Shangri-La Old Town at Night

After the Monastery we returned back to Shangri-La old town and I set out on my own to explore the temple before the sun went down.

Music is playing and people are dancing in the square.

 

 

Turns out there is a huge temple on a hill right around the corner from my hotel
This fountain and pool is kinda sacred. That didn’t stop people from using the water to wash their children’s asses.

 

I climb the steps p the hill to the temple. This room is closed but I go around to get the main temple.

 

From here I have a beautiful view of the city cultural museum.

 

The hill is surrounded by player flags. Visitors circumvent the temple 3 times, clockwise, as a form of prayer ritual.

 

The village surrounds the hill to the north and east.

 

Click to enlarge

 

 

From the top of the hill I could see all the hotels being built on the far side of the village

 

The world’s largest prayer wheel.

 

NaXi women finish their rounds at the temple.

 

NaXi women sit an chitchat along the stairs of the temple.

 

As the sun goes down, the buildings light up.

 

 

Museum and courtyard.

 

A view of the temple from the square.

 

The pool below the temple.

 

The temple, gold prayer wheel, gate, steps, and pool

 

I go exploring the old village at night. Restaurants and cafes are busy. There’s a bar or two… all playing loud Tibetan techno music. Things are dark here. There are a lot of shadowy alleys and gaps in what is expected to be lit up. There tourist industry has just begin and the infrastructure isn’t there yet.

A window of a cafe.

 

The alley leading to my hotel. The rise in the stone is actually the base of the hill (with the temple on it) – and that’s how i was able to navigate back to my room. The granite cobblestone road here is slippery (polished by hundreds of years and millions of people stepping across.

 

Restaurant have these hot pots flaming in the alleys. After settling down enough that pick up the brass pot and set in on a customer’s table to heat up stew for Tibet-style hotpot.

 

The government encourages multilingual signs to help with tourism.

 

 

 

A small square, surrounded by shops, is another place villagers congregate to dance in a circle.

 

Walk too far and you’ll find yourself out of the old village and into modern streets.

 

An alley of bars in the old town pumped out Tibetan techno music.

 

Late Dinner

We grab Tibetan food. This is crispy fried pork back.

 

Large Yak-filled dumplings

 

Yes, you can get french fries here, and they are pretty good.