Gorge 1, Travelers 0

Our next stop north brought us to Tiger Leaping Gorge, one of the deepest chasms in the world. Described as an arduous hike where a few backpackers have died, we figured this was just our cup of tea. The majestic Jade Dragon Snow Mountain stretched 3,202m from the base of the churning river and we hiked along the neighboring mountain with a complete view of both. We noticed that the busloads of Chinese tourists that crowded the streets of Dali and Lijiang were conspicuously absent from this part of Yunnan— although, a quick glance below at buses congregating alongside the ravine confirmed that they clearly just think Westerners are crazy to hike a trail when they can get the same view comfortably from their seats.

A lot of the talk about how hard the hike was turned out to be over-hyped. Yes, it was difficult to breath at such a high altitude and, yes, the 28 bends (a series of switchbacks taking you to the highest point on the hike) required a few stops but then you could also hire one of the horses from riders that followed you up the hardest parts, a little bell ringing with each step to remind you they’re there. In fact, there were even ladies selling Snickers bars (and, of course, ganja) before and after the hardest parts so you were in little danger of suffering the fate of the 4 Americans in the 1980s who took the river route.

Nearly blown off of cliff trying to take a picture with this dude.

These were potentially the most stunning mountains I’d ever seen in my life. With little lodges perched along the high trail, we stayed overnight at Naxi Family Guesthouse and awoke in time to see the sun rising behind the craggy range. Believing we’d mastered the hike turned out to be a mistake, however. Once we left our lodge, Danielle, feeling nauseated and lightheaded, collapsed on the trail after a dizzying five minute start (and vomiting next to a pig sty). Realizing that there was no way she’d be able to continue we carried her back and hired a van out of the trail. You win this round Tiger Leaping Gorge.

We are the world's most discreet criminals

Lijiang’s old town is all charm with its canals and cobblestone streets lined with shops where artisans hand-make their goods while you watch. Which, I suppose, is why the city thinks it is entitled to charge a general entrance fee. The catch is that this fee isn’t collected unless you visit one of 3 or 4 city sites, including the city’s main draw: the Black Dragon Pool Park, where the contrast of the lake with the 10,000 ft Jade Dragon Mountain in the background is considered an obligatory photo opportunity.

After all our traveling, we are leery of paying more than a couple of dollars for local sites – most of the time it’s all hype and we’re inevitably disappointed. So, upon arrival at the park, we told the ticket-taker that we had already paid the city fee but had left the paperwork in our hostel. Unfortunately, she didn’t buy it. As we stood outside the entrance discussing whether to pay the $12 per person fee (yes, looking back that seems like very little money, but at the time it seemed silly to pay the equivalent of three nights at our hotel), Juan noticed they were only charging white people the entrance fee and as he became more and more indignant we decided to find an alternative entrance.

After following a parallel path for about 5 minutes, we came across a construction site, which we ducked through only to find ourselves inside the park precisely at the lookout point featured in all the brochures. We laughed and took a bunch of pictures documenting our caper... It didn't take long for a security guard to notify some ladies in uniform. We stuck to our story about the paperwork when they approached us, but were asked to leave. In retrospect, we’re probably lucky they didn’t follow us to our hotel and ask to see our tickets. I’m sure people have been locked up for less in China. Oops.