Escape the winter and enjoy the summer: Laid-back 3-day tour in Xishuangbanna|||

|||. Escape the winter and enjoy the summer: Laid-back 3-day tour in Xishuangbanna||| D1: Arrive in Xishuangbanna at noon—First experience with 'assembly line Dai girls' photo shoot—Dai-style barbecue D2: Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences—Starlight Night Market D3: Total Buddha Temple—Manting Park—Prajna Temple—Leave Xishuangbanna in the evening Assembly line Dai girls: There are probably hundreds of travel photography shops in Gaozhuang, I randomly chose one with a high cost-performance ratio. I really like the traditional Dai costumes, the makeup artist is patient and listens to the customers' opinions, but the photo shoot is basically an assembly line. After the photographer is done, my friends and I took photos of each other, and after comparing the photos, I still prefer the ones we took ourselves. Chinese Academy of Sciences Botanical Garden: Transportation: Not wanting to join a day tour group and worried about not being able to hail a car on the spot, I booked a 6-seater business car from Jinghong to Mengla in advance on the 'Banna Travel' 'Intercity Express' section on 🍊, choosing my hotel as the pick-up point and 'CAS Botanical Garden' as the drop-off point. The driver contacted us in advance and even arrived early on the day we set off. For the return trip, we took a Didi back to Gaozhuang. Touring: We didn't buy the sightseeing car for the West Zone, which is not very big and not too hot to walk around, and it also helps to avoid the crowds. When entering the garden, get a tour map and follow the signs to avoid getting lost. There are snack stalls at the entrance of the Exotic Flower Garden, and the food tastes good. After lunch, we bought tickets for the East Zone sightseeing car at the tour bus transfer station, because the East Zone is very large and primitive, and cannot be explored on foot. The first stop is at the Green Stone Forest, which requires climbing high. After a casual stroll, we took the car to the next stop, the tropical rainforest, which has attractions like large buttress roots and strangler figs, very interesting and photogenic. If there is not enough time to explore the East Zone, you can skip the Green Stone Forest and get off directly at this stop. Total Buddha Temple, Manting Park: Manting Park was still limiting visitors, and tickets had to be purchased on the spot. We took a taxi to the Total Buddha Temple, toured it, and then entered Manting Park. There were too many people, and those who don't like crowds felt that the experience was just average. After leaving the Total Buddha Temple, we took a taxi to Prajna Temple. We tried various apps to hail a car, and after waiting in the scorching sun for half an hour, we finally got one, and it wasn't cheap. Prajna Temple: Prajna Temple is all silver and white with a unique design. No admission fee is required, but appropriate dress is necessary, with shorts or skirts above the knee not being okay. Eat Eat Eat: Didn't really check in at internet-famous restaurants, just casually looked for food~ Nanwan Dai·Dai Family Sapie Rice Noodles: The first meal we had in Banna and the most memorable one of our entire Yunnan trip. Later in Kunming, we had N different kinds of rice noodles, and after comparing, we still liked Sapie the most, as it has a unique taste. Dai Le Coffee: When in Banna, you must try the bagged Laotian iced coffee~ It tastes quite good. Cool Thai: Affordable Thai food, we ordered mango sticky rice, Tom Yum soup, Thai fried rice, pounded chicken feet, etc., none of them were disappointing, all were devoured~ Tips: Pay attention to sun protection, sunglasses, sunscreen, and hats are essential~ We hurriedly played for less than three days and then went to Kunming. The holiday with lots of people was not as enjoyable as we hoped. Next time, we will find a less crowded time, explore some niche places, and have a better experience.