The Chinese Hair Cut
Well, finally got my hair cut today. Getting a hair cut can be difficult here, because some of these so call Barber shop are just more like brothels. So when I spotted this mom-n-pop Barber shop in SongPan, I knew they are the one. They charge a lot less (half) than the other quotes I got from shops elsewhere in the country as well, probably because they don't offer that complementary neck rub.
This reminded me of this conversation I had with this very shady "entertainment manager" of the hotel I stayed in. Feel like an idiot now for opening the door, when this guy came knocking in the night. It is so funny, because you get to watch him trying so hard to subtlety hint at all these services, like "room services" and a fun fill night at the Karaoke bar with the "ladies".
From what I heard (from other travelers), things are not so subtle in Russian. Every night, you get these calls with guy asking "You speak English? Yes? Do you want beautiful Prussian woman? beautiful woman?" O.K. For the full comedic effect, you got to say this out loud with a thick Russian accent, and in broken English. If not, add a few beers.
Anyway... aside from my hair cut:
After and 12 hrs bus ride through the Sichuan Highlands, I arrives at "JuiJieGou" in northern Sichuan and spend a total of three days in there. The place is just beautiful. They got some of the most pristine lakes and forests and waterfalls in China I ever saw. They have lakes so clear, you can count all the fishes in them. Some of the lakes reportedly have seven colors. Wish I was here for autumns, when all the foliage change colors, and that is supposedly the best time to see the places. Staying in the park, was very nice as well. The little hotels are right in these little villages, its quite peaceful.
After JiuZheGou, I took the bus to SongPan and jointed one of the horse trekking trip to see the Ice Mountain. The area is populated with a lot of minority groups, where raising yaks (hairy cows) and goats are the main part of the economy. The horse trekking trip was a lot of fun. Aside from meeting some fellow travelers from around the world, and visiting some of the Tibetan temples and villages you also get to know these very interesting trekking guides as well. Of the four minority/majority groups that live around SongPan, we had three of them in the group (Han, Tibetan, and Muslin).
You got to give it to these guys, they can really sing (sober, or drunk). They sang just about every kind of songs out there, everything from love ballads to dirty songs that involved nuns sleeping with monks. Not exactly the image I had for these folks. I think some of of them, being the friendly lot, tries to invite me to joint them on a night of "Karaoke" with some "lady" friends. I think they are just joking, but ...
Well... the trip was wonderful, glacier covered peaks, ice cold alpine lakes, and beautiful tundra landscapes. Oh... yes, we did get to enjoy a rather funny show of the nutty fellow American who decided to do a skinny dipping in the alpine lake. Not exactly blend well with the landscape, but....
Anyhow, taking a day of rest @ SongPan B4 I go back to ChengDu, really aren't looking forward to go back to that hot, humid, and mosquito infested place. The weather here is just so nice and dry, and the people here are so friendly. Really wish they had an airport here to take me to Tibet. So..., what if I am a spoiled Californian.
This reminded me of this conversation I had with this very shady "entertainment manager" of the hotel I stayed in. Feel like an idiot now for opening the door, when this guy came knocking in the night. It is so funny, because you get to watch him trying so hard to subtlety hint at all these services, like "room services" and a fun fill night at the Karaoke bar with the "ladies".
From what I heard (from other travelers), things are not so subtle in Russian. Every night, you get these calls with guy asking "You speak English? Yes? Do you want beautiful Prussian woman? beautiful woman?" O.K. For the full comedic effect, you got to say this out loud with a thick Russian accent, and in broken English. If not, add a few beers.
Anyway... aside from my hair cut:
After and 12 hrs bus ride through the Sichuan Highlands, I arrives at "JuiJieGou" in northern Sichuan and spend a total of three days in there. The place is just beautiful. They got some of the most pristine lakes and forests and waterfalls in China I ever saw. They have lakes so clear, you can count all the fishes in them. Some of the lakes reportedly have seven colors. Wish I was here for autumns, when all the foliage change colors, and that is supposedly the best time to see the places. Staying in the park, was very nice as well. The little hotels are right in these little villages, its quite peaceful.
After JiuZheGou, I took the bus to SongPan and jointed one of the horse trekking trip to see the Ice Mountain. The area is populated with a lot of minority groups, where raising yaks (hairy cows) and goats are the main part of the economy. The horse trekking trip was a lot of fun. Aside from meeting some fellow travelers from around the world, and visiting some of the Tibetan temples and villages you also get to know these very interesting trekking guides as well. Of the four minority/majority groups that live around SongPan, we had three of them in the group (Han, Tibetan, and Muslin).
You got to give it to these guys, they can really sing (sober, or drunk). They sang just about every kind of songs out there, everything from love ballads to dirty songs that involved nuns sleeping with monks. Not exactly the image I had for these folks. I think some of of them, being the friendly lot, tries to invite me to joint them on a night of "Karaoke" with some "lady" friends. I think they are just joking, but ...
Well... the trip was wonderful, glacier covered peaks, ice cold alpine lakes, and beautiful tundra landscapes. Oh... yes, we did get to enjoy a rather funny show of the nutty fellow American who decided to do a skinny dipping in the alpine lake. Not exactly blend well with the landscape, but....
Anyhow, taking a day of rest @ SongPan B4 I go back to ChengDu, really aren't looking forward to go back to that hot, humid, and mosquito infested place. The weather here is just so nice and dry, and the people here are so friendly. Really wish they had an airport here to take me to Tibet. So..., what if I am a spoiled Californian.
posted by 54 at 2:04 AM
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