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Asia » China » Beijing May 10th 2006

Arrival We arrived in Beijing on Monday May 8th (after leaving San Francisco on Sunday at noon!). The trip there was uneventful. ANA (All Nippon Airline) is a great airline. We were on new planes with great movie selection and they were very accommodating in providing beverages! When we got to Beijing, we took a cab into the city. That was an experience as the driver spoke no English and was not very sure where our hostel was in the city (even though we had a map in Chinese). Fortunately, we had the number to the hostel and he called them to get better directions. We got to the hostel, which is in a traditional "hutong" neighborhood and quickly went to sleep. First day in Beijing Our first day in Beijing greeted us with dreary weather ... read more
Mike in the Imperial Garden
Laura hanging out in the FC
Mike's Beijing Duck Experience

Asia » China » Yunnan » Kunming May 10th 2006

I reached Kunming after midnight. After five hours of a "good" night's sleep on what is referred to as a bed (planks with padding are somehow grouped into this category), I woke up early and hopped the bus to Shilin. What's in Shilin you ask? Well, the Stone Forrest. Until the day arrives when I can take a stroll among the craters of the moon, this will probably be one of the closest things to doing just that that can possibly be done. The scenery is out of this world. Of course, this is not lost on the Chinese. That's a great reason to put up a fence, bring in tourist busses and make !@#$loads of money. The price of admission is 140Y. This, for perspective, is equal to about four days of quite decent food ... read more
Tourist poses
The Stone Forrest
The Stone Forrest

Asia » China » Sichuan » Chengdu » Emi Shan May 10th 2006

Continuing our trip from Leshan Buddha, we went to Mt Ermei the next day. One of the top 4 buddhist mountain of China. Mt Ermei is indeed very mystic and spiritual. There are many temples and tea houses on the mountain. There are also lodgings on the mountain which one can stay and wander around the mountains for a few days. The mountain has a skiing resort at it's peak. There is a also a monkey conservation area. There are quite a few sights on Mt Ermei. It was very cold up in Mt Ermei in March. Though I did not learn any martial art from Mt Ermei, I acquire a strong resistance to cold which do well for me in my cold office back in SG. ... read more
Mt Ermei 2
Mt Ermei 3
Mt Ermei 4

Asia » China » Tibet » Friendship Highway May 10th 2006

Not completely sure where we are, just on the Tibetan side of the Nepalese border. One of the joys of travelling in an organised group is sometimes you just don't have a clue where you are!! Crossing into Nepal tomorrow a few pounds lighter I suspect. Body been hijacked by bugs which means tonights supper consists of raw carrots, an apple, orange, fizzy sweets and Nescafe! A very strange combination I know but Im trying anything to get the system sorted- it doesn't know where it's at and my stomach has turned into an alien being which gurgles at the very mention of food, cramps up the moment I try to eat anything and wakes me up at 3 am every morning to spend half -a-bloody- disorientated hour trying not to fall down the long drops ... read more
Summitclimb Group at Tibetan base camp
A pretty little mountain you may recognise.........
Everest shortly after sunrise around 8am

Asia » China » Beijing May 10th 2006

Sometimes just a random comment can challenge an entire way of thinking. No, I’m not talking about Steve Colbert’s scathing address to the White House Correspondent’s Dinner the other day, I’m talking about a guy I met the other day. He’d asked if I’d gotten out and seen much of China in my six months here. “Not much besides Shanghai,” I told him. “I’m waiting until my language skills improve.” I knew the lie of it before I even said the words. The truth of my homebody status is that despite all the travel I do, leaving home frightens me. I mean, face it, despite the flashy brochures published by travel agencies, travel is neither always easy nor comfortable. There are language difficulties, misunderstandings and where I usually go, a huge disparity between my relative ... read more

Asia » China » Tibet May 9th 2006

I’ve safely arrived in Xining, the last stop in a major city before I begin the 9 hour drive to 15,000 feet altitude. I spent one night in Bejing on the way. It’s definitely a different universe over here. A major shock to my American eyes was seeing Chinese police and security guards on every block, often marching in formation. Other things are as I imagined - large, boxy, cement buildings adorned with neon Chinese letters, chaotic traffic flow, dusty, littered streets - all juxtaposed by a majestic mountain silhouette. Here in Xining, I’m spending a few days with relatives of Sogan Rinpoche, a Lama that I know from the US. They have a charming apartment and are warm, extremely hospitable people. Chokyong Tsering is the father, and he is a renowned Ling Gesar scholar, the ... read more

Asia » China » Tibet » Lhasa May 9th 2006

After our trek, we decided to spend some down time in Lhasa. We did a lot of eating, sleeping, and showering.....you know, all the creature comforts. These 3 days of relaxing gave me time to walk around and snap photos, to seek out the details that make Tibet what it is. There are so many subtleties here. The low murmur of pilgrims making koras around the Jokhang, the sometimes suffocating smoke of burning juniper (i guess it's not THAT subtle), the smell of yak butter, the dirty hands of pilgrims or children asking for money, the almost inaudible squeak of spinning prayer wheels, the late afternoon light that always seems to grace to Jokhang, the constant mantra of shop keepers---"hello, have a look," and the sound of prostrating pilgrims as they scrape up and down on ... read more
monk garments
hands
afternoon at the Jokhang

Asia » China » Guangxi » Ping An May 9th 2006

Today I took an organized day tour to PingAn - in an area known as the Dragon's Backbone. It is an extremely hilly area - mountainous really - that is quite remote and where the rice fields are terraced into the side of the mountains. Extraordinary. The excursion was by van, with 6 paying clients and about an equal number of lcoals along for the ride:). It is a 3 hour trip one way, and about half way there wwe stopped at the side of the road so that the locals could have a feed of noodles from a stree tvendor - have I mentioned the chinese and their relationship with food? ALWAYS eating. Eventually made it there and what a day. I had researched this place on line and seen photos, but really - this ... read more
Dancin' fool
First view of Ping An
Ping An

Asia » China » Beijing May 9th 2006

Laura - On Tuesday we went to the Forbidden City, which apparently is not so forbidden now as it even has a Starbuck's!! It was a really crappy day, weather wise, and the sky was really misty. But it all still looked pretty spectacular. It was really cool to be in an enclosed space where all the buildings are traditional Chinese buildings (even the starbucks). We walked through the centre at first, where all the main buildings are and then got lost walking around the maze of alleys and temples, away from the tourist crowds. I think this is the part we really enjoyed the most, and it was cool because not all of the outer buildings have been newly redecorated, so they are more or less in their original form. In the evening we went ... read more
Archer's Bow Stream

Asia » China » Yunnan » Dali May 9th 2006

Just made in to Kunming. I'm almost ready to close the door on my time in Yunnan province, but before I leave, I thought I'd relate one more amusing story about our happenings in Dali. We were sitting at Stella's, our adopted restaurant in Dali, on the porch having a Pizza. With me were Shiran, a recent arrival to China, fresh from Laos, Hadar, with whom I had been travelling since Lijiang and Shannon, a Canadian whom I had met in Lijiang and also joined up with in Dali. We were enjoying a nice evening, winding down from the bicycle trip we had taken earlier (the one from the previous post). Out of nowhere, a Chinese guy who looked to be around his 30s with glasses and a moustache accompanied by a much younger lady walked ... read more
Make up
Talking to the producer
Between takes




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