to White. White tile and cold water

This was a nice find this far north. It was a huge white tiled room in a double room.

Donkeys and Shrines at Night, or: from Black...

Deqin at night.

Deqin Detail - Offering

All the shrines bellow had these little set ups, arrangements, offerings, still lives set up with tiger bears straight outta "where the wild things are".

Return of the Mixer & Deqin view

[as always click for larger view]

First Bend, on the way to Deqin

Ganden (North Shangrila) Monestary

A monk was met who gave tours of his home. I missed out as I was wandering around, confounded by all these doorways on the second floor of blank walls. I was also re-introduced to my old acquaintance altitude. He likes to slow me down.

Cats and custom cigarettes

New Years Eve (Chinese New Year) we were stuck in "Shangrila". In winter there is nothing about this place. We smokes which made the cat really interesting. He was on the string all night, a rowdy one who competed for my attention along with a drunk Tibetan who showed up in a silk fur jacket and a cowboy hat and wanted to challenge everyone to a signing duel. Later in bed I awoke to the sound of a yelling duel, when I opened the door to look downstairs I found the yelling due was actually a fist duel taking place right outside my room. Ah the fun of Chinese New Year.

Going Up (North from Lijiang)

Mao Poster (a.k.a. man with the bald hat)

What we looked at in bed every night and morning in Lijiang (North Yunnan, China)

Man with the fur hat

Plus a map behind him on where we are going next.

Hill Top (see Bamboo for outside gate)

On the hill over looking Lijiang is this old style building with old bonsai trees. Beautifully lit up orange by big spotlights at night.

Locked Out

... the next few moments were really awkward as I was taking pictures of her and her doorway. She reached the top of the stairs and the only problem is that when we had shut the door it had locked behind us. So, we had to stand there while the woman (this is the exact moment in fact) turned around and saw us. Rather, saw me, the guy who had asked her to come into her home the day before. I knew she knew that she had not locked the door. I also knew that she knew that "we" had been in her house and shut the door, locking it. So I stood there, trying not to laugh (I know this is horrible), and my Chinese friend standing tall as all military men should was similarly horrified and trying not to laugh. The woman scowled, looked around, shook the door, glared at us, shook the door, and started cussing. We couldn't move. We knew she knew we were responsible but if we moved it would tell her that we knew she knew that we did it. So we stood there. She glared, shook the door cusing, and we stood there some more. This shacking, scowling and cusing went on for some time. Finally she walked down the stairs, looking over her shoulder at us and went away. I don't know where too, and so we at that point knew that we should leave right away.

Going Home

I had met this woman the day before and asked if we could see her home as it had some really interesting doors in really strange places. She shooed me away and wasn't impressed. At the time she was arguing with her grandson, telling him not to leave the house while she was away. At the time I thought, "damn, if only I had knocked on the door after she had left, the kid might have let me in!". So the next day I went back (with a Chinese friend, one part of a very interesting couple, he works in the Navy) and had asked if he could translate. When we got to the house he went right up to the door, knocked, no answer, so he went inside...I was mortified. "No one home" he said (motioned) as we looked around the entrance way and poked our heads here and there. As we left he closed the door behind him with a clink. As we came down the steps I took out my camera to take a picture of the doorway and at that exact moment she arrived, as if it was planned...

tv Dish

Once you get on the chairs (bellow) you can watch some TV on your way up.

Carry Chairs

They use these to ferry people up and down the gorge. It was brutal hiking it, I can't imagine carrying someone OR being the one carried next to sheer 100 foot+ drops.

Tomb Builders 2

Hay Bundles

Long bike ride to find the tomb builders and many tomb yards in the country side. Also found these huge bundles of...hay?

Coal Store

Great location of black coal next to the white stone tomb makers.

Tomb and Lion Builders

Tomb & Lion maker

Tomb Maker Part 2

Tomb Builders Part 1

We rented bikes that barely worked and trudged around Lijiang and the surrounding areas. Our search was for old tomb sites that we'd seen from the bus to Luga Hu. What we found were some magical places and an industry of stone, white clouds, and chisles.

Dance, dance, dance

Look down and you see the fish. Follow the river and you see the exact same up and down the street in old town Lijiang. Where disco cowboys meet something else.