New Tour

I've enjoyed relaxing here in Kunming... a very easy city to navigate and enjoy.

Final scenic shot.

John took me to a local police station and PSB to start the ball rolling for the re-issue of my passport. At both stations, there were beat up people with blood streaming from their faces. They were miserable places, but the police were both intrigued and entertained by my situation. Noone spoke English at the local police station so it was bliss having John assist in the communication. The PSB was a lot more formal, with a tall imposing building, but the police were nevertheless friendly and efficient in providing me with a certificate outlining the loss of my passport which will make my travels through China a lot easier (we hope!).

I'm getting a bit tired now.

I've now said my goodbyes to the proceeding group, which turned out to be a really great group, and have now completed the introductions with the new group. The new group is a lot older... 8 Aussies, 2 Swiss and 2 Americans. There are probably two of us in our 30s, and the rest past retirement age - go figure this one out given that this tour has a physical rating of 4 (hard trekking). It's good that this tour is only 9 days... I'm kind of over tours now, and can't wait to regain the freedom associated with independent backpacking. I will travel with Intrepid again but for shorter durations (maybe Morocco and Peru)... no more than 2 weeks at a time. The tours provide a good opportunity to switch off for a while but tend to stifle my preferred travelling style.

More scenery.

Over the next 7 days, I'll be visiting Lijiang, Tiger Leaping Gorge and Dali - I'm sure these places will be very different to anything I've experienced here in China.

More stunning scenery enroute to Lijiang.

On the way to Lijiang.