Prologue

"That's it. I've either got to leave this crazy, mixed-up city or I'll go insane." How many times have you heard something like that? Most people, after living in Shanghai for a while, have felt this way one time or another. And it's not surprising. Shanghai changes so quickly that it's difficult to get a handle on the here and now and it can sometimes be nigh-on impossible to feel grounded. It seems that no sooner than something has been built up then it's time for it to be pulled down again, and replaced by something bigger, shinier and even shorter-lived. In short, it's not the most tranquil or relaxing place to live.

It was with this in mind that I decided to escape Shanghai for a while. It had been nine months since I'd come in, and I'd lost track of how long it had been since my last holiday. Heeding the advice of many others who raved about the south-west of China, I chose to head to Yunnan, to the tourist Mecca of Lijiang and hopefully see some of the minority peoples and cultures on the way. I didn't so much go out of a desire to see Yunnan though. To be honest, I couldn't really have cared much less about seeing the tourist sights. No, my objective was to just break loose from the big smoke for a while, and any tourist sights on the way would be a bonus. Non-typical, yes, but Shanghai can do that to you.

Anyway, on with the show...