Day Seven

Today was primarily a travel day - so this entry will be a bit short. We got up bright and early in Shanghai and headed off to the airport in order to catch our flight to Li Jiang. The travel itself was largely uneventful - one funny side note was a sign at the Shanghai airport that read "Line for Old, Weak, and Pregnant" that we found hilarious. I tried to take a picture with my cell phone (didn't really pan out) but we didn't want to take out our cameras to illicit suspicion from the Chinese officials.

After arriving in Li Jiang we took a walking tour of the old town. Li Jiang is a quaint mountain town in the southwest of China, near Burma and Tibet. Li Jiang is also home to a large Chinese ethnic group known as the "Naxi." The Naxi, as roughly as I can compare them, are something like a Chinese version of the Native Americans. While this analogy is certainly rough and not too accurate, it can give you a vague idea of how the Chinese interact with the Naxi. After grabbing a tasty lunch at a local restaurant we continued our walking adventures in Li Jiang. The old town is gorgeous - with no cars allowed inside - it is a network of small winding streets, markets, corners, and canals, offering a glimpse into China's rural past.

At one point we stumbled into a busy market square were a man sat atop a horse waving around an AK-47, after several minutes of observing we realized that for only a few coins anyone could do the same! I quickly seized the opportunity and hopped up on the horse myself.

We spent the remainder of the evening at our luxurious hotel, the Banyan Tree, where I relaxed sipping White Russians in our private villa. The hotel itself is incredible - comprised of only about fifty private stand alone villas, each with a private jacuzzi, a quaint private outdoor porch, and any comforts or amenities one could ask for. I will try to upload a few pictures from our room and the hotel in general - but for now feel free to check out the hotel's website.