My family had a mini Christmas celebration this morning
before heading out for what was certainly the most interesting Christmas Day
that we have shared. Our guide Steven (who is an ethnic minority half Nakhi and
half from a Tibetan tribe) took us for a beautiful walk through Black Dragon
Pool Park. The bright sun and the lack of any trace of smog made for a
beautiful morning in China. We shed our coats about mid-morning as the
temperatures headed to the mid-sixties. We have been in a lot of big cities and
in a lot of traffic so it felt great just to be outside on foot. This park is
stunning and home to many old brightly colored wood structures and a pagoda.
The Mountain with its snowcapped peak rises majestically as if centered
perfectly in this serene setting! There were elders doing tai chi, grandparents
out with children, folks feeding the fish from a bridge to the pagoda and
friends just enjoying a peaceful place to visit. There is a neat little museum
at the corner of the park that pays homage to the Dongba culture and religion.
The Dongba beliefs focus on the harmony between nature and man. It has many
similarities to Daoism and Taoism. It is
communicated through a dying symbolic language that the Chinese are trying to
keep alive. This park has a Longevity Pavilion that in the tradition of Prayer
Flags you hang a bell with a wish and it blows in the wind carrying your hopes
forward.
The Old Town was as charming as we remembered years ago
although a lot more prosperous in its offerings. Steven asked if we were
disappointed by the changes. Many of his clients appear to be. We thought it
was good to see that everyone was faring better financially. People were buying
more and people were selling more. The kind of things for sale were more
unique. We bought a lot of stuff today and I am hopeful we can get through our
last inner China flight without extra luggage charges. Not much bargaining here
anymore unless you head off the main alleyways. Not as many handicrafts or folk
arts to be found. We did manage to spend a lot of Yuan anyway.
Lunch was served open air in a funky little hippie joint
that could have easily been in Santa Fe, Key West or P-Town. The differences
being we ate Yak. We also got swarmed by saleswomen of all varieties. Someone
came in to braid colorful bits of string in to Coco’s hair. Two ethnic minority
women sold us fruit and then refused to leave. People just walk by, stop and
stare without any pretense of subtlety. It is the low season here so no
Westerners at all. The villagers live off the main alleys and sell all sorts of
food stuffs in the streets. Honeycomb, dense cakes that are salty due to the
high altitude (we are at 8500 feet) and strange fruits that are unrecognizable.
We then visited the Mu Palace. A gated palace some like the
Forbidden City only more beautiful, colorful and peaceful. The Monastery that
we hiked to last time was closed. It had been purchased by a huge hotel group
that bought a large piece of land. Times they are a changing. Our guide was
relieved that it had been purchased because he felt that the hotel will
preserve the building. He is an interesting person. He shared today that he is
in love with someone that does not share his feelings… he said he told us only
because we do not know anybody in his Village!
We asked Steven to leave us in the Old Town instead of
leaving at dinner time. We figured we would get a cab back to the hotel. We ate
at a Rice Noodle open air joint (amazing how much you can communicate not
speaking a word of the language). We got swarmed by tourists stopping to gape,
taking photos and just hanging around… how very strange!
Tomorrow we head into the native villages and up in to Jade
Snow Mountain!
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