China August 2008: Yunnan Provence

And I bet that you were expecting something that had to do with France...

I don't yet fully understand how to best create a montage of pictures but I'll give it a go. These are from my trip to China this last August. We traveled to a new place nearly every day for two weeks!

Counting down the days until the big trip with purple post-its on my bathroom wall.




Sign at the airport. I had to look up "halberd".

Enjoying bubble tea in touristy area of downtown Shanghai. That might be a lion.




More Shanghai...

From Shanghai we flew to the south of the country and the adventure really began. We too a series of flights to get as close to Tibet as possible (it was closed to foriegner during the Olymipc Games which is exactly when I arrived). Upon arrival in Shangri-la we took an 8 hour + bus ride over a 4,000 meter pass, once we actually found the bus that is. As for the bus ride, my oh my, that was an experience to be sure. Just try to imagine Tibetan kareoke, eating running food or peanuts out of a plastic bag with chopsticks, what seemed to be public spitting (accompanied but guteral hocking) contests with the horn blaring as we swung around perilous corners on a one-way dirt road to avoid head-on collision with the mining trucks. It was great. Oh, and the windows were all wide open dousing a poor little, ill prepared tourist that had just left a scorching Shanghai at 34 C. We did not whimper. It was summer in the mountains after all and one must think of the people who live there; they have the right to enjoy summer temperatures to the fullest (even if the high is only ever 9 C). It was a great ride! We did, however, find a taxi that was over joyed to take us back for only 40 euros and in half the time. We climbed a mountain and came down a hill (or so it seemed).

We met a guide in the small village of Fe lei si (sp), last frontier town, who took us too a traditional Tibetan home (three floors: basement for animals, ground floor for people, roof for storage; walls all hand-painted) where we partook in yak butter tea, dry whole wheat flour, small green apples and rice wine that wasn't too smooth going down.