Once upon a time, a long time ago, since the first time I went abroad, which was Hong Kong. At that time, I also crossed the border to Shenzhen. It turned out that I had a lot of bad experiences. At that time, I declared to everyone that in this life, I will never set foot in the country called China mainland again.

But then fate played a trick on me. 7 years later, I met my current girlfriend. She told me that she wanted to go to Lijiang. I knew that it was in China, and she showed me pictures of what Lijiang was like. The city and the scenery. In my heart, I thought, "No way. China can't possibly be like this." I also asked my friend who was studying in China, and he said that it was really beautiful.

"Wow, that's amazing! You should go see the snow-capped mountains. It's incredible. But I've never been there myself. My friend went and told me about it."

And that was the beginning of me having to swallow my own words, saying that I would never set foot on this land again. After that day, I sat down and thought, how can I do this? How can I plan this? I have to admit that it was very difficult. I watched every review, every person who went to Shangri-La Lijiang. I really watched every review. Thank you all, and also to my younger sister, Ching Ching (a Chinese student in Kunming who is studying Thai), who researched the information for us. The sea level is really important. Whether you have fun or not depends on this point. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

We've talked enough to burst our bubbles. Let's get started.

The rough plan is to apply for a visa and book flights. I chose TG to Kunming for 12,125 baht per person. Then the next morning, fly with China Eastern Airline to Diqing Airport for 350 CNY per person (promotion). Stay in Xiangelila for 2 days and rent a car to Lijiang for 700 CNY for 6 people. Stay in Lijiang for 2 days and then take China Eastern Airline to Kunming for 350 CNY per person (promotion) again. Then I will visit Kunming, relax and return to Thailand.

After landing at Shangsui Kunming Airport and completing immigration procedures, I dropped off my luggage at my friend's place near Yunnan University and immediately headed out to explore the city. I hired the same car that picked me up from the airport. The fare from the airport to my friend's condo was 120 CNY, and I paid the driver an additional 30 CNY to take me to the city center. Kunming was heavily congested, so I decided to walk. I visited Yuantong Temple, which had an entrance fee of 6 CNY per person.

Follow me into the temple. It's quite spacious. Actually, there are many beautiful corners in each place, but I can't show you all of them.


After leaving Yuan Tong Temple, it was around six o'clock. The temple was closed just in time. My stomach started to growl, saying, "I'm hungry!" What should I eat? My friend had already prepared a place for me. He named the restaurant "Over the Bridge Noodles" or something like that. I can't remember. The appearance is similar to the picture. You might wonder why it's called "Over the Bridge Noodles." Well, let me tell you a long story. Haha! Personally, I think all the Chinese food on this trip wasn't really to my taste and my friends' taste. What does it taste like? You have to try it yourself.

The way to eat it is to serve the soup last. We put everything we see into the soup and eat it.

After we had our fill of the bear feast, our younger brother took us shopping to look at the goods and prices, but we didn't buy anything yet because we knew we would end up here again in the last two days. We walked around until we reached the Horse Gate and the Chicken Gate. I'm not sure if the information is correct, haha, I can't remember. But I know it was beautiful. However, you have to be careful when walking in traffic. The more people you see walking on the road, the more the cars will rush towards you.


Along the way, there are vendors selling fried or grilled potatoes and candied fruits. The prices are quite affordable, ranging from 3 to 6 CNY. However, I personally didn't find them very delicious. (The chili here has a spice-like flavor, which I didn't really enjoy. It's used in cooking in all three cities I visited.)


After finishing, I went back to the condo to rest. After a while, it came again. "Guys, let's go get some." (It was already after 11 pm at that time) I was flying at eight o'clock the next morning, but I still found something to eat (I was crazy and followed him, so I went). Downstairs in the condo, there will be grilled food, about 5-7 CNY per skewer, which is not expensive. In China, most places don't provide water, so we have to buy it in the store and drink it ourselves. So I used this as an ingredient.


The next morning, it felt like I hadn't slept at all. I finally went to bed at 2 am, but I woke up at 4 am. Why did I wake up so early? (There was only one bathroom, so we had to queue up...) Because we had an appointment with the driver to go to the airport at 6:30 am. It turned out that there was heavy fog. Oh no, here we go. I checked the departure board and saw that most flights were delayed. We didn't take off until around 10 am.

This isn't the plane that flew to Diqing, haha! I took the photo because there was no one around. We boarded the plane next to it, which was packed with people, haha!

Upon arrival at Diqing Airport, we were picked up by a hotel car. We booked it through Agoda, 5 Yue Hotel, for about 869 baht per room. The hotel also hired a car to pick us up. After asking around, we found out that the hotel hired the driver to pick us up from the airport for 30 CNY. The driver, whose name is Angke, was very kind. He has a deal with the hotel and gave us many recommendations on what to do, where to eat, and the people here are lovely. They are very friendly and helpful. I like it. The weather is sunny and clear, but it's -9 degrees Celsius. It's freezing cold, unlike other places I've been to. I've experienced -15 degrees Celsius before, but this is different. It's just so cold! You have to experience it yourself. Haha.

This is unfortunate for our two friends, let me explain. Thailand is 2 meters above sea level, we flew to Kunming, which is 1000 meters above sea level, and then to Diqing, which is 3000-4000 meters above sea level. Disaster struck! The altitude sickness hit hard. Everyone was affected, but the two friends were hit the hardest. They consulted a pharmacist near the hotel and took Hong Jing Tian, a traditional Chinese medicine, along with oxygen cans. It took them two days to recover. As a result, they couldn't climb Shika Snow Mountain, which I will show you pictures of later. So, if you're coming here, be sure to prepare your body well.

We arrived at the 5 Yue Hotel at noon, starving. We agreed with the driver to take us to the Songsanlin Temple, or the Potala Palace. The price for the car rental was 60 CNY. But now, let's have a hot pot. I don't know what kind of meat is in it, but I know there's no yak meat because it's expensive. But on the second day of Shangri-La, I tried it and it wasn't good as usual.


This hot pot costs 100 CNY including rice. You can refill it as much as you want, like it's a set menu. So we chose to eat the cheapest set. Hahaha, I hope the hot soup will help the two of you feel better. It turned out it didn't. Hahaha.

After a satisfying meal, we set off on our journey. The driver dropped us off at the entrance of the park. I don't remember the exact entrance fee, but it was quite expensive, around 115 CNY. The information I found online said it was only 80 CNY. After purchasing our tickets, we walked to the park's shuttle bus and took a short ride to the temple.


Popular angle, haha. But actually there are many other beautiful angles.

Across from Songsanlin Temple, you will see a large pond with completely frozen water. I tried to kick it with my foot, but it wasn't frozen solid, so I didn't dare to walk on the ice. Haha, it's a shame. I really wanted to walk on the ice.

As the evening approached, the temperature dropped significantly. It was so cold that I can't even describe it. It was around -13 degrees Celsius, but it was a dry cold. I heard someone say, "Hey guys, let's go get something to eat. I can't stand this cold anymore." I was about to enjoy a delicious bowl of Tom Yum Kung instant noodles in my hotel room, but something inspired me to change my clothes first. For dinner, I ended up eating something like this. I just found it near my hotel.



Notice the top left corner, the white cup of curry. They said it's the recommended menu at this restaurant. (If they let me try the recommended menu first, I wouldn't choose to eat at this restaurant.) But the stir-fried mushrooms are very delicious.

The next morning, I woke up feeling like I didn't want to get up at all. The weather was so nice that I just wanted to curl up in my blanket. But I had an appointment with my driver, Angkor, at 10 am. Angkor suggested that we leave at 9 am because the wind wouldn't be as strong, but I couldn't wake up in time. The cost of renting a car to go to Shika Snow Mountain was 100 CNY. The distance wasn't too far or too close.


Upon arriving at Angkor, we were told to rent windbreakers for 40 CNY each. Angkor said that they would last a while, but we were feeling adventurous and didn't rent them. Instead, he took us to pay for the cable car ride, which cost 220 CNY, down from 270 CNY according to our research. This was probably because it wasn't the tourist season.

The climb to Mount Xueshan takes about 1/2 hour. There are 2 sections, to be honest, it's really far away. Each cable car can hold about 6 people, and there are three cable cars in a row.

And this is the best time, but it is also the worst time because the wind is very strong, too strong to walk up the stairs. I can't do it. I really feel that we have to walk with our feet on the ground so that we don't fly away with the wind. I'm sure if we let ourselves go with the wind, we'll definitely fly away. We were on the mountain for no more than 15 minutes, haha. I'm proud to have come up, but it's a pity that I couldn't wake up. As the driver said, we have to go up early because the wind will be strong in the morning. I was right not to rent a windbreaker, because the wind was so strong that it wouldn't have helped. At that moment, it was better to save my life first, hehe.


The picture of us riding the cable car down, we were exhausted, but the view from up here still made us want to press the shutter to keep it as a souvenir. When asked if we would come again, the answer is definitely no. But I have to say, it was really beautiful.


Nature told us, "Can't handle it up there, huh? Alright, come down one floor, there's a basketball court. You want to play in the snow, you want to feel the snow, right? Go all out on the basketball court." And while we were playing, nature said, "Have you had enough fun in the snow? Alright, since you're not coming back, here's some more falling snow for you." It was absolutely amazing. This is what I've been dreaming of my whole life.


After coming down from the mountain, I went to brag to the two people who were sleeping at the hotel, "I've already climbed up, you know!" But little did I know that after only 15 minutes, we were resting until the evening when we heard their voices again. Knock, knock, knock. "Guys, let's go walk around Gucheng." Gucheng is the old town. One of the members who was sick got up and said, "Let's go, guys." "What about that guy who's comfortably watching snooker?" "Uh, whatever. He's feeling better now. Let's just leave him like that." So we did. We clearly abandoned our friend.


We walked there. According to Agoda, 5 YUE Hotel is about 0.5 km away from Gucheng, but when we asked the hotel, they said it was 2 km. When we actually walked it, I think it was even further than that. We were exhausted and tired, but it only cost 10 CNY to take a taxi back. Here, we could really feel that the clouds were within reach. It was like we could just reach out and touch them.

Finally finished the Xiangelila part. Oh my, I'm so tired! Haha, let's take a break. We'll continue our journey to Lijiang with our six friends. We traveled from Xiangelila to Lijiang by renting a car. Angke, the same person, took us to Lijiang for 700 CNY. Is it expensive? I don't think so. I saw a review from someone here that it was 600 CNY. It's been two or three years, so an increase of 100 CNY is acceptable to me.


In Lijiang, we stayed at the Lijiang Red Flower Inn, which we booked through Agoda as usual. The price was around 800-1000, but I can't remember exactly. The owner was very nice and took us on a walking tour of the city. It's possible that she was a fan of Chompoo Araya, the Thai actress, because we had a lot of fun talking about her. The accommodation here was great, with a nice atmosphere. It's located in Gucheng, which I've come to associate with the word "old town".


Room atmosphere & environment


As always, it's our style. As soon as we arrived at the accommodation, we threw our bags down to go sightseeing in the old town, but we stopped by to ask the staff for information first, because tomorrow we're going to the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. This place really impressed us in many ways. The staff gave us a lot of information. We paid the city entrance fee at the hotel where we were staying, 80 CNY. They gave us a yellow slip, which can be used instead of our passport while we're here. And it can also be used as a free pass to the Black Dragon Pool.

Here's the translation:
Okay, here's today's highlight. As I inquired with the accommodation, there are several ways to get to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. At first, I was going to take bus number 7, but after thinking about it, it wouldn't be convenient. So I asked the accommodation to arrange a chartered car to pick us up for 150 CNY for the whole day. We can go anywhere we want, but in the end, we were all tired, so we only went to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain & Baisuhe. Haha.


Today we are pretty much broke. The entrance fee to the park is 105 CNY per person, and I don't remember how much the cable car was, but including the entrance fee, it was 272 CNY in total. Then we paid another 40 CNY per person for something, I'm not sure what. It might have been for the bus service at Baisuhe. The driver gave us all the information. He said that we didn't have to buy it, but then we would have to walk the whole way inside the park, which is about 6 KM. Hmm, I guess we better buy it then.


After finishing the snow mountain climb, the car will take you back to the original place for those who want to see the local show. It's quite famous here, I can't remember the name, I think it's 190 CNY for us. Well, it's better to go to Baishuihe, so you don't have to get off. The car will go down the hillside. I have to give a thumbs up to this place. This trip is really number 1. I won't describe it too much. Just look at the pictures and let nature tell you the story.

Coming down from the mountain, they were exhausted and weak. They stopped by the old town and had some pizza at Pizza Hut. They were tired of the spicy and salty food, so they wanted something bland. They ordered a salmon pizza, which is not available in Thailand. It was delicious, but there are no pictures because they are on another camera.


And then we checked into our accommodation. The owner's girlfriend told us to rest first and that she would take us for a walk around the old town in the evening. Since there weren't many customers, she said we had chosen a good time to come, during the peak season. I don't know which month it is, but the old town is usually very crowded, full of tourists jostling each other. But this time, it was very comfortable.

The next day, we left our accommodation by hiring a car for 80 CNY from the accommodation to Lijiang Airport. When we arrived in Kunming, our trip for the six of us was over. Thank you all for following us. It was a truly amazing trip. I was very impressed with both the people and the places, even though the food wasn't great. Oh, and when you go to China, you can't not talk about the bathrooms, right? Most of the bathrooms are squat toilets. There were only flush toilets at the airport and the accommodation. Other than that, they were all squat toilets. The bathrooms in Lijiang were clean, as were the ones in the old town, but don't even think about having to go to the bathroom on the way there.


And finally, the most delicious roast pork of the trip, from the shop below my friend's condo. It has a Cantonese flavor, and it's delicious, haha.


The journey has ended. Thank you to all six of you for joining me.



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