Day 4 was a picture-perfect day! The sun was mad hot and the whole day was spent visiting many outdoor attractions. Oh and not to forget, we had to walk long distances. Nonetheless, we took so many gorgeous pictures! And finally, we got to see the first snow mountain- Yu Long Snow Mountain.
The living and dining room of the villa that we stayed in Lijiang for two nights. We shared this villa with another two families and we had one of the rooms on the ground level. Not too bad I would say.
The best part of the villa is that every villa comes with a butler. This is our butler and she will prepare breakfast for us every morning- simple fares. Oh and at night, she will prepare warm milk for us.
Lucky us because the other two families were easy to get along and so having meals together was a little less awkward.
The balcony of one room
Each day, the butler will call for a buggy to come and fetch us to the main carpark where our guide and bus were waiting for us. There is also a small garden near our villa which you will see later.
First stop of the day: Jade Spring Park where the Black Dragon Pool is
As usual, carrying lots of stuff
So, are you ready to see the Black Dragon Pool? Heard the view is magnificent.
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Here I present to you the Black Dragon Pool!
WHAT!?!? A pool with no water?
Exactly, that was my first thought when I saw it. Apparently, Yunnan is experiencing a prolonged drought and in order to conserve water, the management has decided to drain the pool.
It should look like this -->
Oh well, at least I have never seen mud that cracked so badly so take a picture! Vaguely you can see the Yulong Snow Mountain in the background.
The local shopowner helped us took this photo and since the snow mountain cannot be seen clearly, they decided to crop one out from their past pictures and paste it there. The art of photoshopping LOL!
Like this pic!
Like this pic too cos I look so happy and glowing!
Second stop: Shu He Ancient Town
Like I said, there are many ancient towns in the counties that we visited. There are more or less the same, selling cultural products to tourists. Nothing interesting.
Since there was free time for us to explore the area and nothing for us to shop, we began taking portraits of one another.
Third stop: Jade Water Village
This place is so beautiful as it is located near the top of the mountain and I thought it looked like a paradise to me. The water sparkled under the sun and air was so much fresher. Oh and the willows just made it look even more beautiful!
Apparently the Jade Water Village is a sacred place for the Dongba people. No wonder it just feels like a 'Shi Wai Tao Yuan' to me!
Can tell mum couldn't take the sun! She was trying so hard to open her eyes!
Hello fish! Aren't you guys lucky to be living in such clear water!
I was truly happy then and I forgot about sun rays and freckles thing!
Vastness of land
After lunch, it was a short drive to an outdoor theatre. The theatre was unique because it has the Yu Long Snow Mountain as backdrop. Simply gorgeous! We were there to watch a live performance called "Impression Lijiang" directed by the renowned Zhang Yimou! In case you have no idea who he is, he is a famous director in China who has directed a number of artistic films and discovered numerous actresses such as Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi. He is considered as a national treasure to the Chinese.
The glorious Yu Long Snow Mountain, standing proud and tall.
It was a large-scaled performance with 400 over performers and many horses. No mikes were used. The performers just sang and we could still hear them from far.
Honestly, the show was worth watching but watching it under the hot afternoon sun was a HORROR! Even the Chinese tourists also could not take the sun despite wearing caps, hats and some like me used shawls to wrap our heads! It was soooooooooooooooooo hot! It seemed like the sun was just hanging directly me and we were so restless trying to get out of our seats as my black bag was heating up and scalding my laps. In the end, mum and I moved up to the last row and opened our umbrellas!
A poor guy must have dehydrated badly. He experienced high altitude sickness that morning and was vomiting and having diarrhoea. Yet he had to stay with us under the hot sun for an hour. After the end of the show, you could tell that his face had turned pale.
The day was not over and the last stop we went to was the highly-raved Blue Moon Valley. They said the place is so gorgeous that you won't want to leave. It was hilarious seeing the aunties in our group complaining about how hot the sun was and there wasn't much place to take shelter. Haha! If not for the sun, I might have appreciated the beauty of the place even more.
Crystal blue water... The pool appears blue due to some minerals that are found in it.
After a sumptuous dinner, we headed back to our villa earlier than usual. It was already 7pm but the sky was still bright.
Exploring the garden behind our villa
Mario!
That marked the end of Day 4 and the next day was off to the much anticipated Shangri La! How beautiful is this so-called paradise? Got to stay tuned for the next post!
