Ten Days Travel in Yunnan (including Dali, Lijiang, Lugu Lake, Shangri-La and Kunming) - III

Written by Ms. LIQIONG Oct 8, 2012 21:56

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Day 7
Time to go back to Lijiang! We contacted the car driver yesterday and he promised to pick us up at the Mosuo Museum near our hostel. We were a bit worried that he would drive his small car to bring us back to Lijiang. Luckily, he drove a van that could accommodate 20 passengers this time.

We visited the Mosuo Museum before taking bus back to Lijiang. The museum was open to the visitors for free. The local guide introduced Mosuo culture and history to us. Of course she didn’t forget to tell us something about walking marriage. The museum was small but we did learn something about Mosuo people.

There was a doctor at the entrance of the Mosuo Museum. He could diagnose your illness by reading your palm. We didn’t give him a chance to diagnose us because we knew that he would sell his medicine to us. Some other tourists asked the doctor to diagnose them and bought some traditional Chinese medicine from him. It wasn’t expensive.

After visiting the Mosuo Museum, we got on the bus and headed back to Lijiang. The mountain roads were a bit dangerous but scenery was nice. The driver stopped somewhere and asked the passengers to take a short break and have lunch. We didn’t eat in the restaurant because the food couldn’t wake up our appetite.

On our way to Lijiang, we witnessed a traffic accident. A van fell off the road and local people helped save the victims. Later, we saw a broken car on the road. It got hit badly. Our driver warned us not to experience self-drive tour to Lugu Lake. It was too dangerous.

We finally reached the North Gate of the Lijiang Ancient Town at 04:30. This time we chose to accommodate at Lijiang Youth Hostel. It was raining outside. It was dark in the narrow room. We just threw our bags on the bed and then went to find something to eat. After a few minutes’ discussion, we decided to eat at Tuojiang Fish Restaurant.

Tuojiang Fish Restaurant was a bit far from our hostel. We felt a bit tired after several hours’ bus journey. Thus, we took a taxi to get there. Many travel tips said tourists just needed to pay CNY 7 to go anywhere in Lijiang by taxi. But we paid CNY 15 from the North Gate to Tuojiang Fish Restaurant. Were we fooled by the taxi driver?

Tip: Tuojiang Fish Restaurant is very famous in Lijiang. It is a salmon themed hot pot restaurant. Better go there as early as you can (probably before 17:00). Otherwise, you need to queue up for a while.

We reached the restaurant around 18:00. There was a long queue outside the restaurant. Honestly, we were a bit shocked. The waiter told us there were 26 people in front of us and asked us to wait patiently. 30 minutes later, the waiter came and led us to a table. We decided to eat hot pot. Thus, we ordered a salmon, some beef, mutton and vegetables. This meal cost us CNY 286.

Lijiang is famed for bar culture. My friends and I wanted to give it a short. When entering the bar, we were shocked by the loud music.

Tip: I feel that Lijiang has been commercialized too much. Personally, I think bars in Dali are better.

Total cost: CNY 240.5 (bus fare from Lugu Lake to Lijiang CNY 90, Accommodation CNY 62, Taxi fare CNY 7.5, dinner CNY 72, banana CNY 4, yogurt CNY 5)

Day 8 and Day 9 Dream Tour in Shangri-La
We reached Aladdin Travel Agency at 07:00 and started our Shangri-La trip. We visited First Bend of the Yangtze River, Tiger Leaping Gorge, Duzongke Ancient Town (also called Moonlight City) and Pulacuo National Forest Park. Here I didn’t want to describe our trip in details again. Instead, I wrote some advice:

No.1 If you decide to book a tour from Lijiang to Shangri-La, we suggest you choose Aladdin. Their tours are a bit more expensive than other travel agencies but their service is much better. Brand-new shuttle bus, nice meals, comfortable accommodation and good tour guides. Everything is perfect.

No.2 The usual visiting route in the Pulacuo National Forest Park is Bita Sea, Shudu Lake and Militangya Alpine Pasture.

The park also provides thick coats and oxygen bottles. If the weather is ok, tourists needn’t rent thick coats. The rental is CNY 50 per one coat. Tourists needn’t buy oxygen at the entrance of the park. It is convenient to buy oxygen bottle inside the park. One bottle costs CNY 30.

No.3 If you have student ID card, please give it to the tour guides when she/he buys the entrance tickets in Shangri-La. Students can enjoy certain discount. At the beginning, I paid CNY 880 for Shangri-La tour. Thanks to my student ID card, I saved CNY 85.

We got back to the North Gate of Lijiang Ancient Town at 19:30 and then took a taxi to Lijiang Railway Station immediately. You know, we already booked train tickets to Kunming.

Total cost (Day 8 and Day 9): CNY 821 (breakfast CNY 11, Shangri-La Tour CNY 795, yogurt CNY 5, chocolate CNY 10).

Day 10

We reached Kunming Railway Station at 06:35. We deposited our luggage at the railway station immediately and then went to explore Kunming City.

Tip: A piece of luggage (no matter how big it is) costs CNY 5 if you deposit it at the railway station. But you have to get it back before 22:00.

Though we read many Kunming travel reviews, we were reluctant to see any scenic spot in Kunming because we were tired very much after nine days’ trip. We just went to Yunnan University and Yunnan Normal University. Then we went to Qiao Xiang Yuan Restaurant to taste Yunnan Rice Noodles. Afterwards, we went to the Walmart. Tonight, we were going to leave Kunming for Shanghai. Thus, we had to buy some snacks and bottled water.

Tip Qiao Xiang Yuan Rice Noodles Restaurant is famous. But its taste has no much difference from Meng Zi Rice Noodles in Suzhou. Anyone who is fond of Yunnan Rice Noodles can come here to taste rice noodles.

Spending nearly 2 hours at the Walmart, we went out and headed to the Kunming Railway Station. My friends and I entered No.2 waiting room. Each of us paid CNY 10 in order to get in. It’s the first time that I had heard passengers were charged to stay in the waiting room. But the environment was better than the ordinary waiting rooms. Passengers here could recharge their cellphones, cameras or laptops. 40 minutes later, we checked in and boarded the train.

Tip: Passengers who prefer to use No.2 waiting room in Kunming Railway station will be charged.

Passengers who pay CNY 5 can only enter the waiting area equipped with chairs and several public sockets. Apparently, the sockets can not meet all passengers’ needs.

Passengers who pay CNY 10 can enter the waiting area equipped with chairs and desks. Each desk has its own socket.

Passengers who pay CNY 20 can enter the waiting area equipped with sofa. A sofa can accommodate four passengers. Of course, each passenger shares one socket.

Total cost: around CNY 100 in Kunming.

Ten-day travel expense: 1208+224.5+436.5+254+115+274+204+240.5+821+100= 3877
PS: I may not remember every day’s cost accurately. In all, each of us four spent around CNY 4000 for our ten day’s traveling.

It is the first time that I have left my home for 10 days. Unforgettable experience! Right now I have a new plan: If possible, I will travel alone as long as I can.