Lijiang: Part IV

I suppose I could have posted everything about Lijiang all at once, but I like pacing myself.

- A piece of advice from my last trip here: when shopping, don’t get too obsessed with the fear of being ripped off. Yes this place is a bit of a tourist trap, and the goods people are selling may not be unique or original –don’t worry about it. If there is something you like and you want to buy, decide what it’s worth to you, and then begin negotiating. How much is a hand-woven scarf worth to the woman who sits in a shop making them all day? Probably not much. Is she selling them to you for more than they are worth to her? Definitely. Does this mean she is ripping you off? No. Ask yourself, how much would that same item cost back at home? Could you even get it where you come from? Thus, the scarcity factor for her is clearly different than that for you, ergo the difference in value. So don’t be pressured into spending more than you want, but remember that the handicrafts being sold here are actually much cheaper than the same items even in Kunming and are of better quality.

- Dongba papermaking. Dylan took a paper-making class back at Whitman so he had a special interest in the paper-making workshop, which is located just off of the big Sifang Square. Even if you don’t have an interest in paper-making, it’s a cool place to heck out and they sell cool stuff. No bargaining.

- Dongba script name stamps. I kind of wanted one of these, and I still do, but I ended up not getting one, which is good since we have more or less used up our money. They are super-cool and reasonably priced, and, to my knowledge, you can’t really get them anywhere else.

Overall, I had a very good time! I think we will probably return. Unlike Chengdu, I don’t feel like we’ve exhausted the place and run out of things to do. I have gained a lot from this trip. Not only have I gained some cool stuff that we bought here, and a lot of pictures that I took of local dogs, I also have one helluva story from the bus ride, and I have the confidence to buy bus tickets and take long-distance bus rides. That means a lot to me. It’s amazing what a little confidence can do for a person! Now I’ve already started thinking that Dylan and I could take a trip to Dali! After the 9 hour bus ride to Lijiang, 4 hours to Dali sounds breezy. Who knows? Maybe next time I won’t be so nervous and anti-social that I might even manage to strike up a conversation with someone maybe make a friend. Life is full of possibilities!