When I got back to Lijiang from Shangri-la, I decided to pay a visit to the nearby village of Baisha to the somewhat (in)famous Dr Ho. He rose to acclaim after Michael Palin's visit to him during "Himilaya" as well as a couple of other international organisations. At 84 with a face full of character and a long white goatee he definitely looks the part, but I kinda felt like he liked to blow his own trumpet a bit. Still, the proof of the pudding will be in the eating, so we will see what effect his mixture of herbs has on my blood pressure.
Getting there was half the fun, as the scenery was quite nice and I managed to wander off the main road on my bike and find cute little back roads through the local countryside. Despite getting well lost, I always seemed to end up close enough to a main road to meander back. The part of the village away from the Doctor was actually much prettier (no souvenier stalls or jewellery sellers in sight).
Leaving Lijiang with it's lovely streets and super friendly guesthouse was hard, but eventually I managed to hop on the bus back to Kunming. It's kinda weird being back in a big city again, but the weather is balmy and it really is quiet a nice place. The area near the university is especially athmospheric and a bit different than the pervasive shopping malls elsewhere. I bumped into Phil from TLG/Mama Naxi's at the hostel here so hanging out with him until I head off on the long train trip to Guilin.
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