Daqiao Hotel Lanzhou

... a butt-kicking vampire slayer type super hero, I am gentle at heart. Violence and hate horrify me and turn me into a blubbering mess. I don't understand it. I've never wanted to make someone hurt (that's not quite true, I considered punching somebody in the nose once, but if you knew the background involved, you'd probably think I should have castrated the rat). But I am absolutely fascinated by the conflict it causes. Especially when religion is involved. Perhaps because in my ...

Headed for Chaolong which is 5km outside of Yangshou and stayed in the Outside Inn Hostel. Great little place, family run with very very friendly staff and a great communal area.

Very hot though! Air con room is a must have but they were out so we did with a fan :(

Next day 26th June headed out on the bikes for Dragons bridge, which the guys jumped from. Poor Erin hit the water as if she were sitting down, bruises on the back of her ...

... paivana lahdettiin metsastamaan Mr. Xiangia, jostain osoitteesta, jota kukaan vastaantulija (joista noin 50 % oli poliiseja) ei tiennyt. Mut lopulta loydettiin taa paikka, joka ilmeisesti oli poliisin paamaja. Puuttu vaan kuulkaa sammalet seinista. Suomessa tollanen mesta olis ollu autiona 10 vuotta. Polyset kristallikruunut vaan roikku tan hamaran pompoosimajan aulassa. No, sit kyseltiin Mr. Xiangia, josta ei ollut ...

Hey Hey and a Big G'Day toya, Happy Happy Dong Zhi (or Donzhi) to you! Today is the Winter Solstice Festival and you guessed it, its also about food. Happily for me the food consumed to celebrate it is Jiaozi, or dumplings which I gorge myself on regulary. I was told I HAD to eat Jiaozi today as they help stop your ears from freezing and falling off. After my four hour walk out in the villages to the west of Shangzhou I was ...

... the road for 4 years. I sympathised with anyone stuck in this place for 4 years, 1 afternoon was enough for me. After the rain had fallen off a little, I wandered over to the car and the driver had made some progress with a couple of other guys assisting him when they could. The front connecting rod itself hadn't broken but the balljoint connecting it had, and amazingly enough the driver had been carrying a spare of this part. The driver had replaced it and it was just a ...

... at what I think is the ancient wooden 'Living Buddha Temple'. You then slowly make your way back up and at the top is I thing the new stone 'Living Buddha Temple'. When you see this place you stop and think to your self, why? Why build it out of stone? Why not wood like everyone else. But then it is built at the top of the mountain so there ...

... is as delicious as the food she serves! The girl to Paris's left is Malina as in Malina from Malina's Eatery. PSSSS: Who is getting a hair cut. That is Li Ping (Joyce). We went for a hair cut and massage that lasted around an hour and a half. How much? About four Aussie bux! How much in Australia would is cost? Probably one hundred and fifty to two hundred bux ...

... the families who live there though they have nothing, they don't seem to want any more than they have and that is a very simple life. I found a beautiful old temple made from earth just like most of the houses in each village. While I was walking around taking photos I heard a heap of kids talking about me but I couldn't ...

The alarm went off at 6:30am..... How happy was I went I realised that we had no idea where the west bus station was. Off went the alarm and back to sleep went I! Sometimes having no idea about things really is a good thing. The caves had been around for hundreds of years and I'm sure they were not going anywhere too soon. We decided to spend the day doing what I had missed doing ...

... is plenty (the highest peak is 1715 metres high). There is a uniformed guard sitting on the other side of the fence, which goe son forever, so we take photos and retire back to the front gate. There is a #3 bus waiting. We have seen a number of these, so figure it is a popular route. Point out the Bus station name in Mandarin to the driver. He sort-of says OK, but points to the destination board, which we can't read. As there is about 4 km dead straight of ...