mrsjono

To reward ourselves for all the possible reasons we could think of, we spent the last 4 days sleeping past noon, shopping and eating! Such indulgence is a luxury for me bcos I'm a poor student in expensive Singapore.

Oh yes KFC never tasted so good. On the day of the release of results, we were so nervous and had no mood to do anything so we went to eat KFC. Ajisen again in Chengdu and local snacks (bottom row-冰粉、凉面、龙抄手) in Wenshu Monastery. Nice!

Bulk of my harvest were from Lijiang. Wallet, bags, scarf, stamps, dongba postcards, dongba art painting, a drawing, wild fungi, dried plums, dragon beard candy which became a lump of rock and I had to dump both boxes down the chute.

What better way to celebrate our results than having good food? 正宗麻辣火锅 & Pizzahut! The lean beef and soup base for the hotpot were irresistable! Shiok!

Another bulk of my harvest from Chengdu. We discovered a 五道口服装市场 which was enough to last me a few hours. More souvenirs from Wenshu Monastery, a big box of tidbits from the supermarket and a final last glance at Tianfu Square before heading to the airport.

Why are we smiling when we're going home? :'(

Upon arrival at Chengdu Airport, there were lots of people to welcome us. Wow, we're popular!

We didn't like Panba so we decided to stay at Naxi Mama when we return to Lijiang from Shangrila. It's on the outskirts of the old town and we had problems finding it. We were walking up and down the street with our bags and out of nowhere, a middle-aged lanky man asked where we were going. We thought he's a tout and ignored him. The man kept asking and my donkey friend flared up and told him to go away. We went off down another alley and back again to the same street where the man was. I showed him the name card I was holding in my hand and he immediately said "I know where, follow me." It was his house. He was Naxi Baba, the owner of the guesthouse we were going to stay at.

As the bus weaved its way through the mountain roads, I rocked to the beat of the music playing in my ears. How strange, for I usually find myself skipping almost every song that comes up on the player. Then I started singing aloud, totally immersed in my own world and it felt like the most enjoyable ride I ever had.

I stared out of the window looking at the vast lands and clear skies whizzed past me in a blur of green, brown and blue. While I'm really looking forward to KFC in Lijiang having deprived of real food for days and getting overdosed by all those mountains, I know eventually I'll miss the rugged natural terrains here. I discovered I've taken a liking to the sense of remoteness and sacredness I found in Shangrila. And I am truly in awe with all the good people we met.

I may be back for all I know, but until then it's goodbye with great reluctance.