Shangrila

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in search of the lost horizon
a winter trip from Kunming to Zhongdian

"I arrived at Kunming from Chiangmai at 5.00pm local time. The pilot had earlier announced that the ground temperature was 4 deg C. It was a lot colder than the last time I was here and nothing looked familiar.
Kunming International Airport rendered itself completely unrecognisable; upgraded and a lot more spacious and attractive than it was previously. Deciding not to spend time here, I took a cab straight to Beijing Road for the bus to Lijiang.

The bus station at Beijing Road was one place that didn't change, except for the new ticket booth and electronic signboards. It was still as crowded and unfriendly as before. The convenience stalls in the departure hall still sold biscuits and cakes which should have expired long ago. I asked for chocolates. The answer was still »mei you«.

The rudeness of the ticket sellers also remained a well-preserved tradition and as usual, loud slogans encouraging good service were visible but obviously not heeded.

I bought a ticket on the 6.30 sleeper bus to Lijiang and entered the large departure hall. Looking for the bus in the incredibly big park was one major adventure. I eventually found it and got up on my bed on the upper deck. Meanwhile, there was a fight going on for the more popular lower beds. Four women, two in each group swung their fists and hurled the usual abuses at one another. It almost took an army to settle the dispute. By 8.30pm, two hours after scheduled departure, we were finally on our way.

The 1997 edition of the Lonely Planet said that the minimum amount of time needed for the journey from Kunming to Lijiang was 15 hours. I was prepared to arrive at noon the next day, but I was in for a surprise. There is now a highway linking Kunming and Lijiang. I woke up at 3.00am and looking out of the window, I saw the Cangshan mountains. We were already at Dali. It used to take 10 hours to reach here from Kunming and another 5 hours to reach Lijiang from here.

When the bus finally pulled up at the bus station at 6.30am, I almost thought the driver was joking when he announced that we'd arrived. I took a cab to No.1 Guesthouse (Lijiang Bingguan). This place has grown into a pretty posh location accepting credit cards, but doubles costing Y120 (winter rates) are still affordable. Perhaps the most admirable policy with regards to tourism is that double pricing in China has been officially abolished. Hotel rooms, air and bus tickets, entrance fees are now the same for Chinese nationals and foreigners.

I inspected my room and found it to be quite satisfactory. There was a bathtub, hot water and radiator. The TV didn't work, but then, not being a fan of Chinese propaganda, I didn't see the need to complain. "