Xining Mansion Hotel

... is non reimbursable, we decide to go and ask Nishi to get a train 2 days later as the 4 of us (under the same permit) need to be in Lhasa to continue the trip.<br> <br>The train is now leaving in 2 minutes (Chinese trains are very punctual), I run with my bags, Wacky following me and Jordi behind. Sweeting and blowing like a horse after a gallop, I jump in our coach (with Wacky at sight) and go toward our cabin to unload our bags. Then I turn back... No Jordi!! I ask ...

Viimeisenä päivänä Xianissa lähdimme Hua Shanille, joka on yksi taoismin viidestä pyhästä vuoresta. Alkuperäisenä tarkoituksena oli patikoida ylös vuorelle ja samalla kohottaa kuntoa ennen Tiibetiä. Aikataulullisista syistä jouduimme turvautumaan köysirataan, jotta ehtisimme nähdä alueesta mahdollisimman paljon ennen lentoa Xiningiin. Hua Shan osoittautui odotettua jylhemmäksi kalliomuodostelmaksi. Valitettavasti my ...

... it was the first time for me to be really excited in a while, probably the previous time was in Tiger Leaping Gorge while the places after that (Lijiang, Dali, Kunming, Hong Kong, Beijing, Pingyao and Xian) have mostly been nice but nothing totally different and amazing, what I expect to see during our three-week tour in Tibet.<br>

Sorry for the silence. Jessica and I have been super busy but the past few weeks have been quite a learning adventure. Our hosts have been warm and friendly and we have seen lots of places, met lots of people, and learned about Tibetan medicine which incorporates prevention concepts innclduing nutrition! Today, we met a group of medical students from the States including from Standford (Laura: I told him to find you when he does his Peds rotation). <br ...

Hi everyone,<br> <br>First of all, in case any of you have been keeping up with the<br>news, I want to reassure you that the region I am in is a ways away<br>from whats happening. Rest assured, I am in good hands.<br> <br>This week in Xining, the capital city of Qinghai province, has<br>been wonderful. I can't possibly summarize it - but here's a quick go<br>at it:<br> <br>We had more lectures, some incredibly pertinent to our research,<br>and some ...

... sleeping bag (damn another thing to carry...). I had also worn holes in my walking boots (already!) and because they were no longer waterproof I had to replace those while I could. I'd need both these things if I wanted to do any trekking in Nepal so the investment was important. To complete my shopping trip I picked up the cheapest phone I could get to replace the one I left in Moscow - contact me if you want the number.

Dear friends, we hope you were not so worried about the earthquake in Sichuan. We have been receiving worried mails from some of you. Nothing happened to us! Although we are only a few hundreds km from the epicenter we didn't feel anything nor did we see any destruction. It seems that the mountains absorbed the shockwaves. Let us hope that the help reaches the too many victims fast. T&amp;R

Yeaaaah baby! Got my flight to Beijing tomorrow at 8am (aargh, leave here at 6am!!), gonna arrive at about 1015hrs there. Amazingly, we managed to get tix on the trans-Siberian, OMG!!! I'm going to Mongolia, yaaaay!!! Pardon my enthusiasm, but after all the hiccups with the stupid permits and tickets and exhorbitant prices, it's really fantastic. Now, all i have to do is to get a Visa ...