The old town of Lijang

We got into Lijang in the early afternoon and went on a search to find Mama Naxi's guesthouse. Mama Naxi now runs 3 guesthouses with different price ranges but we eventually found our way to number 3 which is the backpacker version and where Mama gives you fruit and cooks a cheap family meal for everyone each night. It was nice to feel so welcomed and a great way to meet the other guests staying there.
The old town of Lijang looks fantastic - it has been fully restored to its old state and has about 8 rivers running through it - with the streets built around and over them.. The only problem is that Chinese tour groups also think it looks fantastic and there are heaps of large groups of them walking slowly through the street all day long so it can get a bit tiring walking around. I was surprised at the amount of Spirilina shops there(?)
Lijang is also the home of the "World Famous" Naxi Orchestra.. This is an orchestra that plays ancient music and uses ancient instruments - some of which there are not many remaining in the world. Baba Naxi got us cheap tickets and we went along to the concert hall.. The songs were interesting - the "president" of the orchestra started the group around 50 years ago and there were a number of musicians over 80 years old. The president is obviously quite famous in China and the majority of our concert was him talking - mainly in Chinese which got a bit boring after a while..
I decided on the second day that I would hire a bike to look at a nearby village that used to be the capital of the Naxi empire before Genghis Khan came through.. Maybe there would be less tourists there! Before I left I had a quick look in an English bookstore for a travel guide for Lao as this is where I'm planning to go next and maybe it would be my last chance to get one. They wanted about $50 so I decided not to buy it but while getting my bike organised I saw an Irish guy Myles who I had met over dinner last night.. He wanted to come bike riding so I waited a bit and as we headed of he told me about his travels and how he wasn't going to Laos as planned. He had a guidebook that he didn't want anymore so I decided to help him out and take it off his hands!
We got a bit lost finding our way to Baisha but eventually we got there and it was nice and small and empty too! It wasn't long before we were stopped by the famous Dr Ho and invited into his house/rooms for tea. How do I know he is famous? Because he told me! He told us about himself for quite a while and all the famous people he has met. He even pulled out Andrew Daddo's, channel 7 card and told me that he will be on television in Australia soon.. His story is quite interesting and he is a herbalist and has cured at least one person of leukemia.. I bought some herbal tea from him (feels great when you drink it!) which he makes with herbs from a nearby famous mountain..
When we left his home it was starting to rain so we decided to head back to town which was a long, cold ride! The rain convinced me that tomorrow was time to move on and head to Dali where my mate Dave has started a hostel earlier this year..