Pan-Asian Gallivanting

After Dali I ventured up to Shangri-La for a couple days. Once there I stayed at a cozy hostel and met Alek. Since he’s Russian our initially conversations were very cold-war-esque. I would say something….then he would say something better and more impressive….in turn I would reply with something even more exciting and appealing…and so on and so on. Just kidding.

On my first full day in Shangri-La Alek and I rented bikes and tried to bike 20km out of the city towards Bita Hai Lake in the near by national park. Along the way we snuck into the local hot springs and a Tibetan Buddhist Monastery. It’s not like I wanted to sneek in but when the Chinese Government forces you to pay outrageous entrance fees to all of their country’s attractions then you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do to save a buck…am I right? So, for those of you thinking of visiting China in the future please take note. When approaching any attraction with a large gate pronouncing that you must purchase a ticket to enter here is what you do. First go to the gate to get a free map of the attraction. Second, walk 200-500m away from the gate so that the guards cannot see you. Third, walk into the woods, village or whatever is next to the gate and gradually work your way onto the main road towards the attraction. Once inside, Chinese officials rarely ask to see your ticket so you’re golden!

After perusing around the hot springs and the monastery Alek and I moved on to our desired destination, Bita Hai Lake. We approached the entrance to the national park which housed the lake and did what we previously did that day, we snuck around the entrance. Everything was going swell as we biked up the path towards the lake. Until a truck coming from the opposite direction stopped next to us and started yelling some crazy Chinese words at us. We had no idea what they were saying but we could tell it wasn’t friendly. Maybe they were on to us? Yup…that was it. They drove us back to the main entrance and told us that we had to purchase an entrance ticket of 110 Yuan and then a bus ticket to take us around the are for 80 Yuan. So, all in all it would have set us back 190 Yuan (about $30). BULLSHIT!!

Alek and I were so close and we were determined to get in! First we tried sneaking on to one of the buses without a ticket but the guards saw us and shuffled us away angrily. Then, with my minimal Chinese phrase book and hand signs, I tried to get a couple locals behind the main building to go inside and steal a couple tickets for us, pleading that we had mayo (no) money. We failed miserably. :(

Finally we left as the sun was beginning to set. Since it was a long bike ride back and the nights in the area are very cold we decided to hitchhike back. After 30 minutes a large dump truck carrying wood stopped and allowed us to hitch a ride on the top of their truck. What a view it was as we slowly rumbled through the countryside. :) I have a video of this truck ride but I won’t be able to show you until I get home.