Family Travels Playing
From left: Nick, Eli (age 13), Hannah (17), Nina (9) and Chelin Miller
The best part was being welcomed by smiling faces everywhere we went and having so many activities to choose from. Nick’s favorite activity was hiking up the mountains in the rain to see the Golden Monkeys in Baima Nature Reserve. For Hannah, it was hunting for mushrooms in the mountainous forests near Benzilan – and learning how to tell which ones are not poisonous. She then got to barbecue the mushrooms for dinner under the stars. Eli enjoyed making mooncakes in Tacheng and eating her own creations. She also had a lot of fun dancing with hundreds of locals in the Old Town square in Shangri-La. Nina, the youngest, wanted to take part in all the activities; our guide Dolma paid special attention to her, teaching her Tibetan chanting prayers and how to turn the prayer wheel at temples. She also enjoyed horseback riding through the meadows in Shangri-La on the cutest Tibetan pony. My favorite moment was making wonderful landscape photographs at dawn – in my pajamas, from the bedroom balcony! There were photo opportunities all over the place, all day long. One afternoon, we were caught in the rain in Tacheng after picking up watermelons. We stopped for shelter at a Naxi household. The family that lived there was so friendly! They offered us fruits and drinks and we sang songs with them while we waited for the rain to stop. There was no “worst” moment on this trip – everything was perfect. Chelin Miller
Making friends with locals
Travel Tips • Shangri-La’s new town center is crowded and touristy, nothing like the mythical paradise imagined by James Hilton in his book, Lost Horizon. However, the Songtsam Lodge was situated away from the hustle and bustle, next to a monastery and lake. This offers a great opportunity to go for a wander, if you are not suffering too much from altitude sickness. • My favorite books about the regions we visited are the aforementioned Lost Horizon and The Ancient Tea Horse Road by Jeff Fuchs (now available as an e-book on Kindle). I recommend reading them to get a taste of the landscape and the area’s past. • August is summertime in Yunnan and the vegetation is in full bloom and lush. There were a few showers, but they didn’t last long. As you go up the mountains, it gets a little bit chillier, especially in the evenings. Tacheng was warmer than Benzilan and Shangri-la. • We wore comfortable clothes: cargo trousers or shorts, trekking shoes and T-shirts during the day and fleece in the evening. A raincoat is always handy. Hats and sunscreen are essential. Don’t forget swimsuits for the pool in Tacheng! (When you book with Songtsam, they give you a list of essentials and suggestions on what to bring.)
June 2013
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