With the travel season upon us, now is a good time to look to getaway destinations around Yunnan. Today's post is the second in a two-part series by writer and photographer Megan Melissa True about her experiences in northwest Yunnan's Shangri-la.

On our second day in Shangri-la, we headed for the Ganden Sumtseling Monastery. The monastery was built in 1679 and was home to the Fifth Dalai Lama in 1681. Today it is the biggest monastery in Yunnan and houses over 700 monks that live and study there. After a 15 minute bus ride we arrived at the entrance. After we bought our tickets we were herded onto a bus that took us to the monastery.

As soon as we got off the bus, rain began to pour down. We took shelter in one of the closest temples. The smell of fresh rain and burning incense permeated the air. After about fifteen minutes it cleared up and we started exploring the temples and labyrinthine alleys that lead to the monk residences.

We started down one of the alleys and soon ran into some monks in their mid-twenties. We greeted them with big smiles and "ni hao"s. They shyly smiled but ignored us, which we found strange at first as most Tibetans we had met were very friendly. We later found out it was because they are not allowed to talk to women.

We were curious and wanted to know about their life there. So we spent a good part of the afternoon trying to talk to the monks. We were successful with some monk kids and a monk in his late 70s. We discovered most of the monks come to the monastery between five and eight years of age - they have the choice to leave the monastery when they are eighteen. Many monks choose to stay - who could blame them when they are surrounded by such tranquil beauty?

After several hours at the monastery, we headed back into to town and looked for a place for dinner. Old Town is full of great traveler-oriented restaurants but a five-minute walk down Changzheng Lu (长征路) will lead you to an area filled with local restaurants. Their food is just as good and very inexpensive. If you are looking for good foreign food The Compass or Yak Bar are both recommended.

After dinner we walked around Old Town, which has a history that dates back over 1200 years. Every night around seven o'clock people young and old join in the main square and dance. The dances are all traditional dances. They dance around in two large concentric circles. The inner circle seemed to be the more experienced dancers and the outer circle was full of tourists or young kids trying to copy the experts.

After several minutes of watching the dancers, we jumped in and tried our best to keep up. The old men and women seemed amused as we mimicked their dances. After nine o'clock the dancing broke up and everybody retreated home for the night. We also headed home to get some rest.

Our last destination in Shangri-la was Bitahai Lake, the highest lake in Yunnan at 3500 meters above sea level. The lake is pretty far outside of town so it's best to rent a car or van for half a day. The lake is well worth the journey as it is surrounded by some of the most beautiful forests in Shangri-la. A peaceful hike down to the shores of the lake was a perfect end to our Tibetan adventure in Yunnan.

From Kunming, Shangri-la can be reached by plane or bus (there are daily buses from Xizhan Bus Station). From Lijiang, it is a three or four hour bus or car ride away. The best times to visit are during the late spring/early summer when the ubiquitous wild flowers are in bloom, or in autumn when the green leaves of the trees change to every color imaginable.

GoKunming thanks Megan Melissa True for her contribution. If you have a travel story or other contribution you would like to submit to GoKunming, please contact us via our contact form.

With the travel season upon us, now is a good time to look to getaway destinations around Yunnan. Today and tomorrow, writer and photographer Megan Melissa True will share her experiences in northwest Yunnan's Shangri-la.

Shangri-la, previously known as Zhongdian, is located high up in the mountains near the Yunnan-Tibet border. The city claims to be the inspiration for the setting of James Hilton's book, "Lost Horizon." Regardless, it is an enchanting land filled with Tibetan villages and monasteries embedded in its mountains.

Shangri-la has been described as an earthly paradise because of the land's majestic beauty. It's also rumored that people there live well beyond the normal life span and age much slower. Several friends and I headed there to find out the secrets of this age-defying paradise.

After a twelve-hour night bus from Kunming we dropped our belongings off at Kevin's Trekker Inn and set out to roam and explore Tibetan villages on the outskirts of town. From the road, one village looked like it would be an easy 45 minute walk but we soon realized it was much farther.

We headed down the path and decided to cut through the field between the villages and the road. The road wound all the way around the bottom edge of the mountain and would easily add an hour to our hike.

We began tromping through the field but discovered it was pretty wet and marsh-like. Then, one of my friends noticed the field was getting wetter and deeper. She then pointed to a cow out in the middle of the field that was neck deep in water. Just as she said this, my next step dropped me a foot into the ground.

The water and marshy grasses were almost up to my knees. So, with squishy wet sneakers we headed back to the dirt road. Later we read in our guidebook that in the summer the field is actually a lake. An hour and half later we finally reached the first village.

We had heard that Tibetans may invite you into their homes for yak butter tea and baba, a traditional flat bread. We wandered around but only came across a few Tibetans, who were busy chopping wood or hanging up the year's harvest.

We eventually found a woman that was selling snacks to some village kids. We asked her if she knew where we could get yak butter tea. She happily invited us into her home to sample her family's recipe.

The Tibetan homes in Shangri-la are two stories of thick timber that are hand-chopped and constructed by each family. This woman's home was no exception. We climbed the thick-wooden staircase to the second floor.

As we walked into the large open room, our eyes had to adjust to the darkness. Once they did, we were amazed by the beautiful intricate hand-carved patterns in the wooden doors, walls and cabinets. In one corner of the room there was a wood-burning stove where the woman began warming up our yak butter tea. As it heated, the woman scurried into the kitchen to make baba.

After several minutes the tea kettle whistled and our hostess scampered back in to fill our bowls with simmering yak butter tea. She told us we could add several spoonfuls of sugar if we wanted because of the strong flavor. After the first sip of the thick buttery broth, I was ready to dump a bowl of sugar into my tea. It was like drinking thick liquid butter.

Unfortunately for me, being the good hostess that she was, she made sure our cups never went below the rim. Next she brought out steaming Baba. Tibetans like to dip it into their tea or eat it with sugar. When it's dipped in sugar it tastes just like a warm sugary donut. Delicious.

After snacking and sipping our tea, we were shown how to make a dish that eaten every morning by many Tibetans. She poured a little yak butter tea into her bowl and began mixing in a grain powder called tsampa plus some sugar. She skillfully molded it with her hands until it reached a doughy texture.

Once finished, she offered us all a piece and it was surprisingly good. It had a peanut buttery taste. She encouraged us to try to make our own. Who can refuse the chance to play with their food? So, we all tried and failed to recreate the same texture and taste that she had just made. After chatting and snacking for over an hour, we thanked the woman and gave her some money for her kindness. It's common to give 8-10 yuan per person.

We thanked her, waved goodbye and headed down the road back to town. After about 45 minutes of walking we realized we still had much further to go and it was getting dark. We flagged down a truck that was on its way to town. We hopped in the back and enjoyed the sunset and our bumpy free ride home.