Tiger Leaping Gorge

 28th March 2019

Enroute to illusive Shangrila we had to move via coach for a good 3 to 4 hours.

I have only knowledge about this heavenly connotation through a movie I saw when I was a little girl in my primary years. Our imagination went wild and visioned it as a splendid getaway. It must be picturesque filled with mysteries and euphoria. Shangrila has to be as beautiful as has been depicted in movies.

At a stop we were warned that if we did not ease ourselves we may have to use toilets that were only duct-like features behind a curtain along the route. So we alighted and cleared our system.

This was a foretaste of what Shangrila would look like.

Beautiful. Majestic. Breath taking.

We could not wait to reach our destination.

But that awe-inspiring background was witnessed through a panel of windows in front of toilet cubicles dotted along the rest rooms. Some doors worked; others did not and they were only about 3 feet high doors. Pretty difficult to ease. 

 But the magnificent background kept flashing at us through the windows and it was a great consolation truly.

We were informed that we had to climb over hundreds of steps to reach the gorge; the tiger leaping gorge. Steps again. The tourist centres have never ending solutions to challenges. Very proactive indeed. They told us that if we do not want to use our legs we could render the help of others.

The history of the gorge all written for tourists. Actually it is only a legend that tigers were able to jump across valleys and spurs to reach the other side of the rivers running in between spurs at the narrowest points. To us the geographical feature in the gorge was what caught our attention.

In a nutshell, you can choose your own course of descent but all needed effort; physical and mental.

So, if you do not want to walk, you can be carried in sedans. Two men will carry you up and down the steps for 200 renminbi. Pa said if we cannot make it we will go slow and stop periodically and refused to be carried about. He said it was ridiculous.

Alleys, spurs and mountains. It is geography in place.

The natural setting was bewitching.

God's creation is matchless.

White-waters flowing at higher gradients along rapids.

It is not always we get to see this.

Of course we did not see the tiger. No tigers. But legend has it that this region was the haunt for tigers to leap freely and happily !!! I was glad we had a chance to see geography with our naked eyes.

 To Shangrila soon.