High waterfalls spilt over the trail requiring careful manoeuvring not to be
washed away over the edge. With a sigh of relief, I made my way across and
proceeded along the track. The sight of the gorge with the river far below was
excellent. In no time, I wandered into Tina's Guest House, located at the junction
and, as a bus was about to leave, I hopped on and were in Lijiang at around
21h00. I should've walked much slower as the walk was over far too quickly.
Lijiang
I couldn't wait to head to the baba and fried potato stand; it was oily and greasy,
but yummy. I spent the day lazing in the sun, eating and chatting with other
travellers. I had, by then, picked up a large amount of the weight lost during my
illness and felt strong and healthy (thanks to the fried babas and fried potatoes).
I loved China, mainly because there were many ethnic groups, all with their own
customs. Besides the Han majority in the southeast, there were regional
minorities such as Dai, Bai, Naxi, Yi, Mosu, etc., all with different looks, clothing,
food and architecture. Many places I stayed at were part of family homes, and
one got a peep into their daily family lives. The restaurant area was usually the
family kitchen/lounge where they ate, watched TV, kids played, and pets lazed
about.
Sadly, just as one came upon something nice to eat, the dish would completely
disappear as one moved into a different region. Lijiang was situated around a
lake and had an abundance of fish. Piglets on spits were barbequed at virtually
every corner. The custom was to sit at low tables fitted with wire mesh in the
middle and coals underneath, allowing guests to barbeque their own food.