<p>I have just come back from a week's holiday in northern Yunnan and hired Rosey as my guide for 5 days. Rosey was born in the Tiger Leaping Gorge and now, when not guiding, runs a cafe in Baisha village with her mother so she knows the area very well and is well qualified to guide people around. I was staying in Lijiang and on the first day we hired a bike and cycled to Baisha.
...read more <p>I have just come back from a week's holiday in northern Yunnan and hired Rosey as my guide for 5 days. Rosey was born in the Tiger Leaping Gorge and now, when not guiding, runs a cafe in Baisha village with her mother so she knows the area very well and is well qualified to guide people around. I was staying in Lijiang and on the first day we hired a bike and cycled to Baisha. It is an attractive village to wander around with an interesting temple and we had lunch in Rosey's cafe before cycling a bit further into the countryside. The next day we took off for the Tiger Leaping Gorge. Rosey arranged for a car to take us to Qiaotou at the start of the trek. Although more costly than the bus it saves time and has the advantage that the car will deliver your main bag to the end of the gorge so it will be waiting for you at the end of the trek. The first day we reached the Tea Horse Inn where we stayed the night. It has rooms with bathroom and western toilet so is very comfortable for a mountain inn. The people there are very friendly and do a good pizza. The second day we walked to Walnut Garden at the end of the gorge and stayed in Sean's Guesthouse (run by Rosey's dad). This is also very comfortable. This took about 4 hours so in the afternoon we treked down to the point on the river where the mythical tiger is supposed to have jumped. The next day we hired a car to take us to Shangri-la via Haba and Baishuitai. This is a very scenic route (nicer than the route from Qiaotou I believe) with the Haba Snow Mountain in the distance and (in May) azaleas in flower on some of the hillsides.We enjoyed a yak hotpot meal in the evening and on the next day, Rosey took me to the big Buddhist monastery just outside the town and also round the old part of Shangri-la. And then, sadly, I had to return home. Rosey organised all the transport and accommodation, looked after me on the trek (I am not an experienced walker but it is not so dangerous as some accounts suggest) and altogether made the holiday a most enjoyable experience. Not only is she an excellent guide but also a very pleasant travel companion and I much enjoyed chatting to her along the route. Because of the language difficulties when traveling in China, it is tremendously helpful to have an English speaking guide and I can wholeheartedly recommend Rosey if you plan to travel in this area.</p>
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