The Island Explorer

When I first planned my trip to China, I never thought I would end up exploring Yunnan. I was just supposed to go to Guilin and Yangshuo for a week. That was it. Now, I am on top of a mountain facing another mountain so close to me I could touch it. Down below was the great Yangtze River. Welcome to the Tiger Leaping Gorge. Touted as one of the MUST THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE, trekking the TLG is indeed something life-changing. The Tiger Leaping Gorge is one of the deepest in the world. The Yangtze cuts powerfully through a massive mountain range, and the result is a spectacle. Located around 120 km from Lijiang, the TLG has become of the fastest rising tourist spots of China. I haven't heard anyone in my trip who didn't recommend taking the trek up its trail. And so I did. From Lijiang, I took a mini bus to Qiaotou, the starting point for the trek. The bus took two hours, along an already spectacular scenery. We reached the TLG Gate, and someone came in the bus to collect the

I made it into Lijing after 4 hours in a small bus that constantly stopped for passengers. We even had to load some sacks of rice along the way. I dozed off for most part of the trip, so the next thing I knew, we were approaching a city, that is the new Lijiang, on a cloudy day. The bus stopped in front of what seemed to be gate of the Old Town. My inn was located inside the Old Town, the main attraction of Lijiang. I got down and tried to ask for directions. Unfortunately, nobody could understand me, so I tried calling the inn. I was told to go to Sifang Square, where I would meet someone to escort me to the inn. Turns out I was far from Sifang Square, and with the maze that is the Old Town, I got lost. Lijiang Old Town (or Ancient Town) is a labyrinth of cobblestone alleys. The place was huge, way bigger than Dali. I began to like it though, as you really feel you're in a Chinese movie set. Preserved shop houses lined the alleys, streams flow everywhere. I followed the crowds, un

The first time I heard about Brooklyn Pizza was through a friend. I was craving for New York style pizza. My friend then asked me, "Haven't you tried Brooklyn?" I said no. He knew the delivery number and immediately dialed it. He did the ordering and after 30 minutes, the pizza man was at our door. That was the first time I had a superb white cheese pizza aside from Sbarro's. Since then, Brooklyn has been a favorite in my pizza delivery list. I found their pies more flavorful and less greasy than several of the New York Style pizzas out there. Recently, I visited their branch in Ortigas, at the City Golf Arcade along Julia Vargas Avenue. It was my first time to dine in their place, and I was quite surprised at my experience. The place was small but cozy. They even served complimentary garlic bread. We were having our first real meal of the day, so we ordered Buffalo Wings to start. The wings were spicy, and the tangy flavor was not too strong. It didn't need the s

It was quite a struggle deciding on moving onto Lijiang or stopping by at Dali for a night. The German I talked to lived in Dali for 5 months, teaching English, and she couldn't stop sharing good things about Dali. So, with that, I decided to extend my stay in China, and catch a 4-hour bus ride to Dali in the morning. I arrived in Dali at 1PM, and the weather was fair. It was sunny but it grew colder than Kunming. I took a taxi to my guesthouse, the Jade Emu near the West Gate of Dali Old Town. It wasn't inside the old town, compared to all the other guesthouses, but the place was easily accessible as it was near the highway already. The guesthouse was spotless and the beds were comfortable. China really has great hostels. I only had a night, so I immediately unloaded my stuff and asked the receptionist the way to the Cangshan Mountains. I have read that one could take a chair lift to a village on top. So that's what I did. I took a sort of tuktuk to the mountain park entra

Around 90 km from Kunming is the town of Shilin, known for only one thing: the Stone Forest. This UNESCO Geological Site has always been the main tourist draw in Kunming. When I got off the bus at a parking lot at the entrance of the park, I noticed that the Stone Forest didn't look like a natural wonder, because of all the manicured pasteurs and paved streets that led to the place. And the theme park look continued on, as I entered the park, after paying a fee of RMB80 I think. There was a long bridge that had a lake with limestone rocks jutting out, similar to what you may see in Palawan or Caramoan. The Stone Forest had a lot of Chinese tourists. I couldn't do anything but go with the flow. I managed to get off track for a while and head up to a a pagoda on a hill. I figured you could get a great view from there. And it did. I saw the seemingly small cluster of limestone rocks piercing through the ground. I said to myself, inside those rocks were thousands of Chinese tourist