Word on the street, well, up in da mountains is that Tashi's is the next edition of the Bible.
Thought this might warrant a few words.
Without a shadow of doubt, the over-riding thought that enters my head is thanks. No, not to LP, but to all the people I met in Yunnan and told them that I have guesthouse, and would they like to come check it out and and they said, "YES." Seriously, I thank everyone one of you personally, AND more importantly thankful for your adventurous spirit. I'm thankful that you guys realize that traveling is about the people the places and having a little trust in strangers and humanity. I hope you guys go on to have heaps and heaps more adventures.
The guidebooks are there to help, but they're not prescriptive... so chances are, if some guy accosts you in a bus station and says he wants to help you out, chances are he probably does.... and doesn't want to rob you, kill you, or whatever else you can think of.
Which leads me on to all the travel-bible-bashers who were rude to me in the bus station. You'd be really surprised how many there have been over the past three years, considering travellers make themselves out to be free-thinking, tolerant kinda people ..... well .... I guess I'll be seeing ya in my guesthouse now that we're in the Bible, and you're more than welcome.... But it's kinda ironic, don't you think? That I've been trying to help you guys out for years, but you've ignored, blanked, walked away or been plain rude to me, cus you were determined to have you LP prescriptive adventure and Tashi's couldn't possibliy feature in your plans as it was outside of your known world.
Well, now Tashi's is in LP, and you'll be knocking on the door asking for your fix of prescriptive travel adventure....
So, I guess you can tell from this post... it's bitter sweet....
Can I say, just one more time, how thankful I am to the kinda people I met who just rolled with it and came up to the house to check it out and not only stayed but wrote such amazing comments in the guestbook.
Here's a typical scenario I've done dozens of times in Deqin bus station
Me: Hey man, I have a guesthouse here in Deqin, it's the only real Tibetan Guesthouse around, you wanna come check it out?
Traveler: Where is it?
Me: It's on the way to Fei lai Si, on the main road to Tibet. Why don't you come and check it out? If you don't like it, I'll pay for a cab for you to go to another guesthouse....
Traveler: Ok, let's check it out....
SWEET! That's traveling! Gut decision making at it's best...
I've hitch-hiked all over and what I love is that snap decision you need to make before you get in the car. You have less than 30seconds of face time to decide whether the person is going to be beneficial to your trip or not. It's all intuition. Sometimes you can make a bad call, but the more you do it the better you get at it..... this is travelling. Thinking on your feet, looking someone in the eyes and asking yourself, "Are my adventures going to be better for crossing this person's path?"
As oppossed to, "Don't look at me, don't talk to me, leave me alone... I"M TRAVELLING!"
Yah, met plenty of these people in Deqin....
You know, I've approached people in the bus station, who blanked me, then 40 minutes later I've seen them still walking around with their packs, looking like forlorn lost puppies, so I've gone up to them and said;
"Look, I know you don't wanna come to my guesthouse, that's cool! But I do have a house here and know the place pretty well... what do you wanna do? Where do you wanna go? I'll help ya, no charge, just help."
And......
They still blanked me and refused my help ... This has happened more than a few times.
Guys.... this is not adventure. Figuring it out on your own, isn't adventure.
Adventure is the crossing of paths.... If you wanna find adventure but refuse to cross paths with people who are mostly strangers, then you'll always be having a second rate experience....
So, here's shout out to many more people crossing paths... and you don't need a guidebook for that!
I rest my case....
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
Shangri-La is getting better
Have never really been a fan of Shangri-la. The first time I went there it was called Zhongdian and was a grey, dreary town. I spent almost a week there desperately trying to organize the visa to Tibet and was glad to leave.
Since then, the town has come on in leaps and bounds. Although the old town is pretty much a new creation, it's a friendly, lively place to hang out and learn Tibetan dancing.
However, for me, there was always one thing missing from Shangri-la in its new guise, and that was something to buy.
I've brought trekking tours up from Hong Kong and these people were definitely in the market to buy stuff, but they never did. Why? Well, to be honest, most of the stuff around the main square is tat.
Who buys that stuff, I have no idea....?
The dead dog skins and other fury creatures made to look like leopards.... who buys that stuff?
Anyway... the good news is that now, if you know where to look there's some really cool things to buy.
The new stuff that is starting to appear reminds me of some of the things you can purchase in Kathmandu or Lhasa. Stuff with quality, handmade with care and with the ability to capture the memory of your trip and make a treasured memento.
So, where to buy nice stuff? Well, a good place to start is at the back of town, past the Arro Khampa Restaurant, which serves the best steak in Yunnan by the way, so those craving some protein take heed.... this is a real steak.... yes, I know, you thought they didn't make um in China, well they do, at Arro Khampa, so check it out!
Anyway, back to the shopping.... the best place to look for nice things are places like the Handicraft Center, run by the Yunnan Mountain Heritage Foundation. Admittedly, the stuff in here is a little expensive, but is all clearly priced and directly helps local people. Better to buy one quality present from here than a handful of tat from elsewhere.
Around the corner from the Handicraft Center is a thangkha painting school. It's so refreshing and exciting to see real thangkha being painted in Yunnan. The monk-teacher at the school is very committed to thangkha and is passing on some amazing skills to local, poor kids. If you're in the market to wax a few grand, this is where to go. As all the thangkhas are painted with traditional materials so you will be getting something that will last a life time and beyond. Well worth every penny.
There are a few other places popping up all over Shangri-la that are offering real quality stuff, and this shows that the tourism there is beginning to mature. My eyes are certainly opening again to the hidden treasures that can be found there, if you get away from the main drag.
Since then, the town has come on in leaps and bounds. Although the old town is pretty much a new creation, it's a friendly, lively place to hang out and learn Tibetan dancing.
However, for me, there was always one thing missing from Shangri-la in its new guise, and that was something to buy.
I've brought trekking tours up from Hong Kong and these people were definitely in the market to buy stuff, but they never did. Why? Well, to be honest, most of the stuff around the main square is tat.
Who buys that stuff, I have no idea....?
The dead dog skins and other fury creatures made to look like leopards.... who buys that stuff?
Anyway... the good news is that now, if you know where to look there's some really cool things to buy.
The new stuff that is starting to appear reminds me of some of the things you can purchase in Kathmandu or Lhasa. Stuff with quality, handmade with care and with the ability to capture the memory of your trip and make a treasured memento.
So, where to buy nice stuff? Well, a good place to start is at the back of town, past the Arro Khampa Restaurant, which serves the best steak in Yunnan by the way, so those craving some protein take heed.... this is a real steak.... yes, I know, you thought they didn't make um in China, well they do, at Arro Khampa, so check it out!
Anyway, back to the shopping.... the best place to look for nice things are places like the Handicraft Center, run by the Yunnan Mountain Heritage Foundation. Admittedly, the stuff in here is a little expensive, but is all clearly priced and directly helps local people. Better to buy one quality present from here than a handful of tat from elsewhere.
Around the corner from the Handicraft Center is a thangkha painting school. It's so refreshing and exciting to see real thangkha being painted in Yunnan. The monk-teacher at the school is very committed to thangkha and is passing on some amazing skills to local, poor kids. If you're in the market to wax a few grand, this is where to go. As all the thangkhas are painted with traditional materials so you will be getting something that will last a life time and beyond. Well worth every penny.
There are a few other places popping up all over Shangri-la that are offering real quality stuff, and this shows that the tourism there is beginning to mature. My eyes are certainly opening again to the hidden treasures that can be found there, if you get away from the main drag.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Could Fei Lai Si get any worse?
Unfortunately it seems the answer is yes…
Firstly… please, before I rant, let me make myself clear… please go to Fei Lai Si, it has one of the most beautiful views in China and the mountains, in my mind, ARE the most beautiful mountains on earth.
However, the town is another matter.
Sometimes I often think it may have been easier for Tashi’s to open up at Fei Lai Si. We would then get pretty much ALL of the foreign tourist traffic in the area, and I wouldn’t have to constantly explain to the Lonely Planet and Rough Guide zealots that there is a world outside of the guidebooks, and if you do something different from what is written down in your traveling Bibles then you’re more than likely going to have an amazing time and not have your kidney removed and sold on the black market.
So, I often think maybe Fei lai Si would have been the easier option for the Lodge, but my last visit to the place has firmly confirmed in my mind that Fei Lai Si is not for me. Maybe it’s something to do with the twelve foot wall?
Yes, a twelve foot wall now runs down the entire length of the tiny, one-street town, which hints strongly at yet another entry fee for avid tourists to pay.
Paying to take photos of mountains is not at all a good idea in my world, and not because it’s not worth it, or because I believe natural things should be free. My problem with paying to see mountains is, what happens when you don’t get to see them, do you get your money back? Kinda like when you go on a dolphin spotting trip and the guy says, “if you don’t see any dolphins, you don’t have to pay.” Sounds pretty reasonable, right?
So what about the mountains and Melixueshan? No view no pay or what? As the peak season in Yunnan is the summer, and most of this time the peaks hide away under clouds, will you be able to get a refund? Seriously, I came to Deqin twice in the summer and never saw a thing, before I saw Melixueshan clearly in the winter. (note. Don’t let this put you off coming to Deqin in the summer, I just have bad karma)
The first time I went to Fei Lai Si our driver stopped us on the car park and we looked across at the stupas thinking, “Hmmmm, maybe there’s some mountains there or something? Stupas are nice though.”
Well the stupas have gone! I’m sure they’ll build some more, but you wont be able to see them unless you pay, cus they’ll be behind a twelve foot wall.
So, anyway, I’m glad we’re not at Fei Lai Si, it has its very own path to follow and we’ll see how the finished product looks, maybe you wont even need the view? Who knows?
Firstly… please, before I rant, let me make myself clear… please go to Fei Lai Si, it has one of the most beautiful views in China and the mountains, in my mind, ARE the most beautiful mountains on earth.
However, the town is another matter.
Sometimes I often think it may have been easier for Tashi’s to open up at Fei Lai Si. We would then get pretty much ALL of the foreign tourist traffic in the area, and I wouldn’t have to constantly explain to the Lonely Planet and Rough Guide zealots that there is a world outside of the guidebooks, and if you do something different from what is written down in your traveling Bibles then you’re more than likely going to have an amazing time and not have your kidney removed and sold on the black market.
So, I often think maybe Fei lai Si would have been the easier option for the Lodge, but my last visit to the place has firmly confirmed in my mind that Fei Lai Si is not for me. Maybe it’s something to do with the twelve foot wall?
Yes, a twelve foot wall now runs down the entire length of the tiny, one-street town, which hints strongly at yet another entry fee for avid tourists to pay.
Paying to take photos of mountains is not at all a good idea in my world, and not because it’s not worth it, or because I believe natural things should be free. My problem with paying to see mountains is, what happens when you don’t get to see them, do you get your money back? Kinda like when you go on a dolphin spotting trip and the guy says, “if you don’t see any dolphins, you don’t have to pay.” Sounds pretty reasonable, right?
So what about the mountains and Melixueshan? No view no pay or what? As the peak season in Yunnan is the summer, and most of this time the peaks hide away under clouds, will you be able to get a refund? Seriously, I came to Deqin twice in the summer and never saw a thing, before I saw Melixueshan clearly in the winter. (note. Don’t let this put you off coming to Deqin in the summer, I just have bad karma)
The first time I went to Fei Lai Si our driver stopped us on the car park and we looked across at the stupas thinking, “Hmmmm, maybe there’s some mountains there or something? Stupas are nice though.”
Well the stupas have gone! I’m sure they’ll build some more, but you wont be able to see them unless you pay, cus they’ll be behind a twelve foot wall.
So, anyway, I’m glad we’re not at Fei Lai Si, it has its very own path to follow and we’ll see how the finished product looks, maybe you wont even need the view? Who knows?
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