Awoken at about 4.30am by a rat eating a bread roll in my backpack. The less than intelligent animal left the snickers and at a bread roll. I had a similar episode in Lubumbashi in Congo but that rat had more taste and went for the snickers and left the bread on that occasion. I chased this less than intelligent rat numerous times into the room next door but it kept coming back. Eventually I chucked the bread roll out the door, left the light on and went back to sleep in the hope of knocking the edge of a cold that I was getting. I have decided to join six others in the group and do a short cut down rather than another two hours up. The fittest four left at 8.00am and we left at 9.30am. The toilets are a tiled ditch which you squat over. Two can use the ditch at a time and a 1 meter square concrete slab gives you privacy (???) The shower was hot but you had to be careful with your soap because the drain hole was about 30cm x 20cm and there is no way to retrieve it if you did drop it. 
Our walk took us straight down to a road but it was still 2 hours of walking. We got to almost the tunnel when a mini van picked us up and took us to the meeting place with the fit group. Steve had to sit on the floor as their wasn't enough room. I got the front seat which was a bit scary - wrong side of the road and sheer cliff on one side and sheer rock on the other and lots of speed. After we all met up again we caught a public bus back to Lijiang. Went for dinner as same restaurant as last time we were here but Eric ordered this time and the food was alot better.
