Lijiang or Disney World?

10th November and four hours door-to-door got us to Mama Naxi's guesthouse in Lijiang, albeit by way of some serious red seats with a matter of only a couple of inches clearance from the floor and completely no room to either side due to the whole shoulder-width issue and the backseat issue.

Lijiang, when we got there, reminded us of Disney World with its streets of newly-built log cabins and water wheels and something that resembled Big Thunder Mountain rearing up behind! After climbing it for a view of Snow Mountain from Jing Lian Temple (now converted into a hotel) we headed through the town's maze of streets covered in Chinese tourists looking particularly cool doing things like paying to dress-up and sit on horses, pose by waterwheels or even snap incognito shots of me! Weirdos.

Mufu Palace, in the South of Old Town consisted of building after building marching up the east-facing hillside. After walking through "Filthy Arch" you next reached "Affair-Discussion Lobby" - suspect and not particularly subtle for the owner's wife if you ask me. Another four beautifully-ornate buildings lef us up to the temple at the top. My particular favourite was the "Thousand-Volume Book Building" where I got in trouble with a psychopathic ranting-in-Chinese lady for picking up and looking particularly menacing with a pole-arm-spiked-mace. After a brief glimpse of some unimpressed "no photos please" Taoist monks at the temple on top of Lion Mountain we eventually wound our way back to Mama Naxi's.

Dinner, and for that matter anything, at Mama Naxi's is a whole experience in itself. It is like everyone staying there is back at school - getting told where to sit, where we will eat and where we will visit. "Tomorrow you go Tiger Leaping Gorge, tomorrow night you stay in Halfway and day after you come back to Mama. Pay Y120 for minibus back." It is very homely with all her daughters and relations running around after you and your amazing-value Y8 meal, whilst Mama and her understudy keep order with domineering shouting. We got chatting to Alexis and Jamie, a couple from Cardiff Uni and a guy from the USA who bore a distinct resemblance to Kim the Queen from Dali. With beers at Y3 a bottle there was no rush to leave in any hurry for the Sexy Tractor - advertised by its owner who also ate at Mama Naxi's.

When we did leave someone thought it would be a good idea to bring along the snake wine which we still hadn'e managed to drink since Hoi An (Vietnam), and had now travelled well over 1000km. It provided the bottom centimetre of the donations glass, though after only four people had had a taste of two separate glasses its use was vetoed. What we initially thought was only mist due to being shaken on our travels actually tasted and smelled more like it had turned...and we were quite certain the snake's head was fully submerged when we bough it. Compromised seal?

The Sexy Tractor was more homely than a turn-on providing warm surroundings to chat about all things Uni and chat to a couple of Danish girls who'd got locked-out of Mama's the previous night about a homestay trip to the Great Wall which sounded well worth doing.