Lijiang Market & More

Today we cruised to the open market where we saw tons of vegetables
(many of which we couldn't name), a lot of cut up meat (which sat
unrefrigerated, fell on the floor, and was walked on by flies,... and
probably ended up on our plate for dinner that night), many odds and
ends (piles and piles of shoes, thread, paper, pots & pans, plastic
stuff, toys, etc.), fish (which were knocked on the head to kill/knock
them out... and then were scaled and gutted by a dull blade), and poor
unfortunate frogs, turtles, and dogs which were likely to be killed
and eaten :(

We then spent about 2 hours wandering the very confusing streets and
alleys of old town Lijiang looking for our next hotel... we eventually
found it, despite the lack of road signs, orderly street numbering,
and no sign on the hotel (it looked like any other random door at the
end of an alley). The hotel is another branch of the Tea Boutique
Hotel and is located in the heart of the old city instead of up on the
hill. The courtyard overlooks the stream which wanders through the
city, providing a nice soothing background melody. We also met their
dog, Beibei (spelling?), who is the father of the two cute puppies at
the Lion Hill Tea Boutique location. His name means "stupid."

Tomorrow we leave Lijiang for a 3 day hike through the hills,
mountains, and valleys near Wenhai. We'll post pics and our thoughts
when we get back!

- Scott