Chiang Mai, Thailand to Yunan, China on a Honda CRF 250 L (& back)

[2wheels]

Looking good Phil!

Are 'your' hotels trying that old 'give us a deposit as well as the room fee and we'll decide when you check out if you will get your deposit back' trick?!

 

[nikhuzlan]

How's the CRF treating you.Have you missed bringing your 990 yet?

 

[KTMphil]

Weishan is famous for the Dali Bai ethnic Muslims & temples in the surrounding mountains


Weishan Yi and Hui Autonomous County - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


It's the first time i've been here and quite interesting
























Axel making new friends

 

[KTMphil]

A few more snaps around Weishan

 

[KTMphil]

Looking good Phil!

Are 'your' hotels trying that old 'give us a deposit as well as the room fee and we'll decide when you check out if you will get your deposit back' trick?!

Not one of those tricks being played as we have a Chinese ground handler!

 

[KTMphil]

How's the CRF treating you.Have you missed bringing your 990 yet?

Nik, I've specifically done this to test whether this trip is "pleasurable" on a 250cc enduro style bike, as so many people have them and would love to do this. So far no problems and enjoying it as much as the big bikes.

 

[KTMphil]

NE and onwards to Dali --- rain gear time







Didn't last long & into the hotel in Dali

 

[2wheels]

"pleasurable" on a 250cc enduro style bike,

That lambs-wool seat cover should help!

 

[KTMphil]

We've been trying to eat the local delicacies from the autonomous regions that we're traveling through. Dali prefecture, this is a local cold noodle salad that tastes very much like a Japanese dish.


View attachment 21423



It's presented with different noodles and flavors & then mixed together at the table before consumption



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A local dish, deep fried cheese made from cows milk. Not a very sour/ bite cheese but very tasty


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& some locally brewed snake moonshine that we didn't try







Like Oddvar, we stuck with the other Dali local beverage







Leaving the restaurant, we saw this and someone joked "they really are taking advantage of this tea horse and caravan thing arn't they?"

 

[nikhuzlan]

Nik, I've specifically done this to test whether this trip is "pleasurable" on a 250cc enduro style bike, as so many people have them and would love to do this. So far no problems and enjoying it as much as the big bikes.

Great. You'd have great fun when the roads gets really tough. What did you do to the seat? I'm sure the original item is only good for 90 minutes on the bike.

 

[KTMphil]

Great. You'd have great fun when the roads gets really tough. What did you do to the seat? I'm sure the original item is only good for 90 minutes on the bike.

It's a sheepskin from Barb at Alaska Leather, but any sheepskin would work. It makes a HUGE difference on a stock thin seat.

 

[KTMphil]

Dali

Google Maps eat your heart out - chop sticks make great city maps where there's grids






Some brake issues on a BMW F 800 gs so a late start, some time for a wander around Dali's old town

 

[KTMphil]

Dali city

Dali City - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Dali is the ancient capital of both the Bai kingdom Nanzhao, which flourished in the area during the 8th and 9th centuries, and the Kingdom of Dali, which reigned from 937–1253. Situated in a once significantly Muslim part of South China, Dali was also the center of the Panthay Rebellion against the reigning imperial Qing Dynasty from 1856–1863. It was severely damaged during an earthquake in 1925.[SUP][1][/SUP]

Dali is also famous for the many types of marble it produces, which are used primarily in construction and for decorative objects. In fact, Dali is so famous for the stone that the name of marble in Chinese is literally "Dali Stone" (Chinese: 大理石; pinyin: dali shi).
Dali is now a major tourist destination, along with Lijiang, for both domestic and international tourists.



Dali and Yunnan's capital Kunming are only a 40-minute flight apart. Dali's newly finished administrative district that houses the newly opened Dali International Convention Center is in Longshan District. The Dali government's urban planning keeps its old and new districts separate, to encourage tourism. The "new city" is known as Xiaguan and is south of the old city. The old city was built during Ming Dynasty emperor Hongwu's reign (1368–1398). Owing to the distance between them, the old city is still peaceful and quiet.




[h=3]Climate[/h]Tempered by the low latitude and high elevation, Dali has a mild subtropical highland climate (Köppen Cwb), with short, mild, dry winters, and warm, rainy summers. Frost may occur in winter but the days still generally warm up to 15 °C (59 °F) or more. During summer, a majority of the days features some rainfall, and daytime temperatures rise to 24 °C (75 °F). A great majority of the year's rainfall occurs from June to October.



Natural springs flow down from the mountain through Dali's old town streets

 

[KTMphil]

No money no honey (for the photo)

 

[KTMphil]

Flower lady in a big hurry









Unusual

 

[KTMphil]

A few more pictures from around Dali's old town

 

[2wheels]

My regards to Mr Jah please Phil.

Hope you have time to meander around that lake in Dali.

Lovely pics.

 

[KTMphil]

BMW F 800 all fixed with new brake pads which were available in Dali







Low pressure gone looks like it's going to be a great riding day









Always some funny/ strange drama around in China. This lady parks and locks her Honda car in front of the exit barrier for 15 minutes because she's arguing about the exit ticket, blocking 10 cars and 9 motorcycles from leaving the hotel
.

 

[KTMphil]

The rice changing color from bright green to yellow, we're riding through at harvest time






Always interesting to see the different rice harvesting methods in SE Asia. Here, once the rice stalks are cut, they are taken to a large wicker basket and thrashed on the inside which makes the rice husks part from the stalk

 

[KTMphil]

Up into the Himalaya's, cracking views






Then some real drama - Police checkpoint on the toll road headed into Lejiang, the police's astonishment upon seeing us quite remarkable.

None of us spoke Chinese, they didn't speak English and our ground handler was nowhere to be seen, quite an interesting situation, which highlighted why you shouldn't venture into China without a tour, unless you're ready for headaches.

My favorite shot so far, might get this framed

 

[KTMphil]

So they made us turn around and get off the toll road, first time i've ever had this happen in China. We should actually have thanked them, we had better views from the local road into Lijiang

Through the Lijiang city mayhem without too much trouble and managing to keep 9 bikes together through the traffic lights, we finally arrive at the Grand Lijiang Hotel

If you get an end room, you'll have superb views of the Lijiang glacier

 

[2wheels]

... they made us turn around and get off the toll road,...

This happened to me everywhere during my ride! (riding solo)
Sometimes to my benefit, sometimes not.

 

[KTMphil]

A fun after-dinner game in a Chinese restaurant - Chinese roulette


Get a toothpick, stick it to the edge of the spinning lazy susan






Everyone put say 10 Yuan out in front of them next to the lazy susan








Spin the lazy susan, the toothpick has to stop in front of your money (this can take 3 or 4 spins sets) & if it does you win the pot.



Oddvar with his winnings







The lazy susan makes for ingenious panoramic shots and group videos too

 

[KTMphil]

The security guard at the Grand Lijiang Hotel on his 3rd large Dali beer


View attachment 21478

 

[KTMphil]

Why is it an hour after Chinese food & you're hungry again?

View attachment 21479



View attachment 21481

 

[KTMphil]

The edge of Lijiang's old city by night

View attachment 21482



& a view hard to beat from your hotel room the next morning

 

[2wheels]

..our ground handler was nowhere to be seen ..

That's Jah there with the Boys in Blue; thought he was your 'ground handler'?

 

[KTMphil]

Lijiang is a fantastic Chinese city to visit by motorcycle, it has everything. The old city is around 800 years old, for those tired of Chinese food by now, there's a McDonalds, Pizza Hut & KFC all next to each other.

I've heard that Lijiang is the busiest tourist city for Chinese tourists in China. You'd think it would be Bejieng & the great wall, but remember Lijiang has a temperate climate so has tourist traffic all year around where as Bejieng/ the great wall has brutal winters.



Lijiang:



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lijiang



Lijiang is located in the northwestern portion of Yunnan and borders Sichuan. It is in a region where the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau converge.

Owing to its low latitude and high elevation, the city centre of Lijiang experiences a mild subtropical highland climate (Köppen Cwb). Winters are mild and very dry and sunny (>70% possible sunshine), although average lows in December and January are just below the freezing mark; January, the coolest month, has a 24-hour average temperature of 6.0 °C (42.8 °F). Spring begins early and remains dry and sunny until late May, when there is a dramatic uptick in frequency and amount of rainfall that lasts until late September. Summers are warm, rainy (more so than it is sunny) and damp, with June, the warmest month, averaging 18.4 °C (65.1 °F). Autumn sees an abrupt reduction in rainfall and return to sunniness. The annual mean temperature is 12.70 °C (54.9 °F), while precipitation averages 968 mm (38.1 in), around 80% of which occurs from June to September; there are 2,463 hours of bright sunshine annually.




Old Town

The world famous Old Town of Lijiang is located in Lijiang City. It is a UNESCO Heritage Site.
The town has a history going back more than 800 years and was once a confluence for trade along the old tea horse road. The Lijiang old town is famous for its orderly system of waterways and bridges. The old town of Lijiang differs from other ancient Chinese cities in architecture, history and the culture of its traditional residents the Nakhi people, therefore people there are called 胖金哥 and 胖金妹 (pàng jīn gē, pàng jīn mèi, male and female respectively). The town was ruled by the Mu Family during the portions of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, a period of nearly 500 years.
Overlooking Lijiang Old Town is Lion Hill and at its summit is the Wangu Pavilion, which is a wooden building that stands 33 m (108 ft) tall and boasts 10,000 dragon carvings. The pavilion is constructed on 16 columns each of 22 m (72 ft) in height. The pavilion is a masterpiece of Qing Dynasty architecture that has been extensively restored following the designation of Lijiang Old Town as a UNESCO Heritage Site.
From Lion's Hill it is possible to view the entire Li River valley, including both the old city and new city of Lijiang. Looking Northwest, the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is dominates the horizon.
The Old Town is a maze of winding cobblestone streets. It is extremely easy to get lost as there is no grid, but each turn takes one to some new interesting spot, and it's not hard to eventually find one's way out of the maze and back to familiar territory. The layout of the town was established to conform to the flow of 3 streams in adherence to Feng Shui design, so there was water and waste disposal for the inhabitants. The Old Town has fast become a destination for young Chinese artists, students, and adventurers. Most recently, it has become a favored Spring Break destination for students. "Bar Street" is a line of clubs with live music, dancing, and revelry. The Old Town has a multitude of shops, some a bit tourist oriented, but several showcasing handcrafts, individual artists, and local manufacturers of interesting personal products.
There are dozens of restaurants, from snacks to high end dining, all very reasonably priced, cheap by Western standards.
Accommodations are varied, but the most interesting are the large number of boutique hotels run by individuals and families. These boutique hotels are in old traditional houses converted to rooms, courtyards, and gathering places, and designs all trend to traditional Chinese sensibilities. There are new high end hotel and condominium developments starting construction from 2011 forward, so there is a definite push to make the destination one for all tastes and not just young adventurers.

 

[KTMphil]

Beautiful morning in Lijiang on our rest day














Roast piglet everywhere in the old town, the most popular dish

 

[KTMphil]

Lijiang - authentic Chinese hotpot 10km out of town - Naxi whole chicken hotpot







We tried to do this properly as we had a Chinese teacher. Dipping sauce consists of a small bowl of chopped chives and a few other diced greens. You then add some dried, ground chillies and garlic






Then add what the Chinese call "smelly, sticky tofu" to the concoction. When the hot soup arrives, you then add half a cup of the chicken broth to complete the dipping sauce

 

[KTMphil]

Whole chicken soup/hotpot arrives, this is a first for all of us







Whole chicken true enough, head and feet are in there for sure








It got the thumbs up from everyone, a very special experience

 

[Gnasher328]

'Eck, I was going to start planning my trip this morning and you completely sidetracked me.
Looks a really nice trip, how does it compare with the previous route?
Good to hear the CRF is so capable. Have you done any mods?
Who organised the trip?
Have fun and keep up the good work, Tim.

 

[KTMphil]

Looks a really nice trip, how does it compare with the previous route?

All the better now as no time wasted because we know our way around up here, it's fantastic.



Good to hear the CRF is so capable. Have you done any mods?

Bar risers & sheepskin for the seat and you can go all the way to the Tibet border.

 

[KTMphil]

Lijiang - Tiger Leaping Gorge - Shangri-La, what a day.

 

[KTMphil]

Headed north of Lijiang, have your thermal underwear ready. Axel's rear tail light goes out, we have a spare bulb in the car, it does the job but his warning light stays on saying it's not working, must be the wrong wattage.

All fixed, northbound we go to Tiger-Leaping-Gorge

 

[KTMphil]

You won't find anyone that will argue about the scenery here, it's unbeatable, by foot or motorcycle.

"Selfie" (God I hate that word)

 

[KTMphil]

Had to be a distance away to get the mountain in

Lunch at the Tibetan Inn on the TLG

The air's getting thin

 

[KTMphil]

Grandma keeping an eye on everything

Coming out of the gorge

& things slowly start to look different

 

[KTMphil]

Everything starts to open up now

With plateau's of agriculture

Every 5 minutes there's a completely new kick ass view

 

[KTMphil]

10km further north, they're still using donkeys to haul the harvested crops from the fields