Saturday January 29, 2005
To Shangri-La and back
Story & pictures by Liz Price
It was the longest drive of my life. Almost 6,000km in 10 days, through three countries, from sea level to 3.500m, and from 34°C to –6°C. Many of my friends thought I was mad to go on such a trip. But I loved every minute of it.
Time flew, even though we were on the road for more than 12 hours most days. There was always something different to see, a whole variety of ever-changing scenery, different styles of architecture, varying costumes and faces.
It was November, and I was on a 4WD adventure expedition from Bangkok through Myanmar, into China’s Yunnan province and up to Shangri-La, close to the Tibetan border.
Women in tribal costumes sharing a giggle.
Having lived in the tropics for so long, I didn’t have any winter clothing. It was only a few days before departure that I realised the temperatures would be around freezing up in the Himalayas. Luckily, I managed to borrow some warm clothes from a friend (thanks, John).
Bangkok was the starting point. I had the option of joining a car from Johor, and driving up to Bangkok, but I elected to fly this section. The group assembled in Bangkok with people arriving various days before the official start.
On Day One, my wake-up call was at 4.50am. This came as quite a shock to the system as I hadn’t been expecting such an early, rude awakening. But it was to be the norm for the next 10 days. We all assembled outside the Grand Palace in Bangkok for the official start. There were 15 4WD vehicles, all from Thailand except for two from Malaysia, one from Singapore and one from Taiwan.
The Singaporeans, Ang Choon Kiat, 61 and his wife Sum Yoke Jeng had had the longest drive, in their new Landrover Defender. This turned out to be one of the most admired vehicles in the group. Other makes included Ford, Isuzu Rodeo, Mazda Ninja Fighter, Mitsubishi Strada and Pajero, Nissan Frontier, and a Toyota Landcruiser.
We mostly drove as a convoy, and it took 10 hours to reach Chiang Rai, where we checked into the Rimkok Resort Hotel.
Next morning, we left at 7am, and there was thick fog all the way to the border town of Mae Sai. One car had already dropped out, the sole Taiwanese entrant, due to mechanical problems. We cleared Thai immigration, then crossed to no-man’s land and waited on the bridge over the Sai River which separates Thailand from Myanmar. Our cameras were clicking the whole time as we snapped the locals walking across the borders. Once we had clearance, we set off through the town of Tachilek.
My car companion Jessie told me she did this route four years ago when it was just a dirt road and they got stuck in axle-deep mud several times. Now there is a new sealed highway all the way to the Chinese border. It was a very scenic road, initially following a river, then going up and over some small mountains.
We stopped for lunch at Kengtung, which is the sleepy, historical capital of the Shan state’s Khun culture. The town is built around a small lake and has crumbling British colonial architecture and ageing Buddhist temples. Later that afternoon we reached the border town of Mongla and crossed into China. Phew, three countries in one day.
Normally right-hand drive vehicles are not allowed in China but we had special permission. We had to have our vehicles inspected and had temporary Chinese number plates affixed. We even had a police escort leading the way throughout. This enabled us to cross red lights in the towns,. On the narrow mountain roads the police would stop oncoming vehicles so our convoy could keep together. We were also able to beat the queues for fuel. I can’t imagine the truck drivers were very happy when our police escort allowed us to jump the queues.
At the Chinese border, 10 expedition cars from China met us. This called for more photos. Leaving Jinghong we drove through the mountainous Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve, which is a tropical rainforest, and then went past the famous tea plantations of Pu’er.
A new highway was being built and it was amazing to see the construction of the new road through valleys and along the mountainsides, over huge bridges and through numerous tunnels. We stopped for a late lunch in Simao, then went on to Kunming.
Colourful shawls on display in Shangri-La.
It was night when we reached Kunming, and it was a major shock to feel the 7°C temperature. It was time to put away the shorts and get out the warm clothes.
Next day, we stopped at Dali for lunch, and that night stayed at Lijiang. I enjoyed warming my hands by the coal fire, and already I was noticing the effects of the higher altitude.
From Lijiang it was a beautiful drive and we saw our first snow-capped mountains of the trip. We climbed up into the mountains, and followed the mighty Yangxi River for a while. Throughout the entire 10 days, we had less than half a dozen stops for photos, but this was one of them, a stunning scene of mountains and river, snow and blue sky. This is the place where you can enter the famous Tiger Leaping Gorge. The highest mountain here is Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, an impressive 5,500m.
The road went up and up onto the plateau of Shangri-La. We stopped at a pagoda and had a welcoming ceremony by singers and dancers in Tibetan dress. There were group photos of the entire convoy. We had made it to Shangri-La.
The town is actually named Zhongdian, but is now commonly known as Shangri-La. It is the last major stop in Yunnan before Tibet. At an altitude of 3,500m, the town was a problem for many of us, as we suffered from altitude sickness. As we drove through the streets, there was fresh snow on the pavements. The temperature was -6°C when we got up the next morning – quite a contrast to the tropical climes of Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.
Despite the temperatures and altitude, we were elated to reach Shangri-La, high in the Himalayas. We had got there in 4½ days, a distance of some 2,560 km. We wondered if this was a world record. All that remained was the long drive back to Chiang Rai. On the way back, we stopped at the newly opened Maxis shop in Kunming.
It had been a wonderful tour, with excellent organisation and planning. It is quite a feat to arrange for 25 vehicles to cover such distances, especially across three international borders and back. W
Related Story:
Getting a feel of Tibetan life at Shangri-La
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