(Menghai, Yunnan Province) “Yun” = “cloud”, “Nan” = “south”, so the name of Yunnan province means “south of the clouds”. While this is constructed the same as many Chinese place names, it is seems much more poetic than “Hebei” = “north of the river” or “Hunan” = “south of the lake”, and the like. Be sure to pronounce the “n” in both syllables: “yun nan”. We are in now Menghai, a county seat in the district of Jinghong in the southern apex of Yunnan, nestled between Laos and Myanmar, and also very close to Thailand. All of Yunnan is known for its anthropological and biological diversity. This tropical portion of the province seems especially exotic. We are enjoying being surrounded by scenes of rice paddies, sugar cane, bananas, water buffalo, lampshade hats, colorful birds and flowers, ... read more

written in Ninger, Yunnan province 5 Oct 2011 Our (Karen and Jim's) hotel was just a l00 yards down the hill from Jacob and Lynn's apartment. But what an interesting l00 yards. Very Chinese. The street itself is maybe l5 feet wide and made of paved rock. And on both sides of that was wide sidewalk. The shops, for the most part were about a dozen feet in width and, if they happened to be closed, were shuttered with those rolled down metal doors you see on old garages. Except that the shops were very rarely closed no matter what time day or night. In China you can step out your door anytime to buy whatever you want. Do you need toothpaste, a yo-yo, new shoes, underwear, a banana? You can get it, whether it ... read more

We awake to the constant rain that has been part of our Chongqing experience. The gray skies have been conducive to having tea with Jacob, poking around his neighborhood, and exploring the stairs and back ways around the area. Chongqing sits on the banks of the Yangtze at the confluence of a major trib, the Jialing River. Jacob and Lynn's place is in the old town between the rivers. This is one of the few cities in China where bicycles were never used because it is so steep. Instead, old staircases wind up and down, connecting back alleys. Tea shops, street food, and markets are everywhere. We see the bamboo baskets on carrying poles that vendors carry up and down the streets full of live fish, vegetables,and sometimes babies. Two days ago Jacob took Karen and ... read more

It's raining and we are at various stages of fighting colds, hoping we will all be healthy for the wedding on Sunday. Still, the great experiences continue. Last night we were invited to Lynn's parents' home for dinner and to rehearse one part of the wedding ceremony. Kathy and I had enjoyed their hospitality before when Jacob was staying with them last summer in their apartment on the third floor of a 32-story high rise in a the northern part of the city (see “Arrival in Chongqing” post from last year's trip). They are wonderfully friendly, open people, and they clearly love our son. On the wall in the apartment entryway we saw our photo, taken with them when we were there last summer, along with pictures of Lynn and her parents over the years and ... read more

We managed to persuade Jim to abandon the pleasures of the subway in time to board the train from Beijing to Chongqing. The masses in China travel by train and tickets are not available online or through a central system. Therefore we needed Jacob with his connections to score us "soft sleeper" tickets which are the equivalent of first class in this classless society. We walked by the standard waiting room at the train station, jammed with people sprawled over huge bags and packages held together with string and tape, to find the special waiting room for people with tickets like us. This is communism at its best. Our train compartment had four berths, not especially soft but not too hard either, a place for luggage, and a little table complete with a cloth carnation in ... read more