I was woken by the harsh sound of the alarm. "Mmmf."
Tim was instantly awake as usual. We showered and dressed, then finished packing and went down to reception. Our guide was waiting for us, looking no different despite the early hour.
Tim approached her. "Just wanted to thank you for all your help during our trip."
He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and glanced at it. "Ah, xièxiè, zàijiàn?"
Her face lit up. "Gracious thanks for visiting our country."
Tim nodded. "I hope our country can continue to have good relations with yours."
She nodded, giving a short bow. "Car is ready now."
As the car took us to the airport, I said, "You really are sneaky, aren't you. What did you say?"
Tim grinned. "Just goodbye, and thank you. I hope I managed to make my accent bad enough."
I punched his arm playfully. "As if I could tell you."
We reached the airport, and I was surprised as the car pulled through a set of gates and drove straight onto an airside roadway. We drove past the larger planes, towards the area where the smaller jets were parked.
"Special flight," Tim grinned.
We were met at the bottom of our aircraft's stairs by a young woman in a dark uniform, four gold stripes on each of her sleeves.
"Welcome, Mr Scott, Mrs Scott," she said. "Please, come aboard."
We climbed the steps, and turned right into a small cabin. "Just us?" I whispered to Tim.
He nodded. The captain made sure we were strapped in, then went forward. The engines started, and soon we were hurtling down the runway. The plane lifted into the air, and I grinned. "Feels very different from the bigger planes."
The captain's voice came over the address system. "We've now reached cruising altitude. Please, enjoy the refreshments that have been prepared for you."
I glanced round, noticing a tray covered with a cloth. "Mm, breakfast."
Our meal consisted of rolls, and a kind of sweetened rice porridge, then jasmine tea. "This is good," said Tim, his voice muffled by a bite of roll.
When we'd finished eating, Tim said, "Now, look out of the window. As we go further south, the scenery gets more spectacular. You remember the rock pillars in that Bond film?"
"The Man with the Golden Gun," I said.
Tim raised his eyebrows. "Well remembered. So the scenery in this part of China is like that."
I looked down, seeing tree-covered mountains, then rock formations of the kind he'd described, all lit by the sunrise. "Wow."
After a couple of hours, the captain announced, "We'll be landing shortly. Please fasten your seatbelts."
The plane came in for a smooth landing, and drew to a halt. The captain emerged from the cockpit.
"Your luggage will be taken straight to your hotel," she said, "and a car has been arranged to take you to the river."
"At last, a clue," I smiled at Tim.
The car took us from the small airport along narrow roads between the pillars of rock. Tim glanced at his watch. "We'll get there just before the boats set off."
Finally we pulled up at the side of a broad river, and Tim said, "Now, look carefully."
We got out of the car, and I looked across at the fishing boats being prepared at the wooden jetty. At the front of each boat was a large woven basket, and perched on the edge of the baskets were several large, dark birds with long necks.
I looked again. "Are they stealing the fish?"
"No," replied Tim softly. "This is what we came to see, the fishing cormorants of the Lijiang."
He approached the nearest boat, and spoke to the elderly fisherman. Clearly he'd decided to set aside at least that part of our cover in the interest of our experience that day.
Tim returned. "He says that we can go with them, but only one of us on each boat."
We walked over to the jetty, and Tim stepped gingerly in beside the old man. In the next boat stood a young woman, and she smiled shyly as I carefully boarded the small craft. I looked across at the birds, who were taking a keen interest in the proceedings.
We cast off, the boat carrying Tim going first, and soon we were out in the middle of the water, the surface absolutely flat.
"Tim," I called softly, "this is utterly magical. Thank you..."
He nodded, and called back, "Watch."
The two boats moved closer together, and the old man gestured at the birds and spoke briefly. One by one they slipped off the boat and under the surface, and I watched fascinated as they twisted and turned like seals in the water.
One broke the surface, a large fish in its mouth, and the girl stretched out a long pole for the bird to perch on, lifting it back into the boat. The bird bent its neck, and the fish was deposited in the basket.
"Why don't they swallow them?" I asked Tim.
"They have a metal ring round their neck," he explained. "It doesn't hurt them, but they've learned that they can't swallow with it on. They'll be fed later."
We watched as the birds brought fish, then slipped back into the water again. After each had brought several fish, the old man spoke again, and the birds hopped onto the boat, spreading their wings in the warm late-morning sun.
The girl spoke to me, and Tim translated. "Time for lunch, but first the birds get something. Do you want to feed them?"
I nodded, and the girl picked out a smaller fish from the basket and handed it to me. A cormorant hopped over, looking hopeful, and the girl lifted the ring from its neck and indicated that I should let it have the fish.
The small fish disappeared in one gulp, and I glanced at the girl, wondering if the bird would get more. She shook her head, and spoke to Tim.
"If they feed them too much at lunchtime, they won't want to fish again afterwards," Tim explained. "It's quite a lot like falconry back home, except that here it's these people's livelihood."
The birds took turns to come and get their limited reward, then spread out their wings again.
Our lunch, not surprisingly, consisted of what looked like grilled fish with some kind of pungent vegetable. Afterwards, the fishing continued, more boats joining us until the surface of the river seemed covered with a small flotilla, the birds finding their way unerringly back to their own boat.
As the light started to go, the fishermen lit lamps, casting a soft glow over the surface of the water, and my heart was pulled back to our last meal with Suleika and Akilah. I felt tears prick at my eyes, and wished Tim was in the boat with me so I could share my feelings with him.
Finally the old man called out to the other boats, and they started to make their way back to the shore. As we approached the jetty, he took the pole he'd been using to guide the boat and put it across his shoulders. Two of the birds – apparently special favourites – flapped up to the pole and perched one at each end.
When we reached the jetty, the birds' neck rings were removed again, and Tim and I fed them under the watchful eye of the old man.
We stepped back onto the shore, and the old man spoke to Tim.
"He invites us to his home. The young woman – his granddaughter – will cook for us," explained Tim.
