Day 4 – Travel to and time in Lijiang

Today started early – 5:40 knock on the door for the porters to pick up our luggage. The Westin was kind enough to start breakfast service a half hour early for us, and most of us tucked in like it was our last meal. At the airport, a thoughtful security person noticed our large group (honestly, it’s hard not to) and directed us to an alternate security entrance. Interestingly enough, it was back on the first floor, next to a dingy bathroom, and down a narrow hallway with severely scuffed paint and chipped tiles. But it was definitely much faster – apparently the secret entrance for status business travelers who are “in the know”. Our flight was relatively uneventful. Just a brief layover in some town whose name I can’t remember at a terminal smaller than a provincial train station.
Compared to Shanghai, Lijiang is entirely provincial. Shanghai has a population of over 20 million; Lijiang around 300,000. According to our guide, 300,000 is practically tiny – a speck on the map. It’s claim to fame is agriculture, especially tobacco and tea. It's old downtown is also a World Heritage Site - a tourist draw that brings over 3 million people to this tiny town every year. After a short time getting settled, the majority of us headed off for a brief introduction to the old town and learned where the bars and good restaurants and massage places were.
We again split into self-selected groups and explored the Old Town - shopping, massages, lunch, and a hike up to the temple for a beautiful view of the city. Lunch was an "interesting" affair, and many of us took the opportunity to try a few local delicacies such as dried yak meat, fried cheese (no breading mind you) and fried dragonflies. Yes - and they're like burned french fries with a barb on the end that can cut your tongue if you don't break it off first.

My group stopped in an open home on our way down to see the view from the other side of the hill. We ended up having our very own tea service of some unnamed tea that grew stronger and stronger with each serving.

(Pictures are the view of the Old Town of Lijiang, and Juan Pablo eating a fried dragonfly.)