We arrived in Lijiang after 3 hours on a bus that even Asian people would find cramped (one of the downsides to travelling through Asia I have found is that items such as beds and seats on public transport are a lot smaller than back home). We walked to the old town while our bags were taken by rickshaw and booked into our guesthouse.

During the afternoon I explored the labyrinth that is old town Lijiang. The maze of narrow streets turn left and right, opening onto another street that looks suspiciously like its predecessor. All are flanked by rows of shops selling fabrics and jewellery, occasionally being interrupted by one of the numerous canals running through the town. All of this is overseen by the magnificent cloud caped Black Dragon Snow Mountain. During my walk through the streets I spoke to a girl visiting from the Three Gorges. She explained in broken English how she and her two friends had to change hotel and invited me to go for dinner with them. Unfortunately I had to decline due to prior arrangements. I also met a family with two small children who practiced their English with me. The only words they knew were ‘Hello’, ‘Goodbye’ and ‘I Love You’, which was nice.

That evening we had a birthday dinner to celebrate Claudine turning 30. Afterwards a few of us went to find a bar which wasn’t as hard as we thought because Old Town Lijiang turns into a Chinese Slater Street after 8pm. We decided on a Chinese Reggae bar with a live band and drank into the night.

The next morning I woke and went to the Black Dragon Pool. This postcard perfect lake is surrounded by walkways, willows and chestnut trees. It offers the best view of the Black Dragon Snow Mountain and entertained me for well over 2 hours. It is a very peaceful and relaxing place and there is something special about the symmetrical images of reflexions in water that produces a very soothing sensation. We were under special orders to relax in the afternoon in preparation for our two day trek so a bit of shopping was followed by food and a nap. I also had to ask the manager of the guesthouse for an extra roll of toilet paper with only the use of hand signals. It wasn’t my proudest moment.