Lijiang

On my departure day from Dali, I again opted for the bread from the street vendors instead of noodles. I actually got two pieces this morning. I figured that one would be for lunch. I also made some tea as I was showering and getting ready. The Makaibari supply is getting low. Will I make it the remainder of my trip? I actually brought some oolong and puerh with me, but I haven't had any of it yet. I will use that if I run out. Tom and the driver met me at the hotel and we were off. He had the driver go around the south east side of the lake to the newer part of Dali. It really looks like a nice city. Supposedly the population is 3.5 million including old town. When we got to the train station, Tom said he would buy a platform pass so that he could help me with my bags. I felt really bad. I actually know my bags are heavy, but I am responsible for them, and I don't expect anyone else to help me carry them. He wouldn't take no for an answer. So he waited at the gate with me and carried my heaviest bag. The train was delayed about 1/2 hour. So I am glad he was there since there was no announcement in English.

He helped me all the way down to the platform and put my bag on the train. He even said he noticed there were more seats in one of the cars, and that I should head in that direction.

I ended up in a car with three people sitting on one side and a twenty-something year old woman lying down the full length of the bunk. I sat down at the end and put my things on the middle bunk anyway. Hello, like do you realize this train is completely full? How dare you pretend you can't see other people trying to find a seat. I mean how rude are you? If you are trying to save the car for someone that stepped into the bathroom, that is one thing. But this was completely just a prima donna ignoring everyone. I thought all these things and didn't say a word, just smiled as I sat down.

Anyway, I survived the train ride in less than 1/4 of a spot while the queen bee layed down and listened to music and used her cell phone. I was in between two windows so couldn't see very much but the scenery looked nice. We went through many long tunnels through the mountains, so there was no view much of the ride.

We arrived in Lijiang at 6:30 and Ivy was waiting for me. I liked Ivy. She seemed genuinely happy and seemed like she enjoyed being a guide. She wanted to see my itinerary just like Tom. I guess she wanted to be sure it was the same as hers. Since Lijiang's old town is a walking only city, the driver dropped us off and we were off with the bags.

This place is amazing--really narrow cobblestone walkways and old buildings that have been turned into shops. There are 6200 shops in the old town. About 500 are tea shops! Much of that goes back to the ancient tea horse road. This was a convenient stopping point for the tea going to Tibet and the horses going to Kunming. It was a huge trading city. The climate was perfect too. Not too hot and not too cold.

We got to the where the guesthouse was supposed to be. I guess they relocated. Too bad because this was a nice spot and a very nice place. So Ivy called them and they said they would be right over to pick us up. It was only a short 5 minute walk. This place is nice too.

So as it was getting close to dark, Ivy said she would accompany me to dinner. Then we could go for tea afterwards. She has a friend that has a tea shop near the restaurant. She said she always hangs out there and had just been before she picked me up.

The restaurant she took me to was right along the river near the ancient bridge. The men used to sit down below the bridge and watch the beautiful ladies walk over it. In ancient times the men in this culture were supposed to be spending their time reading, listening to music, dancing, playing cards with friends, and enjoying leisure time. The women did all the hard work.

We had fried cabbage with chili peppers and eggplant with green beans and hot chili peppers. We also ordered pork with bamboo shoots and steamed rice. I was so hungry but it turned out to be one dish too much. Ivy had it packed up and said she would bring it to the tea shop for her friend. It was odd because she didn't even offer to split the bill?

We walked to the tea shop. We were quickly sent upstairs. It looks like the locals get to hang out downstairs drinking tea but the paying customers go upstairs.

The upstairs room smelled of tea. They had two kinds of regular Yunnan black tea in huge wooden boxes in the open air. They had shelves of puerh tea both upstairs and downstairs but I knew the good stuff was probably kept here in the glass cases.

I had told Ivy I didn't want to buy anything but just drink tea. I was probably going to buy something in Xishuagnbanna. So she showed me the tea menu and pointed to two items that were the cheapest. I would just order one of those and then Gao Shun (tranlated to tall gentleman) would pour us some other teas as well.

So we started with 2010 silver shoots. The tea was from Jiangmai. These were just the buds and not the leaf of the tea tree. And yes, these were the tea trees and not the cultivated tea bushes. The tea was really delicate and soft and had a sweet flavor. It was really good. This tea was not a tea you could age. You need to drink it now.

Then he brought out a 4 year old fermented cake. It was from
Yi Wa. He called it queen. It was really a nice flavor. It was clear but not smokey or earthy tasting. It was sort of sweet. I liked them both. He kept pouring more and filling our glasses as soon as we would drink some. Then he brought out a 2 or 3 kilo chunk of 8 year old fermented cake from Baozhong. This was much darker in color and he called it king. We tried that. It was more earthy tasting to me and almost medicinal at first. Then it changed and was more drinkable. He showed us the 2002 wild tea cake. It was green and not fermented. The leaves were just so much larger. It was unbelievable. This one he said was not for sale.

I would occasionally go back to the first or second tea. They were cooler but the first tea was so sweet and soft even cold. I may have liked the second cake better than the third.

I asked a ton of questions. Everything was answered through Ivy and translated through her as well. We were there for a couple hours for sure. I am so lucky I got a guide that is so interested in tea. She said she had 10 different teas today.

We took off and she partly walked me back to my guesthouse. I told her she could leave once she got me to the main street. When I got back to the guesthouse, I realized I didn't pay for anything. But neither Gao Shun nor Ivy asked for money either. Hopefully we could go back tomorrow and try more teas.

I would later find out from Ivy that she was drunk from all the tea she had. Supposedly you can get drunk from tea if you drink too much. To remedy the feeling, she said that usually sweets do the trick. It's funny because, if you have a hangover from drinking too much alcohol, puerh tea is the best cure I know, or so people tell me : )

The next day we would meet at 9:00 to go to the glacier and snow mountain. I went to breakfast at about 8:15. I feel like I woke up the cook. She made me toast, hash browns, and strips of banana, tomato, and cucumber along with a Lipton tea bag. Oh well, the breakfast was included in the price of the room. Just as I was leaving to meet Ivy, she walked into the guesthouse gate. We walked up to the main road and waited for the driver.

Ivy had told me the total population of Lijiang is 1.2 million. That includes old town and new town. About 300,000 live in old town. There are 56 ethnic minorities in China. You can find 22 here.

First we would go directly to the Naxi village. They still live largely as they did 100's of years ago. The big exception is that running water was installed 3 years ago. Their homes are made of rocks but it also looked like they used huge bricks from the earth for part of the construction. You could see the bricks were really thick. It must keep them cool in summer and warm in winter. There was a small market square. There were three old men singing and playing music. There was a man making hand made silver jewelry. Someone was making copper pots. We walked to the embroidery school. This craft is taught from a master. Each of the students begin to learn the craft and once they reach a certain level, they can create their own designs. After 10 to 20 years they can become a master if they are good enough.

So we walked around a little more and then headed to Yulong Snow Mountain. First there was a show called "Lijiang Impressions". This sounded like a tourist trap as I was hearing more about it from my guide. It was an hour or so and all outdoors. They supplied raincoats which it appeared I would need today. Plus there were 3000 seats. She told me there are two shows everyday, but because today was the weekend there would be three. She also told me there were horses involved and about 500 actors.

When I arrived and saw the stage, I felt like I was on the movie set of an epic film. Apparently the man that choreographed and visualized the opening ceremony for the Chinese Olympics did this show as well.

I was sort of surprised that I liked it though. It had music and dance and lots of beautiful costumes. Many of the costumes were the native dress of the various ethnic groups. The show was about the history of Lijiang and the original culture being more maternal. It seemed like the women did all the hard work, however the women seemed to have more control over love affairs and wanted open relationships.

After the show we headed to the mountain. I thought we were going to the glacier, but the guide had it written down to take me to spruce meadow. There are three different places you can take the chairlift up the mountain. The third is the yak farm.

So because of the weather conditions on the mountain, I told her we should go to the spruce meadow. This was around 3000 meters. The lift to the glacier brought you to 4600 meters. When we got to spruce meadow we couldn't even see much of the mountain. It ended up being a good decision. The meadow area was pretty. There were horses and yaks hanging around. You could also buy some bells to write your wish on them and hang them on the trees. Supposedly, if the bell falls to the ground, your wish will come true. We also went to see the emerald colored lake. The color is so deep green from the glacial waters.

The drive back was about 30 minutes. We coordinated arrangements for my pick up in two days. Then we went to her friend's tea house again.

Today we tried 5 teas. First we tried a 2006 green puerh. Second was a 20 year old green puerh. Third was a 13 year fermented cake. Fourth was the green 2002 wild tea tree cake. The leaves were so long that it didn't really fit in the gaiwan until they softened some.

Lastly, he brought out a very special oolong tea that was from Taiwan. This had such limited production. It was called oriental beauty pom-fong tea. I had never tasted anything like it. The flavor was almost cinnamon-like or warm mulled spices you might taste or smell during the christmas holidays. Wow, today we talked so much and drank so much tea, I didn't really get a chance to take tasting notes.

I find that each of the teas are very special for me and very unique. I am trying to drink as much as possible, that it's hard for me to pick a favorite. Each of the teas will change with time as well. The one thing you learn about tea very quickly is that puerh tea in this region is so intertwined with culture. Everyone is sitting around drinking tea with friends and family during the day. Sharing tea with someone else is a way of showing respect and appreciation and of course slowing down and enjoying each other's company.

I purchased some tea today. I wasn't sure I would see Ivy again and wanted to have her there to help me close the deal and arrange shipping. Gao Shun gave a small sample of tea to take with me to drink along the way. I said I would bring some tea with me the next time I came to share with them.

I said goodbye to Ivy after we left the shop. She told me she hopes to become a tea master someday and after a few years hopes to devote her career to tea instead of being a tour guide.

I was hungry after all that tea. I didn't eat much during the day, but wound up at the Tibetan Cafe. They had live music as many of the restaurants and bars here do. As soon as I sat down, two Chinese guys came over and said they had a bet. One of them thought I was a local and the other thought I was a foreigner. They wanted to know who was right? I still think it was a pick up line, but they invited me over to sit with them after I ate my dinner. This restaurant/bar, and maybe all of the ones in Lijiang, allows the patrons to sing with the musician. So they both went up to sing several times. They were pretty good. There were also some not so good singers that went up there too. They were drinking puerh tea when I sat down with them. Then they switched to beer. I stayed with the tea.

They were both here for business for three days. They thought Lijiang was a very romantic place and I agreed. One of the guys was from Shanghai and the other from Beijing. The guy from Beijing and I exchanged numbers since I will be there in early June. But he doesn't speak much English so I don't know if I'll contact him. They insisted in picking up my dinner when I left.