Woohoo. Another night sleeper train. I actually quite enjoyed my 1st one so hopes were high that this one would also be good. This time we had both booked bottom bunks so it wouldn't be as much of a struggle getting into bed! The taxi pulled up at the train station & we were blown away. The outside was bigger than Stanstead airport. Passports and tickets were checked at the door, bags & belongings through the metal detector! Luckily for us the signs were in English and showing your ticket to a guard got you all the answers you needed. We walked past the entrance to 6 waiting rooms and each was around the size of a small music venue! Our train was boarding so we headed to the platform, it was a double decker! Very nice train with comfy beds & a western toilet at least! Although I didn't sleep as well I had before, i managed a few hours. We arrived to this gorgeous crisp blue skies morning with mountains surrounding us. Some were still capped with snow. It was definitely colder as we found a taxi that could take us to our hostel.

We headed straight out into another alien world. Lijiang is a UNESCO world heritage site as everything has been kept old & original. The cobbled roads lead you through a winding network of old narrow streets. Opening out into squares where people gather to dance or for people to sell things to tourists. We chuckled in one square as we saw a McDonald's, KFC & Pizza Hut but all housed in old style buildings! The toilet made me chuckle as i was reminded of a Karl Pilkington 'An Idiot Abroad' episode. I walked in to find some tiled stalls with only a gulley and no doors! Slightly embarrassing to have people walk past you looking in while you're trying to balance & squat for a wee!!!

There are lots of shops here selling traditional crafts to yak meat to proper tourist tat. We had fun mooching around & took a walk up to Black Dragon Pool. A lovely set of lakes, bridges & temples that all look great against the background of the snow capped jade snow mountain.

Took some lovely photos & went back to the hostel as the next day we were off early to experience Tiger Leaping Gorge. We got in the bus after someone helped us translate where the bus was! The drive was a couple of hours and in some parts very pretty. We stopped to take pictures at a viewpoint and nearly got blown off the cliff it was that windy! It was bitterly cold and we all rushed back in the bus for the remainder of the drive. We were dropped at Tina's guesthouse. The majority of people do this trip in 2 days. They get dropped at a previous village and hike to the halfway house then the next day onto Tina's but as we were short on time we went straight to Tina's. we were told the route to get down to the bottom of the gorge. Ill be honest my heart sank as hills are one thing, mountains and cliffs are another and I'm just not that fit for either. I thought we were going to the middle viewpoint bridge and hadn't prepared for a mega hard walk.

As much as I was not enthusiastic about doing the walk as I thought it was above my physical ability level I was here and needed to embrace the opportunity to walk the gorge. So off we trudged. The local family maintain the 'path' to the bottom. They whizz up and down the path as they have been doing since birth probably! I was under no illusion that my attempt would be much much slower!

The start of the path was ok, a groove cut into the top of the cliff with soil and the occasional stones as steps but soon it was to change. The stones they had laid as steps were uneven and massive. I had to take them slow as to make sure my balance was steady. Although I had cliff face one side of me, it was a sheer drop the other. There was then a little ladder to take us down another few feet. This ladder was ok and I was nervous about what we told the other one was like. There were little refreshments shacks along the path and we stopped for a quick snickers. We'd only had a small breakfast and I knew I was going to need more energy if I was gonna make this!!

We reached a fork in the path. Sky ladder or 'safe path' . Not sure if we're crazy but we chose to do the sky ladder. A metal ladder attached vertically to the cliff face (albeit a bit rickety). 30 metres of trying to keep your cool & keep hold of the ladder as you descend further down into the gorge. I think I talked to myself the whole way to encourage me to go one rung at a time, slowly & carefully. I finally reached the bottom with jelly legs and we took a rest to recover. The group was small as most people on the bus were doing the 2 day hike. It was Sy, I, 2 Chinese girls & a Chinese guy. The guy I kept calling Mr Quick as you would have thought he'd done that walk a million times judging by the speed he was going! They were so lovely and translated wherever they could for us, it turned out he was in military school so that definitely explained the physical fitness level.

The path continued down and we were eventually at the bottom, right next to the roaring water. There was a little bridge out to the rocks in the middle so we headed out there to take it all in. The gorge itself at this point is around 2000 feet high and the water is super fast and definitely not something you want to get too close too. One of the shack ladies told us that not too long along someone had come here to take his life. The locals say he did it because the view was too beautiful. I do find it funny how some Asian countries describe things like suicides or accidents. I don't think anyone would talk about someone jumping off the Severn bridge because it was too beautiful.

After a little while at the bottom we decided to take the walk back up. The dreaded up. I hate up.

The bus was coming in 3 hours. I had no idea how long it would take me to climb 2000 feet back up but I knew I didn't want to be rushed!

It was pure hell, I wanted to say that I took in where I was and took it in my stride & kept my dignity but no. I huffed, puffed, grumbled & even had a little cry to get me to the top. I had to stop every 10-15 steps to get my breath back, heart rate down. A number of times I had to stop just to stop feeling dizzy. On paths like that there was no room for stumbles or you'd be off the cliff. I had to decide whether to take the 'safe path' or the ladder back up. The path was longer and would take you longer to gain the elevation the ladder got you to much quicker. However the ladder meant I would have to hold my own weight, make sure I didn't fall off and pull myself up the 30 metres. After a while deliberating I chose the ladder but wanted to go before anyone else as I didn't want anyone up there looking down waiting for me seeing me struggle. Sy stayed at the bottom of the ladder as I started to ascend. I was fine until halfway when I became acutely aware of what the hell I was doing. The wind came off from the gorge. I tried not to look down or at how the ladder was attached to the rock. Again I started to sing, hum & talk to myself to get me up. I could see the top & started panicking as my palms were getting sweatier. Not conducive with holding on to a metal ladder halfway up a cliff. I pushed and pushed mentally & physically to get me to the top. I literally crawled off the last step along the path to a stone step and let out a massive sigh of relief that I managed the ladder. Only had a few more hundred feet to tackle to get to the top. All the way along the others had been waiting for my slow ass to catch up and although that's somewhat embarrassing I was grateful as they didn't have to. I waited for everyone else to make the ladder climb and gave everyone a round of applause when they made it. It was a serious test of will.

The next hour was tough as I trudged up the hill. The locals tried to offer me a horse but I was being a stubborn cow and wanted to do it using me alone. Sy really was there encouraging me & putting up with my awful mood the whole way. He said "you'll feel great when you get to the top". I wasnt sure and it took a little while but once I reached the road I let out a loud whoop of joy. I'd bloody done it. I'd climbed higher & steeper than I'd ever done before. The view was spectacular, I was exhausted, every ounce of energy gone but it was an experience. I'm never going to become a mountaineer or indeed anyone that enjoys walking hills but I definitely felt proud of Sy and myself for doing it!!

We relaxed until the bus arrived & then headed home. It was a night for food & beer & bed. We enjoyed a lovely meal at a local restaurant, really spicy but great food.

The following day was a town bimble, photo editing & relax day before we got the sleeper train back to Kunming. In a few hours we'd be meeting Alan whose made the massive effort to come and join us for 2 weeks of crazy China!!!