Lijiang

Celebrating St Patrick's day in style at an Irish Pub in China. After successfully completing the gorge trail we attacked all boissons Irish; Bulmers, Guinness, Baileys and, because it's green, absinthe. On the way out I thought I had been struck by the hallucinogenic green fairy as there was a huge white furry llama standing in front of me. Thankfully it wasn't a vision but the real thing. We had a photo together.
Last day in Lijiang was spent avoiding the tourists. I took the bus to Baisha, an ancient town to the north. Here I met Dr. Ho, a legendary Chinese Herbalist who treats patienst for free and has been the subject of many international documentaries. He's also had a visit from Palin too. The evening was very exciting for me as I was going to a concert of the ancient Naxi orchestra. Every aspect of the performance was old; the music (dating back nearly 1000 years), the instruments (one was a relplica of a 2000-year-old string instrument), and the performers (most were in their eighties and kept dozing off). It was fantastic to see so many players on the stage although the thud of the music from the clubs during the silences was a stark reminder of how the modern world is taking over...Read more