Six family members, two weeks in Yunnan, and one thing saved for next time
“Everything went smoothly, thank you. The only regret is that we did not get to a flower garden, but that can wait for next time.”
Their worry
Six family members, all vegetarians for most of their lives, and all of them sensitive to cigarette smoke. They asked for drivers and guides who do not smoke, and for an honest answer each time we could not promise it. They also had six large suitcases and wanted a car with real legroom, three rooms that were new rather than merely high-starred, and a careful hand with the altitude in Shangri-La. And above all, they came for the flowers.
What we changed
They had already been to Shilin, so that day came out and Shangri-La got a second night with Songzanlin Monastery and a slow look at the plateau. The vehicle was a 9-seat van, and on the last day a bigger car was arranged because six large suitcases plus hand luggage no longer fitted. The Kunming day was built around flowers instead: the flower market, the old street, Green Lake, and the wet market at Xizhou on the Erhai side.
On the trip
They walked Kunming on their own on the first free day, then moved through Dali, Lijiang, two nights in Shangri-La and Lugu Lake, with the last days back in Kunming. What they had underestimated was how much of Yunnan in that season is lakes and old towns rather than gardens, and they asked us twice on the road where the flowers were. We pointed them to the market and the garden stops we could reach, but the big flower gardens stayed off the plan, and they later said it was the one thing missing.
How they felt
The night before they flew home they wrote "非常感恩🙏🙏" and wished us well. After landing they wrote: "一切都順利，謝謝您". Two weeks later, still: "只有遺憾沒有去看花". They asked which months the flowers are still out, and said the flower gardens could wait for the next trip.