Day 2 (Part 1): Traveling to Lijiang: Jay’s thorough research uncovered that we might experience noticeable side effects due to the sudden altitude change since Chiang Mai is located only 300m above sea-level while Kunming is 1900m above. The initial leg of this journey was a significant transition so our one night stay in Kunming before moving on was intentional. The next day we packed our bags and checked out to take a train to Lijiang which is located at an even more extreme altitude of 2400m with our ultimate destination, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, at 4506m above sea level.
It was colder now than it was on our arrival the previous day so we dressed a bit warmer and used DiDi ride sharing app to hail a ride to Kunming South railway station. We used Baidu Maps, the default navigation provider and I found it interesting how accurate it was in terms of pinpointing our location during the ride including the amount of time we’d spend sitting at a traffic light down to the seconds. Once we arrived at the train station, we took a short walk across the common areas where there were street vendors like one might see in Thailand but these offered not only some street food classics but also some items I’d never seen before.
We checked in using our passports which were scanned by an attendant who confirmed our reservation with no ticket required. After wandering around for a few minutes we asked a janitor to help us find our gate and he gladly led us from the first floor to the second where we sat in a large hall with other passengers headed the same way.
When boarding time came around, we queued up in the line that had an attendant who again scanned our passports before allowing us to exit out onto the platform. Finding ours was easy as there were lighted signs guiding hurried passengers to their train cars. The one we boarded seated us in rows of 3 on one side, 2 on the other and on this leg of the trip, we sat comfortably on the side with 2 seats. We brought our own snacks and food for the 3.5 hour ride to our destination. Of note were some crunchy peanuts that were decorated to look like bird eggs. I noticed a display that reported we were traveling 100 km/h while at other times it would reach nearly 200 and despite this high speed, it was a smooth, quiet ride on a clear day allowing us to take in the view of the countryside while I drifted in and out of sleep. We saw a nuclear power plant at one point and a wind farm built on the top of the mountains in the distance. The train sped through villages, farms, small communities, cities and valleys, entering and exiting tunnels carved into the mountains.
On arrival at Lijiang, we disembarked and emerged from the train station to a clear view of Yulong Snow Mountain - our destination for tomorrow. Jay dialed up another Didi ride where we noticed something else. Everyone seemed to be driving EVs. Even the motorbikes speeding in their own lanes alongside rented EV bikes with minimal noise were batter powered. The sidewalks in the area of the location where we’d be staying for the next couple of nights were lined with shops - mostly places where food was being sold. After a 15-min ride, our taxi driver stopped, stepped out of the car, unloaded our luggage and pointed us in the direction of an alley that meandered up a steep hill. He seemed to be in a hurry so we grabbed our things and began to walk the rest of the way up the connecting street.
Around 100 meters up the hill, we came across a familiar doorway and realized we’d arrived at the place we’d sleep the next couple of nights, Fuyun · Oxygen Supply · Light Luxury Homestay. Bear with me now, because I absolutely have to tell you about this place. We are budget travelers which means Jay limits our spending while ensuring we have a comfortable yet affordable holiday. Because of this, we normally stay in modest accommodations but on this occasion she must have used some sort of cheat code because this - was budget luxury.
The entrance and foyer were lovely and so were the 2 giant golden retrievers lounging in the lobby. To be honest, I don’t know the breed of the docile dogs but they paid us no attention when we walked in as they slept quietly in the living room of this beautiful guesthouse. We whipped out our phones and readied the translators, greeted the young lady at reception and handed over our passports. A few moments later, she asked a large man to grab our begs while she showed us to our rooms.
The corner room Jay booked looked like something out of a movie. There was a small washing machine above a state of the art e-toilet. The receptionist informed us we could use the drying machine in the common area at no charge. There was a hot/warm water dispenser installed next to the big LED screen which we used quite often but we don’t watch tv, so for us, the LED was just a nice decoration. There was central heat, a humidifier, an oxygen machine, a shoe dryer and the curtains were connected to the lighting system allowing remote operation. The down comforter draped across the bed and soft pillows promised a comfortable night’s sleep.
Disposable bath, hand and face towels were provided in lieu of typical re-usable, cloth towels. A tub in the middle of the floor near the window beckoned, sparking Jay’s excitement which of course means it would definitely get used at least once during our stay. The room had everything we needed and more for a rate of 1100 baht per night. Can you tell I was impressed? We took the stairs up to find the drying machines and took a look at the view provided on the upper terrace then after we were settled in, we were ready to eat. It was time to go out and explore.
Let’s take a break and I’ll tell you all about what we found on our walk in my next entry, Day 2: Part II.
Day 1: Traveling to Kunming
My wife, Jay, is pretty amazing in many ways but relative to this diary entry, she’s really good at planning and executing travel plans. She’s meticulous about everything from booking our travel and accommodations to ensuring we have convenient means to pay for everything during our trip. Before we met, I’d never really done much traveling but now I’m in her world. Jay organizes everything and I’m along for the ride.
We’ve traveled to Vietnam, Hong Kong, Fukuoka in Japan and on this excursion, she decided it was time to visit somewhere in China to a place called Lijiang. I’d never heard of it of course but I was excited about the opportunity to see a bit of this place that everyone in the West seems to hate so much. Jay informed me that as a Thai citizen, she’d get a visa on arrival but as a US Citizen, I need to apply in advance. It was a simple online process and after a couple of weeks and a visit to their office, I received my visa ensuring we’d have no need to re-apply for the next 10 years should we decide on visiting again in the future (cost was a little over 5k baht).
The day to start our trip came, so, at 6pm, we took a bus from Chiang Mai that would arrive 9 hours later at Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok. The destination was Kunming, the capital and largest city of Yunnan Province. It’s the beginning of winter and since we live in an area that has tropical weather most of the year, Jay had prepared us well with the necessary clothing required for our time in the region. So early that next morning, we strapped on our boots and winter coats then boarded the flight that took us to our first visit to China.
Kunming Changshui International Airport was massive and the weather was chilly at around 12°C. There was an auto-dispenser in the baggage area that provided room temperature and hot water at no charge which I thought was kinda cool. After baggage collection, we headed outside to hail a taxi but were a little confused with our options until we ran into a freelance guide named Will. He was Chinese but his English was fluent and after giving us his card, he helped book a sufficient car that would take us to our hotel, City Comfort Inn.
We unloaded the private taxi and checked in just before 2pm. The room was unremarkable to be fair but it was decent size, had hot water, an a/c (for heat cuz it was cold) and a firm bed with a down comforter. After dropping our things, we headed out to grab a bite to eat at a restaurant just around the corner from our hotel on the main street. We were shocked at the size of the bowl of noodles and luckily didn’t order much. The staff were kind, helpful and vehemently refused a tip. Later we learned that tipping culture doesn’t really exist in Chinese culture but I suppose that may depend on location. On the way out, we came across a souvenir snacks shop that sold by the kg and decided we’d stock up on some unusual treats on our last day.
Thereafter, wifey and I split from our travel companions to explore some of the surrounding area. Shuncheng Shopping Centre is just opposite our hotel so that was our first stop. Jay finally saw trees that change color when the seasons change irl - one of many firsts she’d have on this journey - so of course we had to get a few shots of that. There was a really cool bagel shop selling cream cheese stuffed bagels in a variety of unusual flavors so we had to try one.
Our next stop was a tourist attraction called 金马碧鸡坊 that featured some old style gates and lots of souvenir shops where we got some fun memory shots and bought some tea made from flowers and dried fruit. This was the first place we noticed how there was a police and/or army presence in every location where large groups of people congregate. This was on top of the surveillance cameras everywhere. Whether this is a positive or negative aspect is debatable but we agreed it made us feel safe as travelers in a foreign country where very few of the inhabitants speak English or Thai.
Our last stop of the day was a small food plaza across the main street where we were staying. It’s not marked on Google maps but it was connected to Jingxing Street. There were a wide variety of food vendors but we weren’t particularly hungry so we just grabbed some barbecue and headed back to the room. We’d need to be up early the next day to go take a high speed train to Lijiang.
Stay tuned, I'll sharing more about out the rest of our trip over the next few days with subscribers. Hope to see ya there. Questions or thoughts? Share in the comments!
