I travel to China several times a year mainly for fun but also to check out hotels and new tourist attractions for my book. The following information is not in my 2002 book. 

The following items are dated with the month the information was obtained. Everything is subject to change but this should give you a good idea of what to expect. Please also look at our collection of photos from some of these places.

Vertical Layout Slides   -   Landscape Layout Slides

The last time this page was updated was 12/31/08

Lanzhou
Note: Prices are subject to change. Hotels usually add 15% surcharge to all prices.
I spent two nights here this past summer. It is a busy, thriving city, full of cars. Having just arrived from Xiahe and Qinghai province, it was a relief to find a functioning ATM in the Legend Hotel where we stayed. And with the new highway, the airport is now one hour from the city.

This is the capital of Gansu so I grabbed the opportunity to talk with tourism people about this province. Mr. He Xiao Zu of the Gansu Provincial Tourism Administration said that the best hotels in Jiayuguan are now the four-star Jiayuguan and four-star Great Wall. A good three star is the Guotai. At the No. 1 Beacon Tower, there’s a newly built cable way across the Yellow River.

In Dunhuang, the Sha Zhou Hotel will be a five star in 2006. The Grand Sun is a good four star and the Sun Shine Palace is in the process of getting four-star accreditation. The Yang Guan museum has opened and tourists are now taken 184 km from the city to see the Yardang landforms (buttes). A Tibetan festival in Hezuo next year will feature 1000 Tibetans in traditional dress, 1000 horses racing, and 1000 people circle dancing. For those of us interested in ethnic costumes, it sounds like a great opportunity.
You can now visit Xing Luong Mountain in Yuzhong county, 60 km. from Lanzhou. It is a national forest park.
Pollution in Lanzhou this past winter has not been as bad as before, Mr. He says. Its Blue Sky Project has been encouraging heating with gas, controlling automobile emissions, and banning motorcycles and trucks from the city proper.

Mr. Bi Xiaoning of CITS Gansu said his agency now takes guests on eco-tours rather than historic sights on the Silk Road. In Dunhuang, it takes people to Danxia, now a national park, with its unique land formations. And it takes people to dine in farmers’ houses.

Flight prices went up in July, 2005 sending travel agents who were organizing autumn tours scrambling to adjust quotes. But sometimes, prices for flights can be lower than that for trains. Be wary of unscrupulous dealers who might disappear after you pay your money for tickets, said Mr. Bi. (CITS and Silk Road travel mentioned here are reliable.) CITS is a joint venture with American Express and you should be able to pay with a credit card for flights.

According to local tourism people, the best hotels in Lanzhou are the five star Sunshine Plaza, the four star JJ Sunshine Hotel and the three star Jinlun Hotel. The JJ Sunshine and Legend Hotel are on major shopping streets and Dong Fang Hong Square. They are walking distance from the International Fair Centre (Guoji Bolan Zhongxin). The Jinlun and Sunshine Plaza are about two bus stops away.

SUNSHINE PLAZA HOTEL, 428 Qing Yang Road, Chengguan District, 730030. Tel. 4608888, fax 4608889. Five stars. Rooms start at US$118 but it has been giving a 20% discount and included breakfast. It accepts credit cards. Rooms offer HBO, BBC and CNN, small safes, broadband, hot and cold drinking water, and China Daily. You can request a humidifier. Rooms have no bathtubs, only showers. The hotel has a small gym with ten cardio machines, and a 17 meter long pool (free for only one hour to hotel guests). An instructor can teach you how to swim. An ATM is just outside the building. Its fine dining restaurant has a wine list with 54 labels. I felt the hotel was pretentious, a bit snobbish. But some people might like that.

I stayed at the LEGEND HOTEL because of the location for two nights, my friend for nine. The service, room and breakfast were very good but the closet in our room was too small and there was no room safe. Its Chinese name is Feitian Da Jiu Dian, 529 Tianshui South Road, 730000. Tel. 853-2888. Fax 853-2333. It has been discounting 50% off these rates.

This four-star, 28-story hotel was opened in 1994. It has 362 rooms and some non-smoking floors. No room safes exist except in its suites, but surge protectors and condoms are available in every room. Yes condoms. This is the only hotel I’ve found so far in China that sells them. You can request a mini-bar. Its television accesses BBC and Star TV. Executive rooms are bigger and include breakfast. 100 rooms have broadband for Y30 a day. The coffee shop, conference room and business centre have wireless capability. It has a gym, table tennis, snooker, sauna, florist and cake shop. It has two Chinese restaurants, and a Food Corner serving Korean barbeque and beef noodles.

Half of its guest rooms will be renovated between December 2005 and February 2006. It is planning to add another building with tennis and pool, after which it should be a five-star. Its great location on a main street is also across the street from the Computer City. A circular overpass should join these buildings soon. The English here is good.

JJ SUN HOTEL (Jin Jiang Yang Cuang Jiu Dian) 481 Donggang Xi Road, 730000. Tel. 8805511, Fax 8854700. www.JJsunhotel.com  (picture only). Four stars. Standard room US$96, discounted to Y480. Rooms have BBC and CCTV9 in English, hot and cold drinking water, bathroom scales, and small safe. The breakfast buffet is Y58, and the evening buffet Y38 net with a choice of 40 dishes. Some foreigners with their adopted Chinese babies have stayed here. It looks good and is managed by the Jin Jiang Hotel group, headquartered in Shanghai.

JIN LUN HOTEL (JIUDIAN), 150 He Zheng Road, 730000. Tel. 931-4921111, 4638888. Fax: 4633988. Three stars but planning to upgrade to four. Standard room Y388, but discounted in July to Y260. Executive room Y558 discounted to Y328. Takes credit cards. Opened in 1998. Some floors have room safes. The bathtub grouting in the room inspected was dry and a bit moldy. No English, not even in signs in the lobby. Near Jin Lun Square. No western restaurant. You can walk to busy shopping street.

When we found out that the Jin Lun was going up market, I asked guide Zhang to suggest another three star hotel. We went to the LANZHOU EASTERN HOTEL (Dong Fang Dajiudian), 555 Tianshui Road, 730000. Tel. 8833555. Fax 8855131. Three stars. Chinese and western breakfast not included. It cost an additional Y20. This hotel is on a busy shopping street near a supermarket and Lanzhou University. A standard room costs Y428, discounted to Y258. Each room has a small room safe and only CCTV in English. The bathroom is small. It has a gym and beauty salon.

Restaurants: Nong Min Xiang is a street full of restaurants with the tourist office at one end. It is within walking distance of the Legend Hotel. Here, we were told the best Sichuan food is the Chuan Wei Wang, and the best Cantonese food is the Chaoshan. The Zuo Ri Chong Xian on the second floor of the tourism building is supposed to have good western food. The best western food outside of hotels is the Borodin beside the gate to Lanzhou University.

New to me on this trip were the sticks of mushrooms, bean curd, sea weed, egg plant, and green vegetables which you can find in food markets. The vegetables cost Y0.40 to Y0.50 a stick, the meat Y1. Cooked in broth on the sticks, they are probably safe to eat.

Three of us ordered four dishes plus pancakes at the Ma La Tang, ( a second floor proletarian restaurant on the south side of Dong Fang Square). The bill came to Y66 for more than enough and it was very tasty.

This city is known for its great beef noodles so I took a survey of local residents. Usually it’s about Y5 a bowl. One person said the Victory Hotel had the best. And Jin Ding Noodles was also good. It’s at the west end of Qingyang Road, Tel. 931-846-5221 or 8435526. Mr. He said the best was the Quan Shun Lou, west of the Victory Hotel, on three floors. It gives demonstrations of noodle-making. Tel. 843-5526.

We ate at the Xinyuan Restaurant at 486 Donggang West Road Tel. 8810875. It was quite good.

Attractions: New in 2005 by the Yellow River almost across from the White Pagoda is a 1100 meter park with an impressive collection of reproduced giant waterwheels and buildings in ancient Han dynasty architecture – a relaxing place for an evening walk.

Travel agents: China International Travel Service is at the Tourist Plaza, 2 Nong Min Xiang Street, 730000. Tel. 8878833, 8835566. Fax 8836221. E-mail: citsgs@public.lz.gs.cn  . www.citsgs.com . 
Also helpful was Lin Hua, (page 485), Gansu Silk Road International Tours, E-mail: alicelin5188@yahoo.com.cn  . Tel. and Fax 9318505188. Mobile 13609320332.
 -- RLM, DATE, July, 2005.


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Lhasa 
I do not recommend tourist visits to Tibet at this time. I was planning on going myself the summer of 2008, but am postponing my fifth trip there at least until 2009. If past experience with Tibetan uprisings is any indicator – and the ones in March have been the worst in almost 20 years -- the atmosphere in Tibet and other Tibetan areas like Xiahe and Tongren will not be pleasant for several months or even a year or two after clashes have stopped.

We were there once when demonstrators were threatening to enter the country from Nepal in the south. Policemen following us around while we shopped made us nervous. We wondered if they were searching our bags in our hotel and if our presence endangered the people we visited. We didn’t see many but the thousands of soldiers there keeping the Tibetans under control also made us uncomfortable.

This year, I wanted to see some of the 25 or so major annual festivals. If they are celebrated, I suspect they too will be full of police.

If you feel too upset about China’s treatment of the Tibetans, you might not want to go at all. In 2002, I telephoned the Dalai Lama’s office about visiting Tibet. Tibet House is in New York City. Yes, the Dalai Lama wants foreigners to go to Tibet, said the woman who answered the phone. There was no reason not to go then. You too might want to reassure yourself by phoning his office before you decide.

It is always important to visit places of conflict so you can make your own informed decision. And the presence of foreigners might have a moderating effect.

The recent disturbances in Tibetan areas has affected my own plans to visit Lhasa and eastern Tibet this summer.
Foreign governments are urging their citizens to defer non-essential travel at this time.
We hope the dispute will be resolved peacefully soon. RLM --DATE, March, 2008.

The following 2007 festival dates in Lhasa were sent by  my travel agent friend
Dho Kho, who arranged a trip for me in 2002.  His e-mail is: travel_tibet@hotmail.com .  

                                                                                                                                                            

Festivals in Tibet:	Remarks	2007 Dates	Duration
Tibetan new year ( Losar )	Losar is celebrated in homes and with friends, eating special food and drinking jugs of barley chang. On the first day pilgrims go to pay homage to the most sacred statue of Sakya Muni in Jokhang temple and burning incense all around Jokhang as well as at all Tibetan homes. Every one dresses in his/her finest clothes to do holy circuit around monasteries and temples.	18 Feb	15
Great prayer ( Mon lam Chenmo )	Was founded in in 1409 by Tsong Khapa to celebrate the miracles performed by Buddha at Sravasti in India, Molam is greatest religious event of the year. In the former times over 10 thousand monks from Drepung, Sera and Ganden monasteries  would come to gather in Jokhang temple for the event. This festival still continues in large nos of monks in Labrang and Rongwo Gon Chen monasteries in Amdo although this festival in Lhasa is held in Jokhang temple in fewer nos of monk.	25 Feb	8
Saga Dawa	Celebrating the enlightenment of Buddha and his attainment of Nirvana upon his death. Tens of thousands of Tibetan pilgrims crowd to do the sacred circuit around Jokhang and old Lhasa city known as Linkor.	31 May	1
Tashilunpo Thangka ( Gegu )	The huge Gegu ( embroidered Thangka ) displayed in Tashilunpo monastery in Shigatse and thousands of pilgrims flock there to touch their foreheads to the sacred Thangka in order to be blessed.	29/30 June	2
Universal incense offering ( Dzam Ling Chisang )	Commemoration of Guru Rimpoche subduing the obstructive deities and spirits in Tibet and converting them to protectors of Buddhism, in preparation for the founding of Samye, The very first Buddhist monastery in Tibet. Tibetans burn incense offerings to these deities all over Tibet.
Samye monastic opera ( Cham )	Monks at Samye monastery perform the religious dances by wearing interesting masks. Thousands of pilgrims go there for the special occasion.	28 June	5
Tashilunpo monastic opera ( Cham )	Monks at Tashilunpo monastery perform the ritual dances by wearing Buddhist masks.	14 Sept	4
Palkhor Chode monastic opera ( Cham )	Monks at Palkhor Chode monastery in Gyangtse perform the ritual dances by wearing Buddhist masks. Hundreds of Tibetans flock there for the special yearly occasion.	31 May – 01 June	2
Palkhor Chode Thangka ( Gegu )	The huge Gegu ( embroidered thangka ) displayed in Tashilunpo monastery in Gyangtse and thousands of pilgrims flock there to touch their foreheads to the sacred Thangka in order to be blessed.	03 June	1
Ganden Thangka ( Gegu )	The huge Gegu ( embroidered thangka ) displayed in Ganden monastery in Kyi Chu valley and thousands of pilgrims go there to touch their foreheads to the sacred Thangka in order to be blessed and having their lunch picnic in the vicinity if the monastery.	30 July	1
Yogurt festivel ( Shodon ) at Drepung	The huge Gegu ( embroidered thangka ) displayed in Drepung monastery in Lhasa and thousands of pilgrims go there to touch their foreheads to the sacred Thangka in order to be blessed. This Yogurt festivels operas also begins there in the monastery courtyard. Tibetans flock in Norbulinka ( the summer palace of the Dalai Lama ) to start their summer picnic.	12 Aug	1
Yogurt festivel Opera at Norbulinka	A week long summer picnic is held at Norbulinka ( Summer palace ) by Tibetans and the picnic is accompanied by a historical and interesting Tibetan opera for the first 3days. Summer palace fills with the melody of happiness.	13 Aug	3
Ganden Thangka ( Gegu )	Thousands of butter lamps and candles are lit on the roof monasteries, temples and Tibetan homes to commemorate the death and the entry in to Nirvana of Tsong Kha pa, the founder of Ganden monastery and the Gelugpa sect. The huge Gegu ( embroidered Thangka ) displayed in Ganden monastery in Kyi Chu valley and thousands of pilgrims go there to touch their foreheads to the sacred Thangka in order to be blessed.	04 Dec	1
Gyangtse horse racing ( Tagyuk )	The biggest festival in Gyangtse, with horse racing festival, Yak races, and ritual dances ( Cham ) at the monastery.	23 May	3
Labrang Thangka ( Gegu ), Amdo	The immense silk appliqué Gegu displayed in Labrang monastery in Amdo and thousands of pilgrims from all over Amdo region flock in Labrang for the special occation.	02 Mar	1
Labrang monastic opera ( Cham )	Monks at Labrang monastery perform the ritual dances by wearing Buddhist masks. Hundreds of Tibetans flock there for the special ceremony.	03 Mar	1
Labrang monastic butter sculptures exbit	Beautifully hand made butter sculptures are displayed at night with lights in Labrang monastery. Pilgrims in long rows to see the beauty and to gain blessings.	04 Mar	1
Sacred circuit around Labrang monastery with Maitraiya statue ( Future Buddha )	A tall Maitraiya statue accompanied many other sacred statues of the monastery, thousands of monks and Tibetan pilgrims do the holy circuit around the monastery, ( praying for the arrival of the future Buddha on earth )	05 Mar	1
Sacred circuit around Labrang monastery with the most sacred relics.	All the most sacred relics of Labrang monastery accompanied by thousands of monks and Tibetan pilgrims do the holy circuit around the monastery.	26 Mar	1
Summer picnic in Labrang.	Summer picnic is celebrated in the nomadic grass lands of Sangke. Those pure, clear grass lands are dotted with colorful Tibetan tents and filled with sounds of joy.	15 May	7
Labrang monastic opera ( Cham summer )	Monks at Labrang monastery perform the ritual dances by wearing Buddhist masks. Hundreds of Tibetans flock there for the special ceremony.	20 Aug	1
Horse racing festival at Labrang Sangke grass land	This is a special ceremony held by the nomads of Sangke including mainly horse race, Yak race and wrestling.	25 Aug	1
Labrang monastic opera ( Cham winter )	Monks at Labrang monastery perform the ritual dances by wearing Buddhist masks. Hundreds of Tibetans flock there for the special ceremony.	01 Nov	1
Kangding horse racing festival	This is a special ceremony held by the nomads of Kangding of Kham-region including mainly horse race, Yak race and wrestling.	30 June	3
Kyiku Do horse racing festival	This is a special ceremony held by the nomads of Golok of Amdo including mainly horse race, Yak race and wrestling.	25 July	3
Lithang horse racing festival

 DATE: February 2007.

You still need a permit to visit Tibet. The cheapest way to go is just to buy a one way flight from Chengdu to Lhasa and an entry permit. The cost is Y1900 (US$232) at this moment. We need a copy of your passport and Chinese visa for arranging the permit and it takes two days. If you don't want to wait in Chengdu, you can fax us the copies and we can get everything arranged before you arrive. Then you can fly next day.

You can join a four-day Lhasa tour with local people, ( two days for sightseeing in Lhasa and one day going and one day back). This costs Y4200 (US$512) at this moment, including flights, permit, three nights in a 2-star hotel, entrance fee, guide, transfer, food and insurance. The price is higher for a private tour depending on the quality of the hotel. The address is Overseas Tourist Corporation, Tel: 86-28-86118322   86154179, Fax: 86-28-86154179. 
E-mail: samtour@yahoo.com  . See page 669, 2002 edition. – Sam Yue, DATE: April, 2005.
* * * 

Royal Mountain Travel (page 580) has moved. It is now on Durbar marg (Yak & Yeti Hotel entry road), Kathmandu, Nepal
Phone: +977-1-4215364-5 / + 977-1- 4215371. Fax: +977-1- 4215372
Mobile: 00977 - 9851021560
e-mail: royalmt@mos.com.np
e-mail: rmtrek@wlink.com.np
www.royal-mt-trek.com . -- DATE: January, 2005. 

The major festivals in Tibet in 2005 are June 21 and 22 in Shigatse when thousands of pilgrims flock here to touch their foreheads to the giant Gequ thangka at Tashilunpo monastery. There's also the Yoghurt Festival at the Drepung Monastery in Lhasa September 4 and 5. In addition to the opportunity to touch the sacred thangka there, opera performances and week-long picnics will take place at the Norbulinka which was the summer palace of the Dalai Lama. 

Dho Kyo who arranged our 27- day tour in 2002 (below) when he worked for Shigatse Travel, is now with Travel Tibet. He gives an update on prices for a one-week tour that could include a festival. Write to him for details and about tours. I still suggest you spend a couple days resting in Lhasa before attempting the stairs at the Potala and three full days in Lhasa before heading higher in altitude. 

DAY 01 FLIGHT TO LHASA 
Rest. Overnights in Lhasa at the Kyi Chu or Dhood Gu Hotel. 

DAYS 02/03 LHASA 
Visit the Sera Monastery, the Potala Palace (home of the Dalai Lamas), the Norbu Lingka, summer residence) and the Jokhang 

DAY 04 LHASA - GYANGTSE (280KMS - 8HRS)
Head for the Khampa la Pass ( 4730metres ) for views of major white peaks in the eastern Himalayas, the Norjing Gang Sang spiritual snow mountain range and the torquoise colored Yamdrok Lake. Cross over Karo la Pass ( 5050metres ). Overnight in Gyangtse ( 3850metres ). 

DAY 05 TOURING GYANGTSE and SHIGATSE (95KMS - 2HRS)
Visit the Gyangtse fort with its exhibition related to the Younghusband Expedition, and the Palkhor Chode monastery. Drive to Tashilunpo monastery ( the main seat of the Panchen Lama). Overnight at the Shigatse hotel ( 3780metres ). 

DAY 06 SHIGATSE - LHASA (310KMS - 6HRS)
We take the Northern Yang Pachen road via Shug La pass to the Yang Pachen monastery and return to Lhasa for the night. 

DAY 07 LHASA - AIRPORT (100KMS - 1 1/2HRS)
Fly out. 

TOUR COST
Prices valid until December 2005 are quoted for different group sizes based on using the Kyi Chu, Dhood Gu or Yak hotel in Lhasa and the best available hotels outside Lhasa. For 2 to 3 pax, US$650; 4 to 7 pax $475, and 8 to 16 pax $380. Single supplement is $105. The price includes, all necessary permits, arrival/departure airport transfers in Tibet, all private transfers for the sightseeing and the overland tour outside Lhasa, local English speaking tour guide, all hotels with daily breakfast as per itinerary and all entrance fees for the sights as per itinerary. The price does not include any airfare and airport tax, any lunches or dinners, and anything not mentioned in the above-included items. 

Sample flight prices one way: 
� Beijing - Lhasa daily flight / $302 inclusive of airport tax 
� Chengdu - Lhasa daily flight / $189 inclusive of airport tax 
� Kathmandu - Lhasa daily flight / $279 does not cover airport tax 

Contact: Dho Kho ( Travel consultant ), E-mail: ttinfo@public.ls.xz.cn with a copy ( to be sure ) to travel_tibet@hotmail.com . Tel. + 86 - 891 - 6363880. Fax 86 - 891 - 6344009. www.shangrilatours.com  . DATE: November, 2004.

Telephone numbers in Nepal (page 580) have now all been changed. You have to add a "4" in front of numbers in Kathmandu. This means that numbers for Royal Mt. Trekking are now: Telephone: 977- 1- 4241452 / 4258236 / 4256058 . Fax number: 977 - 1 - 4245318. Mobile number: 977 - 981021560 (Shiva Dhakal). Its web-site remains the same and peace talks between the government and the Maoists are in the works. - Shiva Dhakal, DATE: March, 2003. 
* * *
After my 2002 edition was published, five of us spent 27 days in July in Tibet including over a week in Lhasa. It was a reward to myself after spending a couple of years working on that edition. 

Needless to say, that city still fascinates me even after four trips, and we found several new things to tell you about. My son discovered the scene at the front door of the Johkang (page 573) at 7:45am particularly awesome and worth getting up for. About a hundred pilgrims gathered at that temple bent on being the first of the day to put a forehead to a statue inside. We also found sheep circling the Johkang along with the pilgrims. The sheep were saved from the slaughter houses in the hope that they would become human and supposedly better in their next reincarnation. Their benefactors would gain merit. 

Where to Stay: Prices at the Shangbala Hotel, the best one downtown near the Jokhang, have gone up a bit. A deluxe suite is now Y1800, and a standard room is Y580. It changes only cash, but now accepts American Express, Visa and MasterCards.

Breakfast at the Dunya restaurant is now included in the room rate at the Yak Hotel (Ya Binguan), a real bargain, as I consider that restaurant the best in the old city. This is not just for the food, but for the hospitality. Managers Jannette (Dutch) and Kris (American) are former tour guides who know Tibet well and if time, will sit and chat with guests. The Dunya is now selling packages of high altitude tea (Y45, but only Y30 elsewhere), and instant yak butter tea, that you can take home to your friends. 

We stayed at the Yak and enjoyed it and its convenient location, even though it didn't have hot water 24 hours a day and our toilets had bad odors some times. Our son liked the dormitory on the fourth floor of the new wing. And the Yak's impressive-looking internet service had about a dozen computers which didn't always work. But this is not necessarily the fault of the hotel. We also met many interesting people there. 

The 36-room Mandala Hotel is not as good as the Yak Hotel but it is okay for backpackers and budget travelers. The rooms are smaller and the bath rooms smelly, but the location is fantastic for anyone who wants to be immersed in the Tibetan scene. It is on the street that circles the Jokhang with shopping right outside the door. The Jokhang's main entrance is a few yards away. However, we did want to be politically correct and tried to walk clock-wise around the Jokhang to get to it even though this took an extra ten minutes instead of a few seconds. Sometime, we walked directly to it from the square, walking along the shadows and hoping nobody would see us. The Mandala's attraction is its good food and cheap prices. (See below). It's at 31, South Barkhor Street, Tel. 6338940, fax 6324787. The general Manager's mobile is: 13908903541. A double costs Y260, single Y180, and triple Y300. 

The Pentoc Hotel is another backpacker place. It has no rooms with private baths and a twin or double is Y80, its one single is Y50, and a bed in a dorm Y30. 

In addition to the hotels in my book, I found the 70-room Keray Hotel in the Tibetan city a not bad hostel for back packers and budget travelers. A standard room with bath is Y100-Y120 and with no bath Y60. Beds were Y22-Y25 in a dormitory. This 65-room hotel is at 105 Beijing Dong Road, 850000, on the same road as the Yak Hotel. Telephone 6323462; manager 6323987, or 6339813. It has a bulletin board with lots of messages. We had dinner there one evening - and the show was fun with a small cast - and masked dancers. The buffet was okay, a mixture of Chinese and Tibetan - quite good. But get there early as the food cools quickly. 

What to See: We found the charming Tsamkung Nunnery, at 29 Ling Kor South Road, Tel. 6321131. It is open 8:30am to 8:30pm daily and has 103 nuns. As you go around the Jokhang, make a left at Makye Restaurant and follow this street until you find a new mosque. Make a sharp right with the mosque on your left, past innumerable billiard tables, and walk about three blocks to an orange building on the right near a school. The nuns are friendly and the place is spotless and full of flowers. They let you wander around and look at their kitchen and chapel. They only speak a few words of English but you can listen in on their chanting. 

We also visited the Nechung Monastery almost next door to the Drepung, and met an English-speaking monk Phenpa who could answer spiritual questions. (Don't try political ones, please.) This monastery has 27 monks, stone cutters, and a tiny palace where the Dalai Lama stayed when he went there to consult the State Oracle. This oracle is now in India so you can't meet him. Remember that scene from Kundun when the Oracle went into a noisy trance and predicted the safest time for the Dalai Lama to escape? A taxi from the Yak Hotel cost us Y15 but we had to walk the last 200 meters uphill on a stony road. There are signs. 

New for me also was the Jatson Chuming Welfare Special School for handicapped and orphaned children. Our guide arranged a visit and the welcome was friendly with the children singing a song in English. It is worth a visit if you want to see a school. The telephone is 6818276. It has work shops for its students, some of whom were painting thankas, and making Tibetan costumes. Interesting too was its suburban neighborhood with new houses in the Tibetan style. 
There's a very welcome, newly-built toilet across the road from the buddha on the way in from the airport - usually the first tourist stop. There seemed to be a lot more taxis and a lot of new buildings and stores. But the Tibetan flavor in the old town is as strong as ever. Juniper burns thick and strong in the morning among the satellite dishes. There's a growing Tibetan middle class, and a lot more people in Tibetan dress. They loved it when I wore mine. 

The lively debates at the Drepung Monastery were held daily at about 3pm. The Potala was crowded with pilgrims and we gave up trying to get into one of the smaller chapels. The area in front is no longer a sacrilegious amusement park, but more of a square. The old houses immediately down below are being torn down. The Jokhang on the other hand was empty during our first visit in the afternoon. Ask your guide about the best time to go. 

The new Tibet Museum is very good, but photos can be taken only in one gallery. Museum lovers will find its three floors worth a visit, especially when its Y30 entrance fee includes an acoustiguide in English. Exhibited were embroidered and woven thankas, costumes, bronzes, leather ware, fancy colored slings, cowry shell hats, boots, yak skin boat, saddles, local rocks, and stuffed Tibetan animals and birds. It is near the Lhasa Hotel at 19 Gongyuan Road, 850000. Tel. 6835244, fax 6839222. It is open 9am to 5:30pm in summer, and to 5pm in winter. 
Outside of Lhasa, we found a lot more beggars, some of them very persistent and we urge tourists not to encourage them. We found a few in every tourist spot throughout our trip - mainly children. If we smiled and tried to talk to them instead of reaching into a pocket, they usually forgot about begging. Our son played ball with some of them and others taught him how to use a sling. They didn't look like they were starving and I expect that tourists are responsible for this degrading behavior. 

Where to Eat: Local foreign residents said the Lhasa Kitchen was best for Indian food. We loved the restaurant in the Mandala Hotel near the Jokhang and went back several times, when we didn't eat at the Dunya. At the Mandala, my son who is a gourmet cook, recommends the yak steak, baba steak, or yak sizzler for Y25, the butter masala chicken for Y20, the chicken biryani for Y25, aloo parathas for Y6, ice cream for Y8, and apple pie for Y8. It also has Nepali, continental and Chinese food as well, and the waitresses speak English. 

Another favorite and very cheap restaurant was across the road from the Yak, and to the right, across the road to the Jokhang and half a block further. It's a small restaurant with no name in English with about eight tables and Chinese food. Our lunch at the Snowlands was okay but we didn't go back again because we preferred the Mandala and Dunya. It has western food. 
Then there was the Crazy Yak Restaurant, chosen because it was run by the sister of our cook. My sister gave me a birthday party there and the buffet was very good. Its show also was fun and of course it had a crazy dancing yak. 

Prices and Shopping: Two-liter bottles of water cost Y3 each when bought by the case. We had been camping in frosty weather and then were due to travel around lowland China in August. We brought clothes we could leave behind but we airmailed and surface mailed a few pieces, boots, and books to Canada. We could not register nor insure them. All my six packages arrived safely within two months, but that of a friend didn't arrive at all. 

Posting packages was easy once we found out how. The post office had a clerk who spoke beautiful English. It is on the main Beijing Road just east of the Potala. First you buy a box and then you show it still opened with your things to the Chinese Customs officers across the aisle. Then it is strapped up by the box man, and taken to the stamp lady who asks you to fill out forms in English. The Chinese Customs, however, is only open from 9am to 12noon, and 3:30pm to 5:30pm in summer, and 9:30am to 12:30 noon and 3:30pm to 5:30pm in winter.

I had a persistent cough from the dusty roads and went to a local doctor, recommended by a friend and close to the Yak Hotel. He charged me Y10 for the consultation plus a little bit more for an anti-biotic and cough syrup which were outdated and didn't work. My son bought a small singing bowl in the Barkhor (Bazaar). The first asking price was Y800 and he got it for Y300. 

For better quality souvenirs than the Bharkor, we liked the Tibet Top Peak Cultural Shopping Center which has some good thangkas, carpets, bowls and antiques. It's on the circuit around the Jokhang at about 2pm when you're facing the front door of the Jokhang. Tel. 6330093, fax 6320848. It's at 29 Eastern Barkhor Street, across from the Sai Kang Department Store, and one of the juniper burners. The smoke sometimes goes into this store. 

Western Tibet and Everest Base Camp: This is outside the scope of my book because it's well off the beaten tourist path and can be dangerous. It is however well worth the risks and I am adding it here so I can share my experience with other people thinking of doing it too. 

The five of us went on from Lhasa to Shigatse, Gyangtse, the Guge Kingdom ruins, Everest Base Camp, Rombuk Monastery, Lake Manasarovar, and sacred Kailash Mountain. We traveled about 20 days by Land Cruisers as northeast of New Delhi and Dehra Dun (while still in Tibet), and close to Kashmir, Mustang, and Nepal. We slept in the open in tents. I wouldn't recommend any other way. The hotels outside of Shigatse and Gyangtse are terrible. The restaurants, i.e. tea houses, are generally dirty. With our own cook and truck, we had some control, and were able to bring some snacks and bottled water to supplement what was available. 

Our trip was organized by Shigatse Travels in Lhasa. (page 579). Please note that the only working e-mail address it now has is dhokhodolmakyap@hotmail.com. Yes, I know my book suggests using a Nepalese agency and I still think you should - unless you are traveling with someone who knows a lot about altitude sickness and you aren't overly fussy about conditions. (Our cook washed our dishes in hot soapy water, but laid the clean dishes to dry on a dirty tent bag. In Nepal, our cook was more careful. ) Having used both a Tibetan and a Nepalese agency now, I still think you should go with the Nepalese, especially if you want a little more comfort, more western-type food, and a guide who know a lot about altitude sickness. But be sure your guides speak Tibetan. Outside of Lhasa and Shigatse, we found no one who spoke English. 

Much as we loved him because he was otherwise a wonderful guide, Gompo's only real fault was not knowing very much about altitude sickness. I'm sure he's not the only guide. When my son came down with it, prickles of oxygen - depletion moving from his fingers into his arms and to his heart and lungs along with a feeling that he was dieing, Terry and I had to make the decision. He had to go down, back to Lhasa. His body wasn't adjusting. When the other young man in our group felt chest pains from his heart beating harder to get oxygen through his body, we were lucky to be in Darchen where the Swiss Red Cross has a clinic. (He was given an intravenous of Royal Jelly and prescribed bed rest. After a day he was fine.)

What angered me was hearing that seven Indian pilgrims died this year at the Saga Dawa Festival in May, presumably with no warning about altitude sickness from their travel agents. Indians are happy to die on Mount Kailash, our guide said. It means they will have no more re-incarnations!

We three older women had only minor problems with the altitude, but didn't feel up to completing the 53-kilometer trip around the base of Mount Kailash even on the back of yaks. From what we heard, we would probably have taken five days if on foot instead of the three days recommended by most agencies.

North American guide books suggest that individual travelers post notices on hotel bulletin boards in Lhasa asking for people to share rides in land cruisers. Sorry, but I'm not happy traveling with people introduced through bulletin boards. What if I got sick? Would they care? We saw one woman vomiting violently and her companions didn't seem to have much compassion. We saw a pregnant foreigner whose guide had told her that her camping spot wasn't very far ahead -- but it was over a kilometer. Our guide usually stayed with us. 

I have also heard stories of land cruisers breaking down frequently. Our vehicles did too and nobody stopped to help us. Fortunately our drivers helped each other. I wanted the most comfortable, safest and cheapest trip possible. I wanted a reliable agency and a good English-Tibetan speaking guide. 

Months before we left home, I wrote to the travel agencies recommended in my web-site and book. I got several replies to my request to join an existing group, all of them telling me to organize my own group. Dhokho at Shigatse Travel wrote again later informing me of a place with two other people on a trip in May. The dates didn't fit but I was impressed that he followed up. I was also impressed that Shigatse Travel has a Dutch staffer, Rene, who can understand the needs of foreigners. 

I kept sending questions to Dhokho and getting answers the next day. The prompt replies were another plus though I felt the agency, which has been in the business for years, should have this basic information already prepared. 

Fortunately for me, I found some friends and relatives who wanted to go too. In addition to page 563 of my 2002 edition on altitude sickness, please note that an altitude tea is now available for sale in Lhasa which helps. Ask your guide to buy it. Spend at least four days in Lhasa so your body will adapt, and be sure you sleep no higher than 400 meters than the night before. We carried oxygen but didn't need it. We also had rabies shots before we left home, and were glad we did because there were a lot of stray dogs sniffing around our camps. While all were shy and kept away from us, the shots were a precaution that will deter the time needed to get to a hospital should you be bitten by a rabid animal.

You should be flexible and in relatively good shape for this 26-day trip. Most of the roads are unpaved, and passing vehicle scare up lots of dust. Our vehicles broke down at least a dozen times, flat tires, broken clutch, broken carburetors, dirty gas, and loss of bolts holding on wheels. Fortunately, all drivers have to know basic mechanics, and we managed to complete the whole 2000-plus kilometer itinerary without serious mishap. One day one of our cruisers got stuck in sand for five hours. And I still don't know how we managed to get along without a clutch. 

We arrived in Lhasa on July first, and were told there would probably be rain in western Tibet if we had waited one more week. Rain would have made it impossible to cross one of the rivers by ferry. With each land cruiser holding six people (four travelers plus guide and driver) we felt very fortunate to have only two of us in each of the two newer cruisers provided by Shigatse Travel. Make sure you get one of the better ones. Son Terry rode in an old cruiser back to Lhasa and said ours were much more comfortable than those used by most other tourists. Some days we drove eight or nine hours (with stops of course for photos) especially at marvelous mountain passes full of prayer flags. 

Prices: The trip cost each of us in US dollars from Lhasa back to Lhasa as quoted by Shigatse Travel: 
Group size Price per person
00/03 $2285 + $25 for Yak Hotel upgrade
00/04 $1805 + $25 for Yak Hotel upgrade
Group sizes 3 to 4 people are based on one land cruiser.
05/06 $1865 + $25 for Yak Hotel upgrade
07/08 $1495 + $25 for Yak Hotel upgrade
Group sizes 5 to 8 people are based on two land cruisers.

The above tour costs include all Tibet entry permits, airport transfers, sightseeing inside Lhasa, all hotels and guest houses as per itinerary, all entrance fees for the sights and national parks, guide, Toyota land cruisers as per group sizes, and one support truck for necessary camping gear and petrol for land cruisers. It also covers Yaks and Yakmen for the trek around Mt Kailash (for luggage), cook, cooking equipment, toilet tent, sleeping tent, foam mats for the camping nights, and food during camping. Shigatse Travel can also give you prices for only a land cruiser, guide and overnights in guest houses. 

Additions: single supplement of US$190, flights to Lhasa, airport taxes in China, meals except during camping (about US$10-$15 per day in restaurants). We also all bought local blankets for about US$10 each because our sleeping bags (brought from home) weren't warm enough, and had to pay to take photos in most of the monasteries - as much as Y300 in one place. We also had to pay extra for son Terry to return to Lhasa and stay there for a couple of weeks. We paid extra (US$46 each) to hire a yak for three days minimum, and for tips to our crew who did an exceptional job. 

Then there was evacuation insurance. Dhokho said "please do not expect any kind of emergency helicopter in Tibet although you will be close to Lhasa." We were traveling at some points close to Kathmandu but you can't expect much there either. We did find telephones in the towns of western Tibet with overseas service but our guide's mobile telephone couldn't reach Lhasa . 

We also stocked up on our own bottled water. We brought along water filters and oxygen but never used it. We had simple camp food, stir-fried yak and vegetables, Tibetan bread, pancakes, fries, and sometimes fried rice and tea. Lunch was normally a hard boiled egg, apple, bread, and sometimes noodles. Once we got boiled goat and it was wonderful. 
We had a toilet tent but during the day, had to use ditches or go behind our vehicles or tea houses. There were no bushes, and fortunately very few other people. We did not have much opportunity to do laundry as sometimes we arrived at our camp site at dusk. 

It is impossible to find dependable camera film outside of Lhasa so we brought our own. 

Itinerary: (altitudes are rough estimates.) For metric conversions see: http://www.sciencemadesimple.net/EASYlength.html  and http://www.winpenny.freeserve.co.uk/weather/conversion.htm .

 Our temperature range was approximately 0C (32Fah) to 28C (82Fah), the warmer temperatures at the lower altitudes and during the day. The altitudes here are supplied by Shigatse Travels which can give you more details of the trip. 

--Day 01 to 03 - Lhasa. Don't let them take you to the Potala until the third day because of all the stairs. Lhasa is at 3650 meters. Overnight in the Mandala Hotel or the Yak Hotel (our choice with additional supplement). 

--04 to Gyangtse via Yamdrok Lake and Norjing Gangsang glacier. Overnight Gyangtse Hotel - which was comfortable with Tibetan carpets on the beds. ( 3850 meters ). 

--05 After breakfast, visit Palkhor Chode monastery and Gyangtse Fort. We spent so much time at the fort, we didn't have much for the monastery. Overnight at the very good Manasarovar Hotel (see below) in Shigatse ( 3780 meters). 

--06 After breakfast, we drove to the bank to change money and then to visit Tashilunpo monastery. This was a Saturday for us and the monastery closed about 12:30 noon. We didn't have much time to see it nor to go on to Sakya. We drove to Lhatse and spent the night at the very poor Lhatse hotel ( 4050 meters ). 

--07 We left our son here to go back to Lhasa in a taxi on his own and left the main Friendship Highway and drove to Ngari, capital of west Tibet. We crossed the Brahmaputra River and drove west via Lang Tso Lake, Namring Lake and up to the Sang Sang nomadic zone for lunch. Then we camped at Saga in a field near town with quite a bit of garbage and broken beer bottles strewn about. Our guide was more careful about picking cleaner camping sites after that. ( 4580 meters ). 

--08 After breakfast we drove up into the nomadic highlands between the Brahmaputra and the Himalayas. Somewhere along here we stopped to visit a family of nomads and to watch them milk their goats. We camped near Paryang nomadic village (4700 meters ). 

--09 After breakfast we went to Paryang and Horba for a spectacular view of the Himalayas, crossed the Maryum pass and went past Duk Tso Lake and on to Horchu nomadic village near Manasarovar Lake where we camped. This was the only place where we camped close to other tourist groups. (4560 meters). 

--10 After breakfast we drove to Darchen ( 4580 meters ) at the southern base of Mt Kailash. This is the starting point of the trek around the sacred mountain. We had a choice of camping or hotel. The camp ground was on stones with some garbage. The room offered had a broken window and broken lock and four of us shared it. The toilet was gross. It was the worse place of the trip and we suspected the Tourist Office wanted to make some money off of us. But we could pay Y30 for a hot shower. 

--11 We started our trek each on a yak with a yakman even though Dhokyo had said it was easy going, We still found the slightest upward slope tiring and we could not keep up with the Tibetans nor the yaks. I would have been more comfortable with stirrups on my saddle. Normally trekkers camp at 4780 meters in the vicinity of the historical hermitages of the great poet saint Milarepa on the northern base of Kailash. However, we didn't want to go that far, and camped at a place near a couple other tents.

The trek: Kailash is the most sacred mountain in Asia, the home of the Hindu god Shiva, and the source of four major rivers. When we looked out our tents next morning, we saw lines of pilgrims walking by us, all friendly but in a hurry to get around the mountain before sundown. The second day is supposed to be difficult going up to 5700 meters, and the third day easy on the level ground. 

The trek crosses Dolma Pass, the highest pass on the trip at 5700meters, and overnights at 4680 meters on the eastern base of the mountain on the second night. We were glad to have just a sampling. 

-- 12 Our land cruisers and support truck brought our invalid member to join us at a campsite near the Saga Dawa site - a great mass of prayer flags left by the 25,000 celebrants at that festival last May. It was within sight of Kailash and it was wonderful to wake up to this extraordinarily beautiful mountain, the sun gradually revealing its snow- covered pyramid shape. A motor road can take people to this spot, but no further on the circuit. 

--13 We drove from Kailash westward and camped near Tathapuri. We were supposed to stay on the grounds of a monastery but three days before, an order came through and said no more camping. We did ask the monks to chant prayers for us and found another place in which to camp. It was about 4580 meters. 

--14 After breakfast, we headed for Tsada through sparsely populated pasture land, painted hills with a jade-colored lake, and Grand Canyon - like scenery. We followed the Himalayas to the south of us and spent the night at a guest house at 3660 meters, because we were not allowed to camp in that vicinity. 

--15 After breakfast, we drove over 30 km to the ancient Guge Kingdom. The ruins here date from the 11th century and you can see beautifully painted and mostly well-preserved ancient frescoes as well as hundreds of ancient dwelling caves. The art here is different from that of the rest of Tibet and shows Kashmiri influences and is worth the long trip. We also visited the 11th century Tholing monastery in Tsada, once one of the main Buddhist centers in West Tibet which also has well-preserved frescoes. We spent the night in the second best guest house which was basic, with no shower, and the usual hole-in-floor smelly latrine. Under construction in that little town were a dam, roads, hotels, and blocks of new two-story strip malls.

--16 After breakfast, we headed back east, another long drive and camped. We were covering ground we had covered before so it wasn't all that exciting. ( 4560 meters ) 

-- 17 Drive back to Paryang 

--18 Drive back to Saga 

--19 The next morning we crossed the Brahmaputra by ferry for an easy scenic drive to Paiku Tso Lake in the wide open grasslands of Mt Shisha Pangma, and camped near the lake (4540 meters) 

--20 We joined the Friendship Highway again and drove on to Old Tingri where we turned down a soak in a hot spring (because it was in the open air, small, and the facilities crude. We didn't want guys gawking at us.) We camped within sight of Mt. Everest. ( 4300 meters ). Our son Terry, now much recovered, joined us here. 

--21 After breakfast, we drove to Rombuk Monastery, the highest monastery in the world (4930 meters ), and were given a choice of overnight camping at Everest Base Camp or the monastery, eight kilometers downhill. It was less windy, and there was more to do at the monastery so we slept there after paying the monks to chant for us. It has a great view of Mt. Everest but it was raining and cloudy and we spent an almost fruitless hour next morning trying to photograph it. This monastery has a guest house. We didn't know it had a relatively (by then) decent toilet until we had used that belonging to the monastery with no roof and no door. We didn't find much to do at Everest Base Camp, a collection of tea houses in plastic tents with beds. It was not the climbing season but it was worth seeing. 

--22 Drive back to Lhatse where we were due to spend the night at its horrible hotel, and convinced our guide to let us go back to the Manosarovar Hotel in Shigatse for a hot shower and good bed in Shigatse (at our expense). 

--23 After breakfast, we drove to Lhasa and paid for an extra two nights at the Yak Hotel. 
We liked Lhasa so much, we stayed a couple of extra days. We suggest you ask Shigatse Travel about festivals you can see on your itinerary. We missed an important one by two days. 

Recommendations: On the road we washed ourselves mainly with "baby wipes" which was fine except for hair. A need for hot showers drove us back earlier than scheduled to the big city. 

On the road also, we had to stop and our guide showed our permits at several Chinese army check-points. We did not feel threatened by them. The soldiers we saw were friendly but probably would not have been if we had photographed them. They gave us a snappy salute and waved us through after each passport inspection. 

The five of us, an easy-going lot, had a great time aside from the altitude sickness. We expected the delays like the five hours stuck in the sand, and the flat tires, We appreciated how well our three drivers and guide worked together and helped each other, setting up our tents, digging the latrine pit every evening, and responding to our every need (except for a hot shower). We were glad they didn't smoke inside our vehicles and especially kept the inside of the vehicles clean. (The outside was impossible.) We felt the drivers were protective of us and our personal gear. One offered to replace a lost jacket. 

We felt our guide was highly knowledgeable about Tibetan customs and history, and went out of his way to help. We appreciated having a fly on each tent, keeping out the wind and the rain. . 
But we did compile the following recommendations for Shigatse Travels: 

-- seat belts in passenger vehicles should not only be present, but should also be in working order. 

-- staff should not pick noses in front of guests

-- guides should read, memorize and be tested on the booklet Altitude Illness, Prevention and Treatment mentioned below.
-- guides should be trained in basic first aid and carry first aid kits. 

-- tents should be water proof on the bottoms. 

-- some of us felt the cook who was otherwise wonderful, funny, cheerful, skilled and helpful, should take a course in basic hygiene. We had a wide variety of dishes especially vegetarian (at our request). We felt safer with his cooking than eating in restaurants in western Tibet but we would have appreciated serving spoons. 

-- we would have appreciated having one wash basin per tent and warm wash water once a day. 

-- drivers should not idle their vehicles so that exhaust fumes go into our tents and hotel rooms. 

-- the truck should be in better condition. Every time we stopped, the driver would jump into the engine and work on it. We lost a lot of time waiting for the truck. 

-- we had brought along our own walkie-talkie, and we think such should be standard for all tours. 

-- the crew should be trained to keep local people from peering into our tents. 

-- considering the frequency of vehicle breakdowns, there should be some flexibility in scheduling to take this into account. 

-- travel agents in Lhasa and Nepal should co-operate in urging the hotels and local governments to provide cleaner and better maintained buildings and toilets, especially in Darchen where many pilgrims want to go. The ones we used in Lhatse, Darchen and Tsada were disgusting. 

Recommended Reading: Tibet Handbook - A Pilgrimage Guide, by Victor Chan, (Moon Publications, 1994) is the bible. It gives a lot of fine detail (21 pages in its Kailash section, for example). This book is very hard to get but worth the effort if you want a lot of information. Try also to get a recent Tibet: Travel Survival Kit, by Chris Taylor, (Lonely Planet) or Trekking in Tibet - a Traveler's Guide, by Gary McCue. There's also the Tibet Packet by the Himalayan Explorers Club. The National Geographic April 2002 has a good article on today's Tibet. For altitude sickness, there's Altitude Illness, Prevention and Treatment by Stephen Bezruchka, M.D. published by The Mountaineers, and available from the Mountaineers Library, 300 Third Ave. West, Seattle, Wa., 98119, Tel. 206-284-6310 X 3014, or fax 206-284-4977. http://mountaineers.library.net/  

Shigatse: Of the two hotels for foreign tourists here, the HOTEL MANASAROVAR is the better with good service, but an uninteresting coffee shop. We did however like the Indian restaurant in front. It's at 20 Qing Dao Dong Road, 857000. Tel. 892-8839999, 8836888. Fax 892-28828111. E-mail: mnsrvr@public.ls.xz.cn . Web: www.hotelmanasarovartibet.com  . The older 123-room, three-star SHIGATSE HOTEL (page 576, 2002 edition) is now listed at 13 Jiefang Zhong Road, 857000, Tel. 8822525. The fax remains the same. It is smaller, and run down, but adequate if you want to save money. Its takes a long time to get hot water. The rack rate is Y550-Y600 for rooms, and Y980-Y1540 for suites. 

Gyangtse: Prices at the three-star Gyangtse Hotel (page 576, 2002 edition) range from Y438 to Y526 for a room and Y935 to Y1386 for a suite April 1 to October 31, and Y356-Y445 for rooms, and Y748 to Y1108 in low season (Nov. 1 to March 31). Breakfast costs Y90. 

Note: I am hopeful that something good might be happening in Tibet-China relations. The Dalai Lama's brother was recently in Tibet, and a delegation of Tibetans has gone to Beijing. 
- RLM, DATE, July, 2002.

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Lijiang (Kunming)
The flight from Kunming to Lijiang took 40 minutes and left and arrived on time. The Lijiang airport was filled with stores full of orchids, fruit and books. A new airport should open in 2015, said guide Swallow (Kang Yanping, telephone 871-4100547) who met us in Lijiang. Because of the early hour, our hotels were not yet ready for us so we went sightseeing instead. The altitude was 2400 meters and Swallow told us to “walk slowly” and have more chocolate as a police car escorted our column of about 15 buses to the 800 year old Old Town. She also said December to April is always sunny with cold nights. Other months do have some rain. On our one day there, the temperature ranged from 5 to a sunny 14 C.

In spite of the warning not to exert ourselves, Swallow took us for a hike in the famous Old Town past the waterwheel, the coffee shops, and the stores with hideous masks inspired apparently by something out of National Geographic magazine and completely unrelated to the local Naxi culture. We saw a few elderly Naxi woman carrying straw in baskets on their backs. Their blue, black and red costumes were decorated with seven circles (“like the seven stars of the big dipper”). Ragged goat skins cushioned their loads. Local women washed clothes in the river that ran through the town. We saw more tourists than natives as we climbed huffing and puffing to the Huang He Lou Pavilion on top of the hill above Old Town for a good view. Before long, some of us got sick from the altitude – headaches, dizziness and nausea – relieved by whiffs of oxygen and the popping of Aspirins.

There had been no time to get used to the altitude gradually but we only had one day to see Lijiang and its people – much too short.

Swallow said the 1996 earthquake had only destroyed 20% of the old town, 60-70% of the adjacent new town, and killed 300 people. The view of the little cottages with their wooden shingles was lovely from the top of the hill, and when we descended back to the centre of town, we found a couple dozen elderly Naxi men and women in costume, dancing in the square, probably for our visiting travel agents but a nice touch.

We all had a good lunch at the five-star, 332-room, GUAN FANG HOTEL before our Canadian group headed for a nearby branch of that hotel called the GUAN FANG HOTEL LIJIANG GARDEN VILLA where we were to spend the night after being treated to an excellent dinner. This was like a North American resort (without the golf) with 28 beautiful, two-storey, modern villas joined by impeccably clean streets. Golf carts carried our luggage, and us too, to our rooms. In the distance we could see majestic snow-covered Jade Dragon Mountain. Rooms started at a published US$160 for a standard single or twin, but were discounted to $70 – a good buy. The price included breakfast and a welcome fruit basket.

This hotel accepts international credit cards. My spacious room had a computer, fresh carnations, high ceiling, hair dryer, and fancy chandeliers. It had a safe big enough for a small lap top. Its television provided Cinemax, CNN, BBC, National Geographic and HBO. For sale in the room were three condoms for Y10 and 50 ml. bottles of liquor for Y45 each. Guests can use the pool, bowling alley and tennis courts at the main Guan Fang Hotel, not far away. And there’s an oxygen clinic. Like other hotels in Yunnan, you have to pay a deposit before telephoning outside. Someone said there was a nearby supermarket. The address of the villas is Shangri-la Road, Lijiang City, 674100. Tel. 888-5188888. Fax 888-5181999. Web-site of the Guan Fang Hotel: www.gfhotel.cn  . (Chinese only.) E-mail: ebooking@china.com  . Mary Liu, Public Relations, speaks English.

The road leading up to the hotel was filled also with other villas in similar contemporary Naxi-inspired architecture, some of them condos, and some of them time shares. This Hotel Villa B area has 147 villas and 607 rooms. Because of the vast area covered by this hotel, I wondered if there had been any farmers living there before and if they had been properly compensated.

It would have been nice to go for a walk in these lovely surroundings. But we went to the Black Dragon Pool, which was so-so, though some of our group were much enchanted with the explanation of the local Dong Ba culture and meeting He Dongba, one of the ten remaining Dong Ba leaders. After another good Chinese dinner, we took our bus to a Tibetan theatre near Shu He to see some lively Tibetan dances and excellent singing and a demonstration of how to make yak butter tea. The setting was Tibetan style, all of us sitting in a square made of bright orange Tibetan tables with the performers in the centre. It was a lot of fun though they did not translate all of the jokes.

Afterward, we came upon more spontaneous dances, this time Tibetan, around an outdoor bon fire. Shu He was being developed into another touristy Lijiang but we were not inspired. Having gotten up at 4:30am that morning to catch the plane here, we were anxious to get to bed. I was sorry to also miss seeing the museum and would have loved a walk through this town which was also on the Tea-Horse trade route.

Lijiang has been a wonderful place to go especially in summer. It is a very commercial tourist town but its surrounding countryside with its mountains, broad valleys and interesting ethnic minorities is wonderful. Its restaurant menus are in English, and it does have good hotels, and some very cheap hostels, a wide range of accommodations.

As far as I could tell in my one day there, the places to stay mentioned in my book (page 705) are still there. They are cheaper but not as good or as sterile as the Quan Fang villas. The guest houses in the Old Town have no air conditioning, have thin walls and are cheap. A guide said the JIAN NAN CHUN HOTEL in the Old Town has good service and rooms in traditional old décor, but cars are not allowed to go near it so there’s a problem transporting luggage there. The three-star SAN HE HOTEL has good service and a good location on the edge of Old Town and accessible to buses. In 2006, there will be three five-star hotels. One belonging to the Banyan Tree chain of Thailand should open in April of 2006. See www.banyantree.com  . 

One of the day trips can be to Tiger Leaping Gorge on the road to Shangri-La. One side of this gorge is in Lijiang County, and the other side in Shangri-La County. We went first to the Lijiang side – which had a better toilet than the Shangri-La side. It meant a walk or a rickshaw ride of 2400 meters along the river from the parking lot. The path was flat and pleasant and uniformed guards told us at places to stick close to the wall because of possible land-slides. At the gorge we could climb down to the water, to the narrowest spot where the river squeezes frantically a mere 12-18 meters between the hills, leaping and foaming white. A huge rock in the middle of this narrowest place makes it dangerous for white-water rafting, a sport not available here.

On the Shangri-La side, we could drive to the gorge from the main road but not stop along the river to take photos because the road is narrow. Those sitting on the riverside of the bus got a more dramatic view of the water, the rocky mountain side, all the way up to the snowy peaks. From the parking lot