Chéngdū (成都). April 29-30, 2014.

Tuesday, April 29th

We set off from Xiaojin around 8am as we had a long day's drive ahead of us... none of us knew how long and challenging the day was about to get.

It started innocently enough, as we were slowly gaining more and more altitude... and more. At first the surrounding mountain tops were covered in a pretty dusting of snow. This 'pretty dusting of snow' soon turned into 'snow covered mountains' soon complemented with snow on the road. So much so that cars were becoming stuck in the fast thickening snow blanket. We'd been carrying snow chains since the beginning of our trip, every now and then wondering why; and, we even considered taking them to Belgium on our short trip over there a few months ago (to pick them back up at the end of the trip). But what do you know: we actually put them on the get over the snow covered high pass!! More and more cars got stuck, blocking trucks coming up and going down. Some drivers (truck and other) did the right thing and waited on the side for oncoming traffic to get passed, but naturally there were the ones who tried to overtake those and causing no end of havoc, blocking everyone for about an hour in both directions. Naturally we got stuck in such a jam. When we finally could continue and make it down the mountain, Ivor and Kuipwagen were waiting for us.

Pretty dusting of snow.

Heavy dusting of snow.

Sterlin getting his snow chains fitted.

Ivor and Kuipwagen on their way down...

... while we got stuck in a jam.

But that was only half the day's driving done.... it got worse. No more snow but the road (or lack thereof) condition totally turned to custard. You see, when the Chinese decide to start tunneling through the mountains they don't do any maintenance whatsoever anymore on the existing road, which means the condition of that road deteriorates rapidly. To the point that there isn't really a road (surface) left. So that is what we had to deal with for the next long stretch. It was a very long stretch of near 4WD conditions (even in the tunnels: they weren't finished, some had no lights and no road surface...). Quite the adventure really!

About 70 odd kms out of Chengdu we made a little detour to visit the Dujiangyan Irrigation System, reputedly the oldest irrigation system in the world and a Unesco World Heritage Site.
By the time we made it to our hotel in Chengdu it was past 8pm and we were all starving. Lun swiftly led us to a nearby restaurant. After dinner Kim, Vaughan and we went for drinks in Henry's Int'l Hostel next to our hotel, which happened to have a half decent bar. Nice end to a long day.


Wednesday, April 30th

Panda day! Up early to beat the main tourist rush at the Chengdu Panda Reserve. We took the local bus which was the easiest way to get there. We had all been looking forward to this visit so naturally everyone was very excited to be there. Beating the rush was great and gave us more opportunities to enjoying observing those amazing creatures. We spent about 4 hours in the reserve and enjoyed every minute of it - except for the part where I (Caroline) got temporarily separated from the others. But in the end I found them all safe and well :)

Cute man!

Youngsters sharing their day-long meal.

Cute.... but messy!!!!

Last but not least: Red Panda. Also cute!

In the afternoon we got into a taxi, arranged by Lun, and drove all the way across the city to a computer superstore to buy new back-up drives. We'd experienced another potentially catastrophic failure on our primary Seagate drive holding all of our photos. Fortunately we had backups. But the back-up drive became the primary drive and now we needed and new backup drive.  Not too happy with Seagate as this is the third Seagate drive that has failed on this trip.... needless to say we bought a different brand.

After this successful exercise Stephen was rewarded with MacDonalds (which happened to be just across the road, and Caroline joined in for support) and afterwards we even managed to find a Starbucks. And it got better: we found the mother of all supermarkets in China (very fancy one) where we found cornflakes and Wente wine!!!! (Wente is a vineyard in Livermore, Bay Area, and we know it well). The perfect libation to celebrate Caroline's 1 year of traveling! Ok, champagne would  have been better, but when choice is limited and one finds something good, one won't be too picky :)

We shared the wine with some of our companions after which we thought another visit to Henry's was called for. We'd become friendly with Jimmy, the manager and he was very happy to see us again. Jimmy christened Stephen "The Mechanic", which is a little ironic and sad at the same time.

Map of China

Fast Facts

Day: 339
Date: Tuesday, April 29, 2014.
From: Xiǎojīn (小金)
To: Chéngdū (成都) 
Distance Travelled: 326 kms (203 miles)

Stayed at: Home Inn.
Located at: 30.999729º N, 102.358778º E
Hotel notes: Basic. ???. ¥??? (~$?? USD).

Xiǎojīn (小金). April 28, 2014

Monday, April 28th

It was a cold night as our hotel room did not have any central heating and the outside temperature must have been around 5ºC (40F), or maybe even lower. Fortunately our beds had electric blankets, which meant we were warm during the night. It has been many decades since we have slept with an electric blanket. For breakfast we headed directly to Khampa Cafe for a lovely morning latte before hitting the road to Danba. We had a short driving day and it was nice to have a later start (9 am).

The road to Dānbā was still at elevation and the terrain was high alpine with little trees and bleak grassy hills. The hills were covered with a dusting of snow. This really is a harsh land and it is hard to imagine what it would be like in winter. The roads are so steep around these parts that many of the trucks have sprinklers fitted over the wheel hubs to keep them cool by spraying water as they descend. It seems they spray water even when the outside temperature is near freezing point. This practice meant we were extra concerned that the roads might be icy, and took it very easy on the way down. Once we started to descend the temperature started to rise and the sun made an appearance and we had a very nice mornings drive.

Eerie beauty in a bleak environment.

Just after 12 noon we got to Dānbā and the Jiaju village, which is billed as the 'prettiest Tibetan village in all of China'. As with most steep and winding roads in China, the road to Jiaju village was under construction. We crept our way up the hillside and were rewarded with lovely views of the village and the surrounding valley. We did a little wandering around so we felt like we had got our money's worth. Entrance fee was ¥30 per person (USD$ 5). Our short visit did mean we could have lunch at a reasonable time back in Danba proper.

Jiaju Village.

After lunch we headed to Xiǎojīn via the Qiang towers. These watch towers were built between 700 and 1200 years ago and served several purposes including the signaling of would-be-attackers. We took some happy snaps from a distance before we continued the last 50kms to Xiaojin. And what a magnificent 50kms they were. Without exception, the scenery was the best we had seen. We hugged a river as it cut its way down the mountain. On each side were towering cliffs and lush green forest trees. It was raining a little and the mountain tops were covered in mist, all of which gave the entire scene a mystical magical fairy-tale feeling. The road down the gorge was in excellent shape, except for one very well hidden and brutally effective car stopping speed bump, that we and the others all hit at speed. Sterlin, Ivor and Kuipwagen fortunately all survived the encounter.

Xiǎojīn for some strange reason was not on our GPS map. Strange because it is quite a sizable town (population 58,000). Lun had not stopped here before, so it took a few attempts before we found hotel that fit our needs. The internet in our hotel was a challenge to catch and involved wandering the halls in search of a signal. So, email and blog updates were delayed. And although China is very modern, it turned out that it has been the hardest place of all the countries we have visited so far to get internet.

Dinner was Sichuan noodles which are typically quite spicy, but the restaurant gave us a break and we had the "no spicy" version as we are tourists. Just as well really.
It turned out to be quite a long day, but quite enjoyable nonetheless.

Tǎgōng (塔公). April 27, 2014

Sunday, April 27th

Just a short update as we are a little short on wifi. Drive from Lǐtáng was wonderful, although the road was under construction and the tunnel through the mountain was not complete. This forced us to take the high road over the mountain which clearly hadn't been maintained for years. It did however afford us wonderful alpine views. The highest point for the day was 4,664 meters (approximately).

Rather effective way of climbing out of a valley.

Impressive mountain roads.

After the long and bumpy drive we finished the day with a wonderful evening around the warming fire in Khampa Cafe. It really is quite cold here as we are still at altitude, approximately 3,500 mts (11,500 ft). We (Stephen) like the cold. Caroline likes it a tad warmer...

View from Khampa Cafe

Lǐtáng (理塘). April 26, 2014

Saturday, April 26th

The mountain drive today was even more magnificent than the previous day. We really gained some elevation, peaking out at 4,708 mts (15,446 ft), which is higher than any point in the lower 48 states of America.. Sterlin did great and did not seem to be affected by the elevation.

More lovely Tibetan style buildings.

Power Lines being constructed everywhere.
Cold work.

Sterlin at the pass of Kuluke Mountain

Xiāngchéng (乡城 ). April 25, 2014

Friday, April 25th

Everyone hit with the tummy bug were strong enough to get back in the cars and head North. We had a long-ish drive planned for the day and wanted to get going. Lun advised us to travel in convoy today, as we cross into Sichuan Province and there was anticipated to have a Police checkpoint. So we drove just like ours first day in China and pretty much in sight of each other. En route Kuipwagen decided he needed some attention. Coen, Marijke and Vaughan performed a wonderful roadside field repair and Kuipwagen got two new fuel filters.

Amazing scenery. We continued to climb throughout the day with the landscape becoming increasingly austere. Pretty much all if the buildings were in the Tibetan style.

Just before lunch we crossed the Police check without incident. Actually we did not even see the checkpoint or any police. There was a traffic control point to prevent construction and truck traffic into the massively jammed up town. Clearly the traffic control measures were not working. The scenery for even more beautiful during the afternoon drive. 

We arrived late into Xiāngchéng, around 6pm. Lun encouraged us to visit the local Monastery. As we arrived all the local construction workers were knocking off for the day, and we were sure that we had arrived a little too late. We couldn't have been more wrong. Buddhist monks emerged from somewhere and were extremely welcoming. In fact our little group got a private tour of the Monastery. It was truly delightful. We were shown around the assembly hall with each if the Buddhas being explained to us, along with several painting being interpreted. We even saw the large Buddha which was in a hall under construction. They had to find someone to open it up for us. Typically photos are forbidden of the relics, but the monks were almost pleading us to take photos. So Caroline was in heaven snapping away. It was a most wonderful visit.

We had a little celebration over dinner, in honor if Kim and Vaughan who had been on the road exactly 1 year. We shared two rather dubious quality bottles of red wine.

During the night Stephen was also struck down with the tummy bug others already had. It was a sleepless night for us both.

Field Repair

Beautiful mountains.

The roads weren't always good.

Lovely Tibetan houses.

The road winding through the mountains.

The cars outside the Monastery.

Shangri-La County (Jiàntáng/建塘镇). April 23-24, 2014

Wednesday, April 23rd

Tiger Leaping Gorge was a wonderful stop and although we were there for only an afternoon and a late morning start, it provided a much needed break. We left the gorge on the same road we entered and then headed north to continue to Shangri La. The road was a little steeper than the previous days and we steadily gained elevation to a peak of 3336 m (10,950 ft). Ivor, Kuipwagen and Sterlin seemed to be handling the elevation with relative ease.

About 30 kms (20 miles) before Shangri-La the steep mountain terrain ended and was replaced with a high plateau. The change was quite sudden and obvious. The homes and building architecture also changed with a transition to a Tibetan style. We also saw a stupa with prayer flags, another strong indication that we had entered the "Tibetan Cultural Area". Technically it is not within the borders of the Tibet Autonomous Region, but culturally it is closely related. There are still significant signs of Chinese influence including large roads and grand buildings.

Shortly after checking into our wonderful little hotel, we jumped back into the cars and headed to Ganden Sumtseling Gompa. This is the local Tibetan Buddhist Monastery which also serves as the town's major tourist attraction. For the exorbitant fee of ¥115 (USD$20) per person, we took a 2 km bus ride up the hill to the monastary. But it was worth it. We wandered the grounds and enjoyed the clash between the old monastery grounds and the brand new buildings under construction. The monastery reminded us a little of the Potala Palace in Lhasa.

Later we went in search of dinner and the old town. We had great trouble finding the old town and got a little lost, but a quick phone call to Vaughan sorted us out. Unfortunately there was only rubble left from the fire that broke out in January 2014 and which destroyed most of the area. Some shops and restaurants survived and we found ourselves a Tibetan restaurant for dinner.

Shangri La is not really real, well at least this place is not the Shangri La mentioned in the novel by James Hilton. This town was renamed by the Chinese in 2001 from Zhongdian County to Shangri La County in an effort to promote tourism in the area. It seems to be working. It was hard to tell what impact the fire will have on the town and tourism.

It is good to see prayer flags again.

Sterlin in the Tibetan Cultural Area. 

Ganden Sumtseling Gompa Monastery.

Local group dancing.

The monastery in the old town
that survived the fire.

Thursday, April 24th

Today we decided to take an unscheduled rest day. 3 out of the 6 convoy members were struck down with a tummy bug. Caroline unfortunately was one of them. Everyone was doing ok and  just holding up in their respective beds.

The replacement parts for Sterlin arrived in Luang Prabang 2 days ago. And today they made their way to the Land Rover garage who shipped them onto Beijing. Once they have cleared customs there, our guide will arrange for them to be shipped to us. A bit of a convoluted path, but glad they were on the way.

Tiger Leaping Gorge (虎跳峡). April 22, 2014

Tuesday, April 22nd

An easy drive through the mountains. Started off back-tracking down the beautiful toll road before heading up a new valley to Tiger Leaping Gorge on the Yangtze River. It is also essential part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan. Our itinerary always anticipated stopping at the viewpoint of Tiger Leaping Gorge, but had us continuing on in the afternoon. Instead we cashed in one of our "bank days" and decided to drive further down the gorge and spend the night at Tina's Guesthouse just above middle rapids.

Once we arranged a room for the night, Kim, Vaughan and Stephen headed up on the trail to the "high road". Really quite nice scenery. The hike was cut short because the plan was to meet back at the guesthouse at 3pm and descend down to the gorge proper. This time Caroline, Coen and Marijke also joined. But the terrain was very steep indeed and not to Caroline's liking, so about halfway down she sensibly headed back up. The rest of us continued down to see the waters raging through the rapids. Spectacular. We all potted around on the rocks for a while before making the demanding hike back up the steep walls. In the meantime, Caroline made friends with Aren who was from the Netherlands. We all had a nice dinner together.

The day was best captured in photos.

Tiger Leaping Gorge. 

Stephen at the main viewpoint.

Kuipwagen on the road to middle rapids.

The high road. Trail is a little narrow in places.

Vaughan, Kim, Coen, Marijke and Stephen at middle rapids.

A better view of middle rapids.

The bridge to one of the rocks the
Tiger apparently leapt from.

The sky ladder up and back to
our guest house.

There was the "safe path" and the "sky ladder path".
Have a guess which one we took?

Wednesday, April 23rd

Great night's sleep. Must be the mountain air.

We got some news on our spare parts. They have finally arrived at the hotel in Luang Prabang. So now had to get them to the Land Rover shop in Luang Prabang, who would forward them to the daughter of our guide in Beijing who would then forward them to us. I know, a little convoluted.

Ready to departure. Nice to have a late start.

Map of China

Fast Facts

Day: 332
Date: Tuesday, April 22, 2014.
From: Lìjiāng (丽江)
To: Tiger Leaping Gorge (虎跳峡) 
Distance Travelled: 97 kms (60 miles)

Stayed at: Tina's Guesthouse
Located at: 27.25747167º N, 100.15806º E
Hotel notes: Better than basic. Clean. Good wifi. Breakfast extra. Good restaurant. ¥160 (~$27 USD).