As I have mentioned before, I was currently going through the worst weather of the trip so far with it being quite a bit cooler than Laos and getting the odd spot of rain. Shangri-la however was around 3700 meters above sea level around surrounded by snowcapped mountains, thus making it icy cold (around 5C - 10C degrees). So it was lucky I hit up those fake outdoor gear shops in Dali, as my snow jackets came in more than handy...!
Sahngri-la as a town was quite small, with hardly any tourists. It was a really nice mix of Tibetan and Chinese culture as it was not far from the Tibetan border.
We spent our first day wandering around the town and had a look at one of the monasteries in town. This monastery would have had over 1000 prayer flags throughout the complex in all kinds of different colours, it looked amazing. It also had a giant prayer wheel in the middle overlooking the town, which the locals would climb up to and spin around for good luck.
The evening we caught up with some people Sarah had met along her travels, and had dinner and a few beers with them. We ended up going to a small tibetan bar where we ended up singing along with some guys for most of the night!
On our second day we headed to the Monastery just outside of town. Half falling down and half being rebuilt, this Monastery would have to be one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. The Monastery is home to over 700 monks, whose age ranges from 7 years old to 90. As you walk through the monastery you see the monks doing everyday things like building, cleaning, and chatting on there cell phones.
The colours on the outside of the buildings and temples within the complex were a brilliant yellow and maroon, which matched the Monks robes. We spent around 4 hours just walking around the place exploring the different temples.
The following day we headed to Lijiang....
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