Feilaisi

Feilaisi (Fay lay sir)

What a shame that Feilaisi isn't one of the most stunning places on earth.

Actually, I do it a small injustice. If you're looking at the Kawa Karpo (Meilixueshan) mountain range on a clear day, then Feilaisi IS one of the most beautiful places in China.

Unfortunately, the Kawa Karpo (Meilixueshan) mountains are more often than not covered in cloud, which leaves the traveler with only Feilaisi. Note: for unlimited views of the Deqin Mountains you have to visit Deqin at wintertime... OMG!!!

I love the area around Deqin so much that I took a massive gamble and created Tashi's Mountain Lodge. However when we were planning to open a guesthouse in the area, I never once entertained getting a place in Feilaisi. Our Tibetan friends didn't really understand why.

To me the answer is pretty clear, Feilaisi is a tourist disaster, in my mind the best thing they could do, is knock it all down and start again.... I say this not out of spite but because it could be SO GOOD.

Unfortunately, they're building even more buildings that look terrible and show no signs of stopping, so the future for this one street town is, well... dull.

My advice: Go to Feilaisi, it still is one of the best places in Yunnan, if not China, and while you're there, say a little prayer for the town and hope that one day it will grow up to be the place it deserves to be.

Highlights

You can't beat sitting on the patio at the Migrating Bird Bar on a clear day. The view is so impossibly huge, your mind can't take it all in. It really is inspiring. Shame the Migrating Bird isn't very happening place. What is the deal with this place anyway? Can anyone tell me? It has got everything, a trillion dollar view, great venue, great interior, ok food and coffee but no atmosphere. It feels like the place used to be the trekking hub of the region but is now bored of it all.... What's their story? Does anyone know? Email me

Buying Om Mani Padme Hum slates from the man near the pagoda.

If you're a coffee adict, Feilaisi is probably the best place to get a good fix

And of course the view..... duh!

Lowlights

The lack of any town planning.

The view that modern is good, so let's build huge modern hotels that look rubbish and out of place

Stinky toilets

The rubbish on the floor

The way bars stack up all their beer bottles outside the doors, in a lame way to show that they were once busy

The way the restaurants have HUGE menus with loads and loads of choice in them, but don't actually serve any of it.

for more info visit www.deqinlodge.com

When is the best time to see the sunrise over Meilixueshan (Kawa Karpo)?

You might be surprised to find out, that even though the guidebook says that one of the highlights of the area is watching the sunrise over MeiliXueshan (Kawa Karpo), it's not always possible.

You'd be amazed how many people I've spoken to who have been absolutely convinced that they're going to see a spectacular sunrise, despite the season, and me telling them to the contrary, because the guidebook says they will. Sometimes the best times to see the mountain isn't in the morning, even if the guidebook says it is.

As a rule of thumb and based on my experience only.... winter is the best time. If you want unlimited, anytime, picture postcard vistas of the mountains, then you need to visit in the winter. Winter is the only time you can guarantee spectacular views

In autumn or spring, you normally get windows of clarity. The longer you stay around, the more chance you'll get of it being cleared. You can have four days of no clouds, then four days of cloud, like this, or it can be clear in the morning and clouded over in the evening. It's hard to predict.

In the summer, which is the rainy season, the peaks are often covered in cloud. My experience, and I've been in Deqin every month of the year, is that if it's going to be clear, then this usually happens in the late afternoon. Gosh, I know the guidebook says it's clear in the morning, but my experience is that in the summer it's clearer in the afternoon. Make of it as you will.

Remember, Deqin is so spectacular you don't need to see Meilixueshan (Kawa Karpo) to be blown away by the scenery, so come up regardless of the weather. In fact the first time I ever visited Deqin, it was so cloudy we had no chance of seeing the mountains. Our driver parked his car up in Felaizi and stood there pointing at a whole bunch of cloud. We kinda had the impression he was pointing at something significant but couldn't see anything. Despite not seeing Meilixueshan we still had an amazing time in Deqin.

Tashi's Mountain Lodge has opened up a new website

www.deqinlodge.com

Please go check it out

New Website

So, check out Tashi's Mountain Lodge's new website.

it has some great new features including a message board to help travelers coordinate their travel plans in northern Yunnan.

check it out

www.deqinlodge.com

Don't forget you can also see the original Tashi's site @ www.tashislodge.com - unfortunately, this site is difficult to see in Yunnan.  hence the new site

Miancimu

Here's a great picture of Miancimu, Kawa Karpo's wife-mountain.
The most beautiful mountain in the world

Deqin+Weather

Here's another site showing the weather for the Deqin area

http://www.weatherforecastmap.com/china/deqin/

Winter is such a great time to be in Deqin.... don't be put-off by those low temperatures.

When the sunshines in the day-time it is glorious.... and as soon as the sun goes down, just wrap-up, curl up next to a nice warm fire, a cup of ginger-lemon tea and some good people to chat with.... can't beat it!

Deqin weather

If you want to know what the weather is like in Deqin, then try this Yahoo weather link

http://uk.weather.yahoo.com/CHXX/CHXX0360/index_c.html