Nineteen days in Yunnan that started on the busiest week of the year
“Everything is good, thank you so much. I enjoyed the trip.”
Their worry
The flights were already paid for: arriving in Kunming at 6.40 on the morning of 2 October and leaving on the 20th, which put the first days of the trip inside the National Day holiday. They knew it was the busiest week of the year and asked us to keep them away from crowded places. They also wanted a slow pace, no stops at jade or silver shops, and a hike at Tiger Leaping Gorge of three to four hours without the 28 bends. One of them had been above Tiger's Nest in Bhutan and asked that the plan take altitude into account, in a way they could feel.
What we changed
The first days went south instead of into the crowds: Pu'er and the old tea forest of Jingmai Mountain for the holiday week, then the classic line north. Jianshui came out to give Lugu Lake two more nights, Xishuangbanna came out to make room for Meili Snow Mountain and Balagezong. Baishuitai was moved to the day after the gorge hike so they would reach Shangri-La early and rest, and the Shambhala Stupa at 4,250 m was left optional, with oxygen in the car and the decision kept for the day itself. Rooms were twin-bed, new, and within a few hundred metres of the old towns, and the car was an SUV rather than a sedan so getting in and out was easier.
On the trip
They walked the gorge on the easier trail with a hiking guide, and for the rest of the route the driver looked after them. At Jingmai Mountain they stayed inside the old tea village, where the guesthouses are simple by design. In Dali they asked what there was to see besides silver and jade, and we pointed them to Wuhua Tower, Foreigners' Street and Guandi Temple. On the last morning they asked to stop at Dianchi Lake on the way to the airport because the first seagulls had arrived early, and the driver took them.
How they felt
After they were home they wrote: "everything is good Ah Chao. Thank you so much. I enjoyed the trip." A few days later they passed our name to two friends who had seen their Facebook post about the trip.