Destinations of this trip Yunnan and Sichuan: Kunming \u2013 Stone Forest \u2013 Yuanyang \u2013 Duoyishu \u2013 Jianshui \u2013 Kunming Dali \u2013 Xizhou \u2013 Shaxi \u2013 Shangri La \u2013 Lijiang \u2013 Shuhe \u2013 Chengdu \u2013 Leshan \u2013 Emei Shan \u2013 Dujiangyan \u2013 Taoping \u2013 Songpan \u2013 Jiuzhaigou<\/p>\n
Ia’orana<\/p>\n
The trip is now over and overall it went superbly.<\/p>\n
In terms of organization, nothing to complain about, quite the opposite. Special thanks to Lili who allowed us to have a room at KUNMING airport on the last day. A problem with a canceled flight the night before in Chengdu forced us to sleep there without me being able to warn her. Being able to rest and shower before leaving for another 17-hour flight was very much appreciated.<\/p>\n
The few hotel availability issues have always been resolved to our advantage (Leixiago, Shuhe…).<\/p>\n
The guides: they were very helpful to us, of course, especially in all our contacts (restaurants, hotels, visits). The level of understanding was very different, however, and fortunately it was from the least easy to the best. A really special mention for ‘Andy’, our Tibetan guide for the last few days: a truly excellent level of English combined with impressive kindness and efficiency.<\/p>\n
The drivers: here too, a great diversity. A particular apprehension was the first one who had the bad habit of freewheeling as soon as the road went downhill.<\/p>\n
A special mention for the Taoping stop…
\nLuckily, Andy offered us a tour of the old part of the village, which hadn’t been destroyed by the earthquake. Despite the late hour, we had a fascinating visit! The owner of the house was incredibly dedicated to his role as guide, and we stayed at his house for almost two hours!
\nAs a result, the visit to the Qiang Museum the next day seemed rather dull.
\nA suggestion: since we arrived in Taoping too late in the evening, I think it would be better to stay the next morning and visit the old village, skipping the museum.<\/p>\n
For the geeks:
\nFuture visitors should be warned about the great difficulty of connecting to certain sites in China… For example, anything Google\/FaceBook (or related) is systematically blocked. Thus, people using Gmail or any form of social network will have no access! Yahoo, on the other hand, is apparently not blocked.
\nThere is a solution, but it’s best to plan ahead: a VPN. Using this tool allows you to – in principle – bypass the limitation and regain \u00ab\u00a0classic\u00a0\u00bb access.<\/p>\n
Some restrictions:<\/p>\n
Some VPNs, such as the free OPERA browser VPN, don’t work in China.
\nIt’s better to consider a paid VPN (a few euros\/month, sometimes with a refund for the first month). The completely free VPNs I’ve tried often cut out after a few minutes.<\/p>\n
An extremely useful tool that has served us well: the ‘CityMap2Go’ smartphone app. This GPS app is virtually free. Simply download the map(s) you’re interested in while connected to Wi-Fi and use them later. For example, I had pre-installed the maps of Yunnan, Sichuan, and Chengdu (the only ones available), and we were able to easily wander around the sites, hands in our pockets, on foot and by bike, without ever getting lost or worrying about not finding the hotel. The accuracy is sufficient almost everywhere. There are undoubtedly others, but this one is particularly effective, anywhere in the world.<\/p>\n
Thank you for this organization,<\/p>\n
Jeff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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