Day 8: Finishing our Yunnan Trip with a Bowl of Guo Qiao Mi Xian (过桥米线) at Brother Jiang (江氏兄弟桥香园)

Our last day in Kunming was rather uneventful. Mr Wang took us to this touristy trap, 植物王国春城花都 which sells souvenirs & more souvenirs. *.*  We say, give this place a miss. We got Mr Wang to drive us for some noodles at Brother Jiang to make up for the bad recommendation. :)

Lin & Ann decide what noodles to have at Brother Jiang. :)

Ji Guo chicken soup (气锅鸡). Least oily among the ones we had so far in Kunming. :)

Guo Qiao Mi Xian (过桥米线)

There's a warning to beware of the hot soup! :)

The toppings for our noodles :)

The yellow chrysanthenums added colour to our noodles! :D

Prettylicious finish to our Yunnan trip! :D

Us waiting to board the plane. :)

And more feasting onboard! Till our next trip, tada! :)

Details of Brother Jiang (江氏兄弟桥香园):

W: http://www.brothers-jiang.com.cn/newEbiz1/EbizPortalFG/portal/html/index.html

Day 7: Driving Back to Kunming for a Dinner at Shi Ping Hui Guan ((石屏会官)

We were finally heading back to Kunming, the last leg of our Yunnan trip. :) The drive from Lijiang to Kunming is 8 hours.

Our route:

Singapore > Kunming > Luoping > Kunming > Dali > Lijiang > Kunming

Our journey was hampered by these goats! Hahahahhahah :)))



















Mr Wang stopped at a local restaurant in Dali for a lunch break. As he enjoyed his 3 dishes & a soup (三菜一汤), we tried to clear the food we brought along for the road trip. :))) We needed to offload. :)))
We cleared a pack of choc & nuts biscuits...

and a tin of pink salmon & Bakery 88's walnut bread. :) The 8 hour journey was less taxing because we feasted all the way! :)))

What do you need after an 8-hour journey on the road? A super duper sumptous dinner. We decided to check out Shi Ping Hui Guan (石屏会官), a beautiful traditional courtyard restaurant for some authentic Yunnan cuisine.

Yiliang Roast Duck (宜良烤鴨). It's skin is touted to be similiar to those of Peking ducks. We beg to differ. Honey is used to crisp and colour the skin and it is roasted with pine branches to give the duck a unique flavour.

Just say, we prefer Peking duck. :)

We only knew they were Shiping doufu (石屏豆腐) when we ordered it. And when it's served before us, we couldn't help but cringed...they were stinky tofu!!! Help!!! *.*

Didn't quite knew what these were either other than some pan fried fried cheese.

They were in fact Rubing (乳饼), a type of firm, fresh goat milk cheese made by the Bai & Sani minority.

These pork dumplings had an acquired smell too... *.*

Most edible dishes were the char siew &

Chinese cabbage...

Go to Shi Ping Hui Guan for the ambience. As for the food, it's an acquired taste.

Details of Shi Ping Hui Guan (石屏会官):

Day 7: Visual Treat - Impression Lijiang

Our Saturday morning started with a performance, Impression Lijiang, at Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.

The clear blue sky & the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain provided an excellent backdrop for the performace, another masterpiece of Zhang Yimou. It showcased the traditions of Naxi, Yi and Bai peoples of the area through music & dance.

Despite the grandeur of the stage, Lin & I felt the Impression on Westlake, Hangzhou wins in terms of overall experience from its storyline, music & dance.

Mr Wang said Impression Lijiang was a mass workout. We didn't know what he meant initially, now we know. :)))

That aside, we were freezing from the cold... *.* Our fingers were numb at the end of the performance. Thank goodness we managed to capture some good shots! ;)

Following are some snipets of the performance.

Us all bundled up. :D

These men standing on horses were just so cool. If only we could do that! Well, we would be contented as long as we could ride the horse confidently. :)))

Colourful Naxi costumes. :)

Drummers!

Over 500 cast

Ending ritual...

which some audience participated in.

And with this visual treat, we ended our Lijiang expedition. :) We now got to travel 8 hours back to Kunming...see you!

Day 6: Around Lijiang Old Town

We adjournd to Lijiang Old Town hoping to catch more action. :) This place was bustling with activities! :)

Let's take in the sights! :)

Pavillion of wishes

You may wanna take some pics with the eagle. :)

Just like what these tourists did. :)

Alternatively find a lovely corner & people watch. :)

Lijiang Old Town is more dynamic & touristy than Shuhe.

Mr Wang toured Lijiang Old Town with us. He brought us to this alley of cafes & pubs.

Pretty eh? :)

Red lanterns, green willows, grey tiles, brown truck & timber...

At this moment, Ann was worrying about where to get cash...Lin too...so no pics of them...

Some things caught my attention. The emergency buckets in case there's a fire. And the dragon head water drainage. :)

This place is an inspiration paradise. There were a number of artists at work. :)

Spot the curious man peering down at an artist at work?

A Naxi lady doing some crochets. Her hands are still very nimble. :)

This little boy on an outing with grandma. :)

Oh, you can purchase fishes to set them free into the stream. :)

Naxi folk dancing in the market square. :)

The dance is for all ages. :)

Even this little fella wanna join in the fun. :)

A beautiful baby & her mom posing for some pics. :)

A pity we couldn't go to Mu Palace to snap an aerial view of the old town as it was closed for renovation. :( Sad...

There's definitely more energy here than Shuhe.

We managed to buy some small & inexpensive souvenirs here with our limited cash.

Ooh I was attracted by the rainbow weaving. :)

One of the many souvenir shops in Lijiang Old Town. :)

Food street. :)

We didn't buy any snack because we were "cashless" then...

Dongba signages.

Fresh vegs for sale. :)

Another cutie pie. :D

Mr Wang brought us for some tea appreciation session. Very timely as we wanted to take five. ;) This tea house Renhechang (仁咊倡) has a long history. It was established in the end of Guangxu years.

Lijiang is famous for Pu'er tea.

This young Naxi lady explaining to us the various type of tea as well as the grade of Pu'er tea. :)

Brewing a cup of good Chinese tea is an art. I wonder if I will ever get it...

This tea has a sweet after taste. My cup of tea. ;)

This is Ann's tea! Top grade Pu'er. Too strong for me. *.* If I drink it, I need to count sheeps.

Tina found some money in the secret compartment of her passport holder. Sweet. We now had money to buy some tea home. :D Yippee. :)))

We did quite a number of stuff today. :) Horse riding, boating, lunch & visits to two ancient towns. :D Now all we wanna do is to head back to our villa for a dip in the jetpool. ;)