Lijiang

So the new gang - i.e. myself, Joao and Stefan, got some noodles at a local gaff and then walked into the old town of Lijiang. Myself and Joao were booked into Mama Naxi's and Stefan was going couchsurfing with a local dude named Soh. There was quite a nice view of the mountains as we plodded into town discussing the issues of the day.

We went to Panba hostel first to meet Stefan's new chum and host for the night - Soh. Soh was a cool, friendly chap who laughed a lot. He showed us how to get to Mama Naxi's as the old town is a bit of a maze. (I got lost EVERY TIME I went anywhere). All the buildings in the old town have been refurbished to resemble old style Chinese buildings and they are all very pretty. They have intricate wooden designs, and the streets themselves are full of little stone pathways and bridges and lots of lovely pink flowers. It's all very romantic and cute. Unfortunately, all the streets look the exact same and it was impossible for me to find my way around.

At Mama Naxi's we hung out and had some tea and were joined by the most knowledgable dude I've ever met - Chuck. (aka Clive, aka Chen Lee). He knew everything about everything - mostly geographic factoids. He'd been everywhere and seemed to retain facts about each country, like a sponge. He was a nice bloke who liked to waffle and he too joined the troop.
Soh brought us for an awesome hotpot - this one was based around ribs. I'm not a huge fan of ribs as they seem to be more bony and fatty than anything else, but these were alright - just tasted like chewy. :D

We went somewhere else for dessert, where we discovered Stefan was an evil dog whisperer and had a talent for talking to dogs. He encouraged a couple of dogs in the restaurant to ''go get'' this poor little fluffy dog on the street. And off they went!! It was hilarious. Although not for the other dog, who got a bit of a fright. But there was no big fights or anything and no injuries. (Don't worry Ro!)
Then we saw a little dog who had just been given a bath, shake himself all over this man nearby. The man obviously didn't like this, and turned around and sneezed violently on the dog, twice! TAKE THAT! lol. it was hilarious. Ye probably had to be there. ; )

Later we all met up for a few drinks and some pool at Panba Hostel.

Soh brought us all to his private lounge nearby where a gang of his musician friends sang and played guitar & bongos for the evening. Chuck kept translating all the lines for me every five seconds which drove me bonkers, but it was quite good to hear the translation for the boob song. Something about how did you afford those fake boobs and that rolex.. or something.. The musician lads were quite talented alright and we got lots of free beer. I really like this new group, I haven't stopped laughing at all. The people that I've met in the last couple of months are really giving my mates in Dublin a run for their money. hahahahhahahhah CONTROVERSIAL!. (That's if the shower of bastards even read this! )
(They killed Kenny! ) xx