So we're still in the province of Yunnan in the South. From Dali we headed to the town of Lijiang, but after about 5 minutes on the bus I realised I had left my lightweight, very expensive camping towel back at the guesthouse. Duh! To replace it in China would a) be difficult (not many outdoor /camping stores), and b) if we found one, would be very expensive! So after weighing it all up, we decided to get off the bus to retrieve the towel. Tickets for the next bus cost us $9, so not too bad and worth it for the towel.
The journey to Lijiang was stunning with amazing views over valleys, streams and mountains. The town itself is very quaint with a nice feel with lots of local traditional curly-roofed architecture. Interestingly, this area is populated mostly by the Naxi (pronounced Nashi) minority people -- which is perhaps the last remaining matriachal society in the world. Yes, that's right... women rule the roost here. Completely! The women own and inherit all property, have as many lovers as they wish... and 'own' their offspring as well. Any disputes are sorted by senior females, and their language even gives 'stronger' conatations when a word is prefixed/suffixed with female. (ie, a rock that is described as female is a 'boulder', whereas a male rock is just a pebble!). I think they've got it right! haha!
Anyway, the next few days we hung around Mama Naxi's - our guesthouse. Martin has been enjoying the delights of traveller's diarrhea on and off for the last 2-3 weeks (I'll spare you the details) . Anyway, it took a bit of a turn for the worse and we decided to stop and rest for him to get better. He has been drinking lots of salts and water and taking some of our medicine that we carry. Mama Naxi has been keeping an eye on him too and has given him some of her remedies. Mama herself is a wonderful, wonderful character. You have to see her to believe her! Once you've gotten over the initial shock of her loud and abrupt manner, the next thing that gets you is her english: although she understands you perfectly, her english is VERY broken and close to impossible to understand! You do get used to it after a while, but it's comical to watch the puzzled looks on the faces of her new guests. Above all though, the biggest thing that hits you about Mama - is there's no doubting her heart of gold. During the day she comes out with fruit and snacks and keeps feeding everyone, regardless of if they're hungry or not! Reminds me of my mum!! ha ha! Home away from home! She is great to be around, and everyone calls her 'Mama' and treats her with total respect. Dinner in the evening is cheap ($1) and crazy busy with everyone staying there all sitting down together at tables scattered throughout the central courtyard. The food is very tasty and never-ending (something that Martin is bummed about missing out on). All this, along with Papa in the shadows with his pleasant disposition, the girls that work for Mama doing the cooking /making the beds etc, the cats and dogs and new kittens gamboling everywhere, and the traditional Chinese courtyard setting, Mama's has a welcoming atmosphere and is a great place to chill out and get better. * Mush
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