moving fast to Damenglong

---

After the two cups of coffee at Mei Mei cafe that woke me up out of my 3 hours-of-bus-sleep haze, we talked to the cafe owner who gave us a rough sketch of a trek throughout Xishuangbanna that included 4 days of all-day hiking and sleeping in small remote minority villages, to make our way around the region. Jinhong was warm with palm trees and new sights, but we were anxios to see the countryside.

After a delicious Thai lunch I fuond a local haircut store to get my new do evened out - the stylist asked if I had done it myself, then declared it was a horrible cut and that he also did not like Kunming.

We loaded our small daypacks with water and food and hopped on a bus as the sun was setting over rice paddies that reflected the glow and dissappeared just as our minivan bus hit the dirt road and we were literally bounced aruond and out of our seats for the next 4 hours squished in the back of the bus. One by one the bus unloaded but we were the last stop. There was construction everywhere - a new road was being built that kicked up mounds and mounds of dry loose dirt all over the road. We were literally driving through a dustcloud unable to see anything out the window for most of the trip. What we did see though was dirt that covered all roadside vegetation red-brown. We were out in the sticks and the only time we saw light was when we passed another construction site working later into the night.

We arrived in Damenglong with dust-filled lungs and booked a room at the Lai Lai gusthouse. It was a strip town, one road lined with convenience stores, small restaurants, and mechanic shops. After a feast for dinner from a roadside stall restaurant we wandered into a tiny club. There was a monk sitting outside having dinner, a shrine in the club entrance, and about 15 chinese guys hanging out, a few drunk enough to dance to the techno accompanied by the laser light show. It was time for bed.

Back at the lai lai guisthouse and already in bed, the sheets were rAnk. No details, but rank enough to get us out of bed, pack our stuff, and move to the white clean washed sheets at the hotel next door.

---