Sunday Morning Rides -23rd Edition

Lijiang & Jade Dragon Snow Mountain

Treasure Harbour International Hotel

One of the more exotic places that i have visited last year (without my push bike) was to Lijiang and the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in China. Another of UNESCO's World Heritage Site, the world famous Old Town of Lijiang is situated in the Yunnan Province. Famous for its old town architecture & ancient water supply system it is fast becoming commercialized. I saw Pullman Hotel under construction when I was there. We stayed at Treasure Harbour International Hotel which was quite nice but is not within walking distance to the touristy old town area.

Dayan Old Town

Dayan Old Town

I quickly learned that there were two, not one but two "Old Town"s in this place namely, Dayan Old Town & Suhe Old Town. What is the difference? Well, one is newer than the other. Dayan is older and i guess, more genuine. We visited Dayan Old Town in the evening and it was just beautiful. A lot of things to see, buy, eat & of course drink. It was an experience like no other to be able to walk through a town whose streets were made of cobblestones which were centuries old. Alongside those narrow streets where ancient water supply system which could easily be mistaken for drains. I saw people brushing their teeth in them which i thought was weird and somewhere downstream next to a pub, they put bottles of beer into the "drain" to chill them. 

Dayan Old Town

After a late dinner, we went pub crawling. And this was really weird... out in the sticks, in an ancient town, pubs were sprawling with their loud music drowning the sound of the natural night. We were like spoilt for choices  in settling down to a more happening pub. We did eventually but as we got settled in, the music stopped. It was a minute past midnight and what do you know, closing time. Unbelievable! If I were in another part of the world, at this time of the night, the party just started but here, its the end. Police started to flood into the pubs one by one tell people to go home after finishing what was on their table. I was flabbergasted.

Dayan Old Town

One of many eating places at Dayan Old Town

Dayan Old Town

One of the many pubs in Dayan Old Town

Water Supply System or Drain? (Dayan Old Town)

Those are all tourist. (Dayan Old Town)

Dayan Old Town

We went to Suhe Old Town the next day after going back to the hotel feeling very very sober the previous night, but that is another story.