I just thought I'd write a quick update of our Spring Festival travel plans...
We're flying on Friday January 7 from Zhengzhou to Kunming, which is in Yunnan, SW China. Although we get in late (about 9.30pm) we've found a CouchSurfing host with a 25 year-old American guy who lives and teaches English in Kunming.
We're heading off the next day (Saturday) by bus (we'll be coming back to Kunming a week or so later and hopefully can stay with this guy again) for nearby Dali. We're staying two nights - the first, hopefully, in the Higherland Inn in the Cangshan mountain range above the city. Just look at these photos... Problem being that because the hostel's up in the mountains, they don't get regular Internet access and the phone seems to be broken. We've sent a message in the hope we can make a reservation, but otherwise will make alternative plans and try our luck when we get there, just in case.
The second night (Sunday), we're going to stay in the Old City at Mama Naxi's Guesthouse No. 2. Yep, Number 2, the original, where we'll also stay, is in Lijiang.
On Monday, we're hitching - apparently it's easy enough - to Shaping for the mid-morning market. Onwards in the afternoon to Lijiang, for a night at the original (and much-famed) Mama Naxi's and possibly another night Couchsurfing.
Looking at that, it's only a weekend's worth of plans - we'll be away for about 6 weeks! Significantly, our accommodation costs are only about £1 per person per night.