beer. After that everything seemed much better.
Although the weather was a little cloudy, the view was spectacular. You have to crane your neck back to see the top of the towering, rocky mountains. They plunge steeply down to the roaring Yangtze river below. Rocky outcrops, beautiful wilderness, waterfalls, wildlife, flowers and trees... beautiful.
We made good time; getting to Halfway House just before dark. We met up with one other guy who was on the bus (the driver had dropped him just 200m down the road from us) - Jef, a Belgian dude. After a big meal and shower I fell into bed. Sleep was no trouble at all.
The following day the four of us hoofed it down the short trek to Tina's guest house, where thankfully my bag was waiting for me. After getting my camera back I went a little crazy, so excuse all the photos. (The photos up to this point were provided by the other guys).
That wraps up Tiger Leaping Gorge. It lives up to it's reputation in my opinion; a truely spectacular place. From there the five of us grabbed a bus to Shangri-La. To be continued...
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