I got up early this morning and did not expect Lobsang to be waiting for me at 7:00 even though he said he would be there to check me out of my room. Sure enough, he wasn't there, so I left the key on the desk and got a taxi to the Shangri La airport where I had a run in with three gals from the UK. Man, they were nasty. One gal's bag was 2kg over the weight limit, so while she complained about having to take some of her things out of her bag, her friend promptly called the woman behind the counter a bitch for making them take the crap out of the bag. And, it was crap by the way. Everything she took out could have been purchased in the UK, and ... read more

I got up at 7:00 AM to catch my bus to Shangri La at 8:30. Unfortunately, that damn dog would not stop barking last night and I had to change rooms. The bed was not as comfortable, but I did have a westen toilet, which I realized I had missed very much. I am glad I moved because I woke up after midnight and he was barking again, but I could barely hear him in my new room. He was also barking in the morning. Seriously. How can the owner of the dog stand it? The bus ride was about 4 hours on the Express bus and there was some stunning scenery along the way. I arrived around 1:00 and Lobsang from Shangri La Moon Guesthouse was there to greet me. I had made a reservation ... read more

I didn't title this entry "Prepare your wallets" because Lijiang is expensive. It is still cheaper than Shanghai, but almost everywhere is. I gave it that title because you should be prepared for excellent shopping when you come here! It ranks up there with Hoi An in Vietnam in my book, but they sell different stuff, much of it made by local artisans. There is a lot of jewelry, woodcarving, and textiles made by the local Naxi people. People here actually don't speak a lot of English, but they are friendly and not pushy at all. Many of them don't say anything to me, probably because they don't speak English. So all morning I felt free to wander the streets of the Old City and look to my heart's content without being bothered. As a result, ... read more

I wasn't sure what I wanted to do today, but I knew I couldn't sit around in town all day doing nothing in this heat with no breeze. I was so close to the Mykong River. Where the hell was the wind? So after breakfast at Mykong Cafe (yes, I was now a regular, practically a stock owner) I decided against the scooter yet again and headed for the bus station. I decided to go to Menglun to the Tropical Plant Gardens (80RMB unless you're a student, then it is 40RMB I think), which are the largest in China. I bought my ticket (16RMB) and got on the bus, but was worried about when to get off. The driver didn't know where I was going today and he seemed less likely to care. Then on the ... read more

I left Shanghai on an 8:00 flight for Kunming, but that was just a pit stop on my way to the Xishuangbanna region of Yunnan Province. Every time I told someone at work I was going to this region, they would say, "Where's that?" Some of these people have lived in China for 6 years! So I would tell them. And they would say, "Oh, near Lijiang!" Well, it is sort of near, but Lijiang is not in the Xishuangbanna region. I'll just call it Banna. Banna borders Myanmar and Laos and is by far the least populated region of China that I have visited. And it isn't polluted! What a relief! After a 5 hour layover in Kunming, I was on my way again to the airport in Jinghong, Banna's largest city. I took a ... read more