Kang'En Hotel-Xichang

this was the start of our journey. Perhaps I should have known something like this was coming. The night before I had gone to dinner with some of the dorm mates and then a few of us went to the foreign bar "pan am" where we drank absinthe. So on my way home I was feeling pretty good. Eric called to confirm I wanted in on traveling to yading. This trip was supposed to be fairly cheap minus the 600 kuai plane ...

... Puge a small place over the hills.......on the bus this lovely old Yi woman got on...we said hello and other such pleasantaries as best we could in mandarin....she smiled a sweet smile....... then did the biggest spit ever....right on the bus! Thats China.... anyway in Puge we got even more stares...and met some dude who spoke english who insited he showed us around...he refused to let us pay for anything...and proceeded to call me Janet....and ...

... bumper market-day traffic behind motorcycles and car, water buffalo and pedestrian-drawn carts, rusty bicycles and other ancient vehicles that still pass for transport in rural China. As I look out the window of our four-wheel-drive, I watch scrawny chickens dart about, pecking frantically. Two mangy dogs scrap with each other in mock combat. Amid plumes of sunlit dust, children play. Their mothers and ...

... We got off in the city center were we tried some street food. It was like a fried pancake with bean paste inside. Good, but greasy. We then found an open noodle place and ordered our dinner. While we were eating our not cut noodles, a man came over and said to us in english "I speak a little English, so I will pay for your meal" I was like "wow, thanks" thinking you know he would want to sit and chat with us for a bit, but no. It was I speak, I pay, I go. Now, I ...

... en route to the heart of the old town in Sifangjie (Square Street), where visitors to Lijiang gather to feel the pulse of this World Heritage Site, a map-seller calls out in several foreign languages, while her sister hawks sightseeing tours. "She is also the one who holds the purse strings and doles out pocket money when needed." If you are a keen shopper you will note the tiny stores lining the narrow streets are run by women shopkeepers and sales assistants, weaving ...

... for its mountain and lake views as well as for the local Mosuo (摩梭) people, who are officially listed as a subgroup of the Naxi (纳西族) people and are best known as a matriarchal society, a label which can be misleading at times. Mosuo women are the heads of households - they make business decisions and property is passed down along the female line - but Mosuo men hold political power in society, which prevents the Mosuo from ...

From Red Cross, an update on the smaller earthquake the other day: China: Earthquake in Sichuan and Yunnan Information bulletin n° 1 GLIDE EQ-2008-000146-CHN A 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck the juncture of Renhe district in Panzhihua and Huili County in Liangshan prefecture at 4:30 pm local time on 30 Aug 2008. According to the China Earthquake Administration, the epicentre was about 50 km southeast of downtown Panzhihua, at 26.2 degrees northlatitude and 101.9 ...

... of the Chinese Seismographic Information Center, said another 6-plus magnitude quake was not expected to hit the area in the next two weeks. Scientists, however, had recorded more than 300 aftershocks till 5 am Sunday. Panzhihua's office for the emergency response said preliminary investigations showed three people were killed and 65 injured. The city's quake control and relief headquarters said 363 houses were destroyed and 38,062 damaged, as were ...

... so I wandered that way. Lots of old timers drinking tea and some crazy gambling games with lots of $$$ changing hands. One looked pretty easy to me.....you pick one of three pictures of a snake, a frog, or a rooster. They spin a dice/top and whichever picture comes up wins....a one in three chance! (I lost 30.) Quite a few folks beckoned me to come over for a few glasses of tea.....not a one spoke much English, but we had a few laughs none the less.

So, war 4 Tage lang trekken. Fuer alle Englisch kundigen hier ein Link... http://www.chinabackpacker.com/journal/ 2004/l5mike_sichuan_j iulong.htm Wuxu Hai ist ein hochgebirgssee...diese Gegend hier ist in keinem Reisefuehrer..frage mich wieso, habe in den letzten 22 Monaten nix dermassen beeindruckendes gesehen (in Sachen Berge und Seen) und bin trotzdem keinem Touristen begegnet. Das erste mal das ich in China echten Urwald sah. Dazu nehme man ein Kessel voll Berge um ...