From Kunming we took a night bus to Lijiang. It was an okay ride, but the guys behind us had smelly feet and the old-school Jackie Chan flick didn’t have English subtitles. We arrived in a dark and drizzly Lijiang at 5am. We got a cab and showed him a card from the guesthouse we wanted to go to. After driving to the edge of the old town (its pedestrians only inside), calling the number on the card, and talking to a woman for a bit, he indicated the hotel was full. After some gesturing on both our parts, he drove us around to another entrance to the old town and showed us to a very pricey hotel (over 100 USD!). We didn’t stay at his overpriced recommendation, but instead walked a block and found a more reasonable option, although still more than we usually pay. But it was dark, raining, and most guesthouses weren’t even open yet. And on the plus side, at least our more expensive room was worth it, as it was pretty nice. (Later we did find the original guesthouse we wanted to go to and the lady there said she got the call that morning and tried to explain to the cab driver how to get there, but that he was uncooperative. She said he was probably a dishonest cabbie who scammed us)

After sleeping a little bit, we went out to explore Lijiang. Lijiang is actually split into two parts, old town and new town. Old town is the main attraction, although its not really old. In 1996, an earthquake leveled the city. In an effort to increase tourism, the government standardized the architecture used in the old town and barred any concrete buildings. So the ancient looking town is really a brand new town rebuilt in an older looking style. One fellow traveler told me that the Chinese don’t like anything old. But they’re fine to build new things that look old. Anyways, genuine or not, the old town is a relaxing little place. There’s no cars on the cobblestone thoroughfares and alleyways. And although its touristy, I haven’t seen barely any westerners- the town is full of Chinese tourists (who are quite interesting to watch themselves). So although a touristy little place, barely anyone speaks English. It seems that the only people that speak English are a few of the more educated Chinese tourists (who have helped us at quite a few restaurants). The lack of English is one reason why we switched from our first hotel (not a word of English) to the International Youth Hostel, for our second night. So far, China has really shown me how much I take English for granted. Without a common language, simple tasks like ordering food, asking/negotiating prices, and getting directions is inordinately difficult, not to mention finding onward travel and other esoteric discussions.

It rained on and off for much of our first day here, so we didn’t do too much. We found a little family-run café that offered local-priced breakfast (porridge and dumplings). Other than eating and looking for a new hotel, day one was pretty mellow. But today was clear blue skies, so we took a couple walks up nearby hills. They afforded really nice views over the old town and surrounding mountains. Overall, Lijiang has enhanced my initial observations about China: its mellow and nice, but no English. From what I’ve heard, Yunnan is totally unlike the rest of China, but its been a nice place to begin our time in China, since we’re still adjusting.