South West China and Luang Prabang(followed by a cruise from Shanghai to Japan). Another trip within a trip.

[woodyren]

From the bus drop off point there was a climb and quite a walk to the base of the cable car. Mrs Woodyren's knees were giving her some discomfort and after her experience with altitude in Huanglong she decided against heading to the summit.











Huge lines at the base of the cable car. The wait ended up being around 80 minutes.





The lineup for the cable car.





The path from the bus drop off to the cable car. A lot of steps.








Tibetan Macaques are abundant on the mountain.














The day was quite hazy so the views weren't as good as the can be.

 

[woodyren]

The summit area of Emeishan. One of China's four sacred mountains.

















While there have been various Buddhist statues and temples constructed all over the area for many centuries the Golden statue is a very recent addition.

 

[jastel]

Now I need to go back to Mt Rigi and see the rock!

I agree with your assessment of the forced shopping. I would just walk around the area for 30 minutes or whatever time the guide said we were leaving.

 

[woodyren]

Overnight at our hotel in Emeishan. Dinner at another industrial tourist place and a short walk around the local area.









The next morning we headed to Leshan to see the Giant Buddha. Our last stop but on the way we had to visit a local cultural village (shopping).

 

[woodyren]

Our last stop on the tour. Leshan Giant Buddha. Overall the tour was great value as we were able to see some wonderful places in a relatively short time for a bargain price. Despite the language barrier our tour companions were mostly very friendly and a fun bunch.

 

[woodyren]

After this last stop we were on the bus back to Chengdu to our hotel. The tour guide who had been very upbeat and friendly was dropped off at nearby Emeishan where he apparently resided. On this last short trip he seemed to be somewhat unhappy and the general feeling was that the group as a whole hadn't spent a great deal of money at the various shopping stops or on the double priced local snacks they were peddling on board the bus on the last few days.

Once we had checked in to our hotel we headed off to navigate the Chengdu metro to explore the city centre area and sample some of my Favourite Sichuan food.



Our hotel breakfast area.


Some pre dinner BBQ.

















Excellent local hotpot.


























Most of the metros in China have excellent info panels above every door. The show stations, exits and route information in both English and Mandarin. Announcements are also in both languages.

 

[woodyren]

With the tour over we were back on our own planned itinerary. We were heading for Laos and so the next day required a 7 hour high speed rail journey from Chengdu to Kunming and an overnight stay in Kunming.

Chinese trains are easily booked on line (we used Trip) and require your passport details. While you do get an e-ticket once you arrive at the station your passport details are used for entry to the station proper and then onto the platform through the gates for each platform.

Many stations use facial recognition for the locals.


Trains channeling the Jamaican bobsled team.























2nd class seats 3 x 2. Still quite a bit of room.


Chengdu South Station.

 

[woodyren]

From Kunming main station we the new metro line that linked the main station to Kunming South station which is the terminal station for the newly opened Kunming to Vientiane railway.

Our hotel was situated on the metro one stop before the main station to allow easy access the following morning.

Great hotel for just over $50 per night for the 3 of us.

















We found some great food (not hard in China) in the same building downstairs.


While the cholesterol content probably isn't recommended this pork with crispy skin recooked in the hot pot was sensational.



As always the local beers are refreshing.














Very tasty.


The steet food just outside our hotel in Kunming.


New Kunming metro.

 

[woodyren]

We had purchased our tickets on Trip from Kunming to Luang Prabang but for some reason you can't purchase the return tickets from any of the regular on line sites.

Return tickets must be purchased from Laos agents and the commissions were quite high. From research I had found out that there was a new local ticket office in Luang Prabang. Previously you had to take a 30 minute drive to the station to purchase. Tickets can only be purchased 3 days before departure apparently.

So we had our flights booked from Kunming to Shanghai where we were heading after Laos and just had to hope that there were tickets available for the return to Kunming on the day we wanted.

The new line opened in Dec 2021 and is over 1000 klms long. Not a true bullet train line as the max speed is only 160kph.





You alight the train on the Chinese side and go through immigration then reboard, travel through a long tunnel to the Laos side and then repeat the process. Takes around 90 minutes all up. This is the Chinese side.


A very scenic and enjoyable rail journey of over 7 hours.














Luckily our carriage was almost empty until we hit the Laos side.










Kunming South station.

 

[woodyren]

Photos of the Laos side of the border














Luang Prabang station. About a 20-30 minute drive into town. Only farms around the station area.






















Immigration waiting area on the Laos side.

 

[woodyren]

Our hotel accommodation in Luang Prabang. On the Mekong Resort.

The resort is constructed from original dwellings recycled from a Thai village.

We had originally booked two regular apartments for 5 nights to accommodate the three of us but we had a nice surprise and were very happy to receive this message a week or so prior to arrival from Henry American owner of the resort.

" If you would prefer this to two separate apartments I have UPGRADED YOU to our spacious Templeview Residence for your stay John. This is a beautiful 2-bedroom suite featuring art, artifacts, and a few fun surprises from across Southeast Asia. The suite features two king size beds in separate rooms, a living room attached to the main bedroom, and four large, modern en suite bathrooms. This suite - our largest suite - also features a comfortable living room area. 80% of our land is green space, and there are plenty of interesting nooks and relaxing areas to explore and enjoy. Your suite has a beautiful Buddhist Temple just 50 meters to your west. The ringing of the Buddhist bells and drums, and the noise of the village children is part of our life here. And on top of your lovely suite, we have also included a daily cooked breakfast for you while you are with us. You may never want to leave John!"







The restaurant and bar area had a stunning outlook over the Mekong.


They had a different set menu breakfast each day.











Reception. Staff were wonderful.





Our suite.





Great outlook at sunset.























Our suite. The top level isn't used it is only decorative.

 

[woodyren]

Our 4 days in Luang Prabang were spent in the city and local area. Our resort was about 10 minutes drive or 30 minutes walk for the city centre with a free drop off by arrangement. We usually took the drop off and then walked back.

Many interesting temples. Inexpensive places to eat and a sort of relaxed backpacker vibe in general.

 

[woodyren]

Breakfast was provided at the hotel each morning and then the rest of our meals were usually eaten in town at small local markets or riverside eateries.


Noodle dishes like this were less than $5.










We had a few of the local durian.


Great crispy pork.

 

[woodyren]

Day 2 was just another visit to town to eat and explore more temples, walk around town and snack on local food.

While in town we booked a tour for the following day to the nearby Kuang Si waterfalls and managed to find the train ticket office to book our return trip to Kunming.



Favourite ice creams.















Booked our waterfall trip here.

 

[woodyren]

Evenings were spent back at the resort watching the sunset over Mekong with a few local beers or a wine. Henry the host would pop in for a chat most nights. A mix of guests from all over made for interesting conversations.








Sunset cruises on the river each evening.

 

[woodyren]

Day 3 was our short trip to Kuang Si Waterfalls and the bear rescue centre. We were picked up by a minibus outside the place in town where we booked our ticket and then we stopped at a nearby backpacker place where we were joined by many young European backpackers.

The drive to the falls was just under an hour and we were instructed to meet the bus back at the entrance in 4 hours.

I had read many reports about crowding but the day we visited there was plenty of room to sit, relax and swim.

 

[woodyren]

There was a bear rescue centre in the park.

 

[woodyren]

On our last day the ladies were feeling a little tired and just relaxed around our resort. I headed into town to climb Mt Phou Si (Mt Phousi, Mt Phu Si) which is really Phou Si Hill. It is only about a 100mts high.

It's right in the centre of town and offers great views over the Mekong and city. 333 steps to the top and many temples to see along the way. It's a very popular place to watch the sunsets but I was there in the middle of the day so it was a hot and humid climb up those stairs.

Spent about 4-5 hours on the hill. Walked to all the little side tracks that led to interesting statues or temples. Just sat from time to time admiring the views and then down the stairs on the other side which took me into an area of town I hadn't visited. From there I walked back to the resort. From memory I clocked more than 25,000 steps that day.





I get lucky with a good photo every so often.

 

[VPS]

That was a fantastic photo of the young boy

 

[woodyren]

We traveled by train the next day back to Kunming. We booked the same hotel that we had stayed in previously near the Kunming South train station.

Having time that night after checking in we walked about 3 klms to a night food area.

The food was well worth the walk.





















Another one of my favourites. Sichuan fish stew. With a few cold beers of course.