Heat

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For the first time since my Middle -Eastern adventures, I felt the heat of the sun. It is as if I have tunnelled through a block of snow thousands of miles thick and am on the other side. The scarf, gloves and thermals are in the bin, the parka is in the post (along with a helluva lot of sooper cheap dvds of questionable authenticity). Heat. Mmmm. So there was a plan to go back north to some great stuff near the border with Tibet - I even extended my visa for that reason. But sod that. Laos bound. I am now in the "deep" south, spent 2 days cycling along the Mekong River (the Chinese call it Lancang Jiang, but what's in a name?). It is warm and subtropical and I'm Lovin' it.

Kunming was slated. I thought it was great. Okay, there isn't a lot to see and it looks like was built yesterday (not far wrong), but it is 'very nice' and a place one could easily live in. (I mean, who goes to see stuff in their home town anyway?)

Kunming is Visa-City for going to Vietnam/Laos/Myanmar. The Laos consulate is located just away from the lobby in the complex of a popular hotel. A bit of a bizarre place to put it, I thought, and then thought how strange it must be to work in here - as I opened the door to re-enter the lobby, a French guy with a bag of smelly clothes asked me if this was the laundry! I took pleasure in haughtily informing him that it was the Laos consulate.

There is always a 'travel book'. It used to be The Beach. All travellers read it, talked about it - it was excellent - and then someone made a really shit film out of it. When I was travelling in 2000, everyone was reading Captain Corelli's Mandolin (another great book) and then someone made a really shit film out of it. Nowadays it is the fact-stretching Da Vinci Code. It won't be hard to make a shit film from this.

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Photos

Concept photo
Okay, it is artificially lit. Stalig-thingies in caves at the Stone Forest, Shilin.

Two tuk-tuks, a bloke and a buffalo
Yunnan

Three girls on a toilet, somewhere in China
This had to go in.

More pineapples than you can shake a stick at.
..And get working on that tan in Yunnan, China.

Food market
Menghan, Yunnan.

Top o the world
Stone Forest, Shilin

It's getting hot in here
Room on fire, but the food is good.

Lotta fun
Kids entertaining the 'Laowais' (foreigners) in Menghan.