For Guangzhou people who have always grown up in the southern tip of the motherland, subtropical jungles are commonplace, attracting us as the place name of the "ideal and magical paradise"(Xishuangbanna's ancient Dai language was "Mengbala Naxi"), and it is not enough to go abroad. It is a good place to have a physical examination of exotic customs. Even if I have traveled through so many cities, I am still curious about the unknown scenery. Traveling and experiencing the different rhythms and appearances of different regions is also a good choice.

It is necessary to do homework before traveling. All four of us have retired, so we don't care about the number of days of the journey. We only consider the comfort of the trip and save money if possible. Based on this principle, we chose the free roaming mode. Xishuangbanna has not yet opened a high-speed railway, so there are not many ways for people to choose from. There are not many direct flights from Guangzhou to Xishuangbanna, and the flight time is not suitable. After searching online for a long time, I couldn't find a strategy for starting from Guangzhou, so I had to plan my own itinerary. When I was preparing to book a ticket at Ctrip, I chose the origin and destination. Sigh! Ctrip has popped up a more reasonable itinerary. Ctrip is really professional! So we took the high-speed train from Guangzhou to Guilin according to Ctrip's recommended route (there was a flight in less than an hour, and the journey was about 2 hours and 30 minutes), then stayed in Guilin for one night, and then took a plane to Banna the next day (the journey was about 2 hours). In this way, we could not only walk in Guilin, but also save a lot of money.

Some people say that Xishuangbanna is the place where dreams begin, so let our dreams start from here!

There are no four seasons in Banna, only the rainy season and the dry season. We chose the dry season in November to set out. When we arrived in Banna, it still rained in less than 3 days. Fortunately, it cleared up for a few days every day it rained. Banna Tourism Shita Pagoda is a must-visit place. This gorgeous and colorful Shita Pagoda has unique Southeast Asian characteristics. Let's take a few photos to let everyone feel and feel it.

The Shwedagon Pagoda is equivalent to the iconic building of Banna, the Grand Plaza, which does not require tickets. It is also a tourist distribution center. There are many accommodation around. The most advanced one should be the Mekong Jinglan Hotel. However, we considered that if we wanted to stay for 5 consecutive nights, we needed a balcony to dry our clothes. We chose the newly opened Yuejiang Hotel. You can also upgrade the room for free by booking it through Ctrip. It felt good. During my 5-day stay at Yuejiang Hotel, I happened to encounter the annual Miss Lantern Festival beauty pageant held locally. The performance was beautiful and the background of a large fireworks sound was majestic and shocking! Let's take 2 pictures without showing the effect

For free travel, we chose to live in Gaozhuang area in Jinghong, which was relatively convenient for eating and traveling. The next day, we took a taxi and arrived at Manting Park. We felt that the tickets were really a bit expensive, and the elderly had to be over 70 years old to be free of charge. Fortunately, Master Zhao Shuai at that time helped us buy 4 discount package tickets (Manting Park + Song and Dance Bonfire Party) To be honest, I feel that Manting Park is just famous. The park is small and it takes less than 1 kilometer to go around. There are three elephant performances in the park every day. We went at the wrong time. We waited for a long time, and the performances were not exciting at all. It was not as distinctive as the free walk to the main Buddhist temple next to the park, but the singing and dance bonfire in Manting Park at night is still worth seeing.

The singing and dancing bonfire in Manting Park at night can only be experienced on site. Only 2 photos can be taken here

This is the place to eat buffet before the party

The river lanterns after the party

manting Park

Zongfo Temple

Since we planned to only visit one place every day, the trip was very easy. On the third day, we made an appointment with Zhao Shuai directly and took a chartered car to Wild Elephant Valley View.(Of course, it is better to find a driver to buy tickets than online.) It is reported that about 300 Asian elephants thrive in this virgin forest, but this virgin forest spans several countries. According to local people, wild elephants will be active in March in this area. The chance of encountering wild elephants is usually more difficult than the chance of winning the Mark Six lottery, but it is worth the ticket to come here to watch the artificially raised elephant performance.

In the picture below, someone lived for 7 days during the active elephant appearance period before capturing the elephant's figure

The old man was used to taking a nap. After walking in Wild Elephant Valley for most of the day, he returned to the hotel to rest.

On the fourth day, we continued to charter a car to Dafo Temple. In fact, Dafo Temple built a big golden Buddha on the highest mountain in Banna. It took thousands of steps to go up the mountain. We had to buy a one-way battery car to go up the mountain, but we felt that we had lost half of our lives when walking down the mountain. What is worth seeing there is the water-splashing festival with Banna characteristics, where peacocks are flying. The next picture still can't see the effect

Thousands of peacocks gliding down the mountain and the scene was spectacular

On the way to Elephant Valley, Zhao Shuai introduced a Thai village and walked around. Thai customs are different from our Han people. The owner of each family is a woman. The woman runs the family and supports the family, and the man watches the children cook. Here, the man is respectfully called Mao Duoli, and the woman is called Sao Duoli. We were received by a beautiful Sao Duo Mile, and what surprised us even more was the lifestyle here and the custom of "gregarious". There are generations of people living on a large kang, separated by mosquito nets. Everyone can imagine what it would be like... Let's use our time to create some fuel bills for the drivers by passing by. However, we can still understand the local customs and customs of the Thai Garden. The stockade is real life, so Saodomili is not allowed to take photos. The picture below shows the gate to enter the stockade.

Behind the Shunda Pagoda is a different world. Not only can you enjoy the beautiful night sky, but you can also find some authentic snacks in the illuminated night market. It's really nice!

On the fifth day, I still invited Zhao Shuai to charter a car to the Jino Shanzhai, the 56th ethnic group in China. My curiosity was that this was a shanzhai that entered socialism directly from primitive society. However, after decades of commercial transformation, the people here have evolved rapidly and cannot feel anything mysterious. In order to accommodate more people, the shanzhai is not allowed to move freely into the village. They can only walk around the mountain along the way. The stone steps up the mountain are not easy to walk, so you have to go to the performance shed on the top of the mountain to have a chance to sit and rest. Watch a local show there and taste the food that Keno people usually eat

Original processing method

On the sixth day, we arrived at the Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Considering that the Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is located in Menglun Town, Mengla County, it is more than 2 hours 'drive away. It is inconvenient to go back and forth that day, and I can't find a place to rest when I am tired from walking, so I moved to Menglun Town. Menglun Town is just a small town with only an inn. According to online reviews, we booked Yunmeiting Boutique Inn on Ctrip. The inn is not far from the Botanical Academy, and the service is really good! The Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is really big, with scattered scenic spots. Moreover, southerners have seen too much plants and couldn't feel anything strange. They took a battery car and took a tour of the city. After taking two photos, I returned to the inn to rest.

For the return trip, we still choose Banna to fly to Guilin. We will stay in Guilin for one night and then take the high-speed train back to Guangzhou. Traveling is to enjoy life. We don't like to check in to travel here. I am very grateful to meet Master Zhao Shuai for his warm service over the past few days, allowing us to have a pleasant journey. Without his consent, it is inconvenient to disclose Master Zhao Shuai's mobile phone and WeChat account here.