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Trip Start Jan 09, 2009
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Trip End Feb 23, 2009


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Flag of China  , Chongqing,
Sunday, February 22, 2009

'Lake Dianchi! Lake Dianchi!' the kid in the window seat in the row in front reacted as the plane swooped over the immediate lake as it left Kunming. It looked picturesque, shimmering in the late morning sunlight, dominating the immediate land outside the city. Otherwise it's polluted, reminiscent of so much of water in China.
From my window seat miles and miles of mountains spread out northwards, southwards, eastwards, westwards. It was nice to see 'unchartered' territory without any cloud obscuring the view. This didn't last long. As soon as the journey bored further eastwards, the land went under cloud.
The plane touched down at around 12-1 pm in a dismal smoggy Chongqing environment. It had been so much nicer luxuriating through Laos and hop-stopping through Cambodia where no pollution - in relative terms - existed at all. I wonder, sometimes, if this relentless drive to become the world's economic superpower is really worth it, and simultaneously, whether the Chinese really know what the hell they're doing....
That's - almost entirely - for another story.
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