Thursday, April 07, 2016

Trekking the Tiger Leaping Gorge (24 Oct 2015 - 25 Oct 2015) - Part 1


After pondering for a couple of days in Lijiang, Yunnan, I finally decided to go trek the Tiger Leaping Gorge and I never regretted making that decision.

How to get there:
- Tina's Guest House in the Middle Tiger Leaping Gorge,  has a daily 7 am bus picking up people in Lijiang > Upper Tiger Leaping Gorge > Tina's Guest House.

- The journey will take about 3 hours to reach the Upper Tiger Leaping Gorge trekking start point. Along the way, there is 1 stop where you can buy food (tea eggs, corn) and also visit the most primitive toilets for 1 yuan.



What to do with your additional luggage:
- As the trek from the Upper TLG to Middle TLG will end at Tina's Guest House, you can leave luggage you don't need in the bus as they will transport it to Tina's and deposit there until you arrive. (Recommended option as this is the most straightforward and already an established SOP today)

- Alternatively, some of the back packers I met deposited their backpacks at some of the hostels (Jane's) at the start point and collect it back when they make their way from Tina's to Shangrila or back to Lijiang (There is some risk in this option because you need to tell the Chinese drivers to stop at the correct place for you to pick up your bags or you can kiss them good bye)

- Of course, if you feel strong and fit, you are welcomed to carry EVERYTHING with you for the trek but I highly discourage you to do so :)

Finding the starting point of the trek 

Some of you may have read about people who miss the start of the trail and I was also a bit worried about not being able to find the trail head. The illustration below will shed some light. Kudos to George, owner of Garden Inn! The bus will stop at Qiaotou (after buying your entrance tickets at the visitor center about 10-15 minutes before) and those who are trekking will alight here.

The trail head will be on the left side of the road and you should see the big blue sign board below - "Tiger leaping gorge hiking highway thus into"

Simple illustration of where the start point is
Walk further to find the start of the TLG trail!
Drop off point by the bus




















Start of the TLG trail! 

The hike begins at 1890 metres and you will start walking on a sandy and dusty road, dotted with civilisation on your right and stunning valley views on your left. This is the EASIEST part of the trail haha


Takes about 20-25 minutes before you actually hit the real trail! Nice scenery to start off the day!




See the trail going up the mountain ahead, against the backdrop of the Jade Dragon Snow mountain
Panoshot 
This is where the sweat and tears start to roll down non stop 
Totally stunning views as you go up higher. Remember to look back!
Turns and bends of the mighty Jinsha River
You will unlikely to be alone during the trek as there will be other trekkers and also the locals who will follow you and attempt to sell you horse rides. They are VERY persistent and will keep following you until the path gets too dangerous to proceed further. Sometimes I do feel for the poor horses as the ground is so rough and rocky and sitting on the horses could be more dangerous as you have no control if the horse decides to go berserk and fall off the cliff!


   


Tip: While it will be quite cold when you leave Lijiang for the TLG, you will realise the sun will be burning by this time and I will recommend to trek in shorts if you can!


First pits stop - It looks like a legit stall selling water/food but...

Marijuana for sale - not sure how it helps in the trek haha. This man will tell you it will get more expensive along the way (other stalls) but he also knows that you wouldn't be coming back if he was lying.. and surely he was when we reached the next stop! 
Climbing higher for more views - Spot the landslide

Second pitstop - home grown fruits, water, chocolates and marijuana again! This lady offered a cheaper deal bundled with fruits! Well it's tough work for them to carry all these and trek to setup shop daily. 
Me with the mountain peaks!
The jaw dropping nature views will keep you going towards your lunch stop, which is at the Naxi Family Guesthouse. But before you reach there, you will have to navigate down a pretty tricky path, just need to go slow and low.

Naxi Family Guesthouse on the left



Naxi Family Guesthouse - where trekkers on a 2D1N trek will pass here for lunch and some on 3D2N will stay here for the night
     

Corn seems to be the most popular vegetable in this region..This is where we also met a big group of Korean trekkers who will be walking with us till the evening.

     

In case you can't figure out which one is the Gents and Ladies 
After a simple yet satisfying lunch, we are on our way again, this time going towards the 28 bends. Many stories have been shared on how tough the 28 bends were and after experiencing it myself, yes it's tough but not the toughest. More details in the next post!

Yes, the horses continue to follow us on the TLG - their shit is everywhere on the trail :D


Friday, January 22, 2016

Reviving the blog after 8 years, stay tuned!

China 2015
Sitting on the steps of 慕田峪 14 October 2015 

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Min muntligt prov

Hej! Jag heter Changjie. Jag är tjugofyra år gammal. Jag studerar på Linköping universitet. Jag studerar till ingenjör. Jag läser också elemntär svenska. Jag bor med ¨åtta andra studenter i en korrideoren på Rydsvägen. Idag, ska jag beskriva min familj och min dagar i Sverige.

Min familj består av farmor, mamma, pappa, en bror och mig. Vi bor på lägenhet i Singapore. Min farmor är åttio år gammal. Hennes ar vid god halsä. Hon lagar mat mycket väl och jag saknar hennes mat lagning mycket! Min mamma tycker om att undervisa. Hon undervisar kineska i grund skolan for barn mellan sex och tolv år. Hon har lärare i tretio år. Min pappa är taxichaufför. Han arbetar varje dag. Han tycker om fiskar. Han har fem stora guldfiskar. Min bror är tjugoåtta år gammal. Han heter Victor och arbetar i Kina nu. Han ska stanna där i två år.

Jag flög till Sverige frän Singapore i Januari. Det är min första resa till Europa. Det är också min första vinter upplevelse. Jag såg mycket snö i Sverige. Vägen slipat var halt. Jag halkade många gånger. Vintern är lång och jattekallt. Efter min vinter upplevelse, tycker jag inte om vintern!

Svenskar är vanliga och trevliga. De tycker om solen och ute idrotter. Däremot, dricker de mycket ibland. Jag har en fadder som heter Marin. Han kommer frän Finspang. Han bor i Linköping stad. Han studerar Japaneska på Linköpings universitet. Han är jatte hjalpsam. Han följde med mig runt om staden och universitetet. Han inviterar mig över for festar eller boardspel med hans kompisar.

Jag tycker om svensk mat. Tex:köttbullar med lingon, semlor, pittypana. Däremot, hatar jag strömming. Det är antingen jattesalt eller stinker jattemycket. Sverige är ett dyrt land. Allting kostar dubbelt så mycket här. Som hemma, jag brukar göra min egen mat. Jag cyklar också till universitet och staden. Så kan jag spara pengar och håller mig i form.

Jag har rest i Sverige senaste fyra månder. Jag har varit till Kiruna, Uppsala och Stockholm. Jag gillar Stockholm mycket. Det är en härlig stad. Där finns det många mussar. Jag tycker om Vasa musset mest. Det är mycket intressant. Kiruna var jatte kallt! Jag bodde i en Samiska koja och åt renkött. Jag besökte också ishotellet. Däremot, såg jag norrsken (aurora). Jag ska resa till Gotebörg och Gotland i sommar. (ingen!)

Jag trivs bra i Linköping och Sverige. Sverige är ett underbat land. Linköpings universitet är besta. Jag har måt många nya vänner från olika länder. Jag kommer att vara ledsen när jag åker hem i Juni. Jag hoppas jag ska komma till baka snart!

Friday, July 21, 2006

Recap: 19th to 21st June Vienna, Austria

Presenting..... the music capital of Europe, Vienna :)

Believe it or not, this was the hostel I stayed in! ( No pun intended, the picture proves it)
Don't know why but only Americans stayed in this hostel besides 2 Singaporeans haha. And all were girls except one more American guy.


Main Entrance of the hostel, we were quite disappointed initially though...it was dark, scary and rundown



I live on C and D, pretty decent isn't it? Enough of the boring hostel, let's move on to Vienna proper!

The Austrian Parlament..greater details are found here. A mixture of Greek and Roman style. If you can see the 2 statues sitting...the one carrying the sword is the Greek which represents practical and the one with the book is the Roman, representing the theories.

This is a close up to tell you what I mean.

The parlament entrance is modelled after the Acropolis in Greece. Here I am standing in the Hall of Pillars. Each pillar was transported by horses from Salzburg taking 21 days in the past. Many were destroyed during WWII only the last 2 on the right side are the original copies. In the past it was a meeting place between the very powerful and not so powerful people, not it is for receptions :D but not for tourists of course haha

The Federal Assembly, used only when a new President is installed. The only room not destroyed during WWII. Roof top is made of the famous Bohemia glass. It was too bright to take a shot of it.
Seriously I don't even know if I have one with the Singapore flag :D

The Federal Council with veto powers...


Very near the Parlament is the Burg Theatre, where we had a hard hard time finding the BOX OFFICE.And opposite the Burg theatre, we have the Gothic City Hall Rathaus


And now hold on to your breath as we enter the grounds of Hofburg Palace..Amazingly beautiful!


Taking a break by the fountain in the Volksgarten

(To be continued....)

Sunday, July 02, 2006

Back in Singapore

HejHej! I am finally back in Singapore. Felt kind of strange but well, it is always nice to be back home after 6 months. No one to speak swedish to anymore, but singlish everywhere. Still suffering from jetlag and the terrible hot weather. (I know the Swedes will love it) haha. I haven't acclimitaise yet but tomorrow i am leaving for another 5 days reservist. Back to reality. Back to jungle. Back to mosquitoes. Back to sweat. Back to the same old shit routine.

The elite Guards logo


We are guardsman warriors,

resolute in loyaty, steadfast in commitment

We fight for our country, our home and family

Land Warriros from air and sea

Unfailing in toughness

Valiant in our actions

We destroy all foes who challenge our mission

We are elite warriros

With daring initiative

We rule the day, we rule the night

Always ready, Ready to Strike!

Sunday, June 04, 2006

And for the next 3 weeks....

5th of June - 9th June

Departure : 0640 Stockholm Skvasta Airport

Arrival : 0755 London Stansted Airport

9th of June - 13th June
Departure : 2030 Victoria Coach Station

Arrival : 0630 Paris Eurolines Terminal (10th June)

13th of June - 16th June

Departure : 1500 Paris Beauvais Airport

Arrival : 1700 Rome Ciampino Airport

16th of June - 19th June

Departure :1500 Rome Ciampino Airport

Arrival :1800 Budapest Airport

19th of June - 21st June

Departure :1500 Budapest Euroline Terminal

Arrival :1800 Wien Euroline Terminal

21st of June - 26th June

Departure :1700 Wien Euroline Terminal

Arrival :2100 Prague Euroline Terminal

26th of June - 27th June

Departure : 1935 Prague Airport

Arrival : 2125 Stockholm Arlanda Airport

27th of June - 29th June

Departure : 1840 Stockholm City Terminal

Arrival : 2053 Linkoping

29th of June

Departure : 0905 Linkoping

Arrival : 1148 Stockholm Arlanda Airport

29th of June

Departure : 1400 Stockholm Arlanda Airport

Arrival : 1100 Singapore Changi Airport (30th June)

8 countries, 1 month, an experience of a life time. See you all back in Singapore!