Cracking final week in Laos

Vientiane

After an hour's sleep, it wasn't surprising that I passed out on the early morning bus from Vang Vieng to Vientiane, Laos' capital city, but for once, the bus made the journey in super quick time and cut my sleep short.

Vientiane is not very large, but much larger than Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng, and it was rammed when I arrived because the locals were revving themselves up for the tens of thousands of people who come from all over Laos and Thailand for the three-day Water Festival.



I met up with Tom and Michelle, who were passing through as part of their whirlwind tour of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Their 5-star was a stark contrast to my dorm bed! After some sightseeing (That Luang and Patuxai), we ended chilling along the river watching the chaos unfold. Most of the backpackers had chosen to avoid the river as there were literally people everywhere among the hundreds of street stalls lining the banks. The grilled fish from one of the food stalls was excellent. I also bought a small rocket firework for 10p which you could light out of your hand!



The main boat race, between Laos and Thailand, wasn't even that exciting, and despite everyone trying to stamp on each other to get a view of the race, there was little cheering.

On my final night, we met this crazy scouse dude who was absolutely trolleyed. He was finishing off drinks that people had left unfinished; sadly he wanted to have a conversation with me after he found out I was a Liverpool fan.

It was time to leave and head south to Pakse, with my tube. The bus rides had progressively been getting better, and this was certainly the best. Other than the bright pink curtains, it was awesome - A/C and reclining seats - what more could you ask for.

Pakse and Champasak



On arrival into Pakse, I basically rented a local guy to take me by motorbike to the nearby waterfalls, Tad Fan and Tad Yeung. It was after about 20km, only halfway to the falls, that he told me he had never ridden a bike before! The halfday trip was entertaining though. We stopped at some tea (green and oolong) and coffee plantations, the waterfalls were both far more spectacular than I expected, we had the spiciest papaya salad I have ever had, and I even helped him get a photo with a local girl that he took a liking too.



After briefly returning to Pakse, I headed to Champasak, a short tuk-tuk and ferry ride away. The tuk-tuk only left after it was full with passengers and lots of other things, including living frogs in a bucket, however, I soon realised that the driver and I had different definitions of full. The ferry was basically a wooden barge that had been nailed to four small rowing boats below. Yet it carried 4-5 vehicles and around a 100 people!



Champasak was really nice, very quiet and with lots of accommodation right on the river. I had a great view 10 metres from my room door.



The main attraction here was Wat Phou which was commissioned by the same king who began the construction of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. I rented a bike at 4am and reached Wat Phou, 9km away, just before sunset. It was not a very clear morning, but great nonetheless as I had the whole place to myself.

Siphandon

Later that day, I jumped on a tuk-tuk and headed further south to Siphandon, which translates into Four Thousand Islands. It is very close to the Cambodia border and a idyllic setting. Lots of small islands with heavy forest and palm trees scattered about the place.



I spent one night on Don Det island. However, it was far more touristy than I expected, but I expected nothing, especially given there is limited electricity on the island and none affter 9pm. Most of the bungalows lined the shore while paddy fields occupied most of the island. I had my own wooden bungalow (with no fan or light) and a hammock on the balcony for one pound. The restaurant/bars were very chilled and I spent hours chatting to a Belgian guy and two French girls, who I had met on the tuk-tuk.



The next day, I walked across to Don Khone island. This place was fantastic. Far fewer people, an even more beautiful setting. It was so peaceful that I almost fell asleep whilst walking. A 2-3hr walk took me through lots of paddy fields, cows and the odd hut, some amazing waterfalls and a beach. The waterfalls were really cool, particularly as the water was brown, which formed a nice contrast against the rocks
and blue sky. The beach was very quiet and you could swim in the river, although there was a very strong current about 6 metres out, so the tourists didn't go out further than that (although the local kids did).



It was my final night in Laos so I treated myself to a nicer room which was right on the shore looking across at Don Det.

My time in Laos has been an excellent experience. The food is very good, there's lots to see, it has very diverse landscapes, a compelling recent history, and most importantly of all, its people are great.

Raising money for MAG

BACKGROUND

As you know, I have been to Vang Vieng in the north of Laos recently. It was here that I did the ridiculous activity called 'tubing'. For those of you that don't know, it basically involves floating down a river while sitting in a doughnut-shaped inflatable, and getting off every now and then to visit bars stationed along the route, which also have swings and zipwires where you can jump into the water from anywhere up to 30 metres above the water. More information on my escapades can be found at http://alkitpatel.blogspot.com/2008_10_01_archive.html#2798153019468493602.

Anyhow, because I returned back to town late, I was refused my deposit back for the tube and have therefore kept it! At first, it was for a laugh (as I took it on the 4hr bus to Vientiane).



I have now decided to take this tube, inflated (which is a pain to carry, especially with a daypack and a backpack the size of me), with me for as long as possible. This would mean on local tuk-tuks from town to town, on buses, across borders by road/boat, and on planes, and will travel through Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Borneo, Singapore, and hopefully, London. WHY?

RAISING MONEY FOR MAG: MINES ADVISORY GROUP

MAG is an impartial humanitarian organisation clearing the remnants of conflict for the benefit of communities worldwide.

I have seen the impact of their work in Laos (at the Plain of Jars), where they have been since 1994 clearing unexploded bombs, rockets, missiles etc. There are large rural and urban areas of Laos which have UXOs (Unexploded Ordnances) from the 'secret' war with the US from 1964-1973, secret as few knew about the US' attacks during the time as they were at war with Vietnam at the time.

MAG Lao operates 11 clearance teams (including two all-female teams) and nine Community Liaison teams. The programme has 211 national staff; 35% of the staff is female. In 2007, MAG Lao located and destroyed 6,460 items of UXO. 3,257,638 square metres of land was cleared for agriculture, drainage canals, electricity pylons, water wells, school gardens, roads (to provide access to markets) and for a project to encourage tourism at the historic Plain of Jars.

However, there is still a lot of work to be done - many kids roam around the fields searching for scrap metal to sell, but often this comes in the form of UXOs, which injury and take many lives.

For more information, please go to http://www.maginternational.org/maglao.

HOW TO DONATE

I would like you to donate any sum of money you can in one/two parts:
a) Sum per city I travel through
b) Bonus for reaching London (very difficult journey)

If you wish to donate, please email me at alkit.patel@gmail.com.

Thanks very much.

Carnage on the river

Once again, another bus journey, this time to Vang Vieng, the adventure capital of Laos, was a nightmare. A couple were vomiting for about 5 hours non-stop. We were supposed to stop for dinner at 9pm, but did not do so until around midnight. We were supposed to arrive at 11pm, but instead arrived after 1am. But hey, this is Laos. Obviously we arrived with no place to stay. Miriam had heard of a really good guesthouse on the river, so we headed for it. However, it took an hour to find it ... in a town that cannot be more than two square kilometres!



The next morning, Miriam, Hinesh and I rented bikes to head along the dirt roads and visit some of the caves. The surroundings were amazing: rice paddy fields, wonderful karst limestone peaks, all under clear blue skies.



Poukham Cave was really cool, although very dark inside (the headlight we rented was crap) and very slippery. It also had a natural pool outside where we could go for a dip and swing into the pool from random ropes.

It was now time for the main event – tubing on the Mekong River.



It basically involves floating downstream, while sitting in a doughnut-shaped inflatable, and getting off every now and then to visit any one of nine bars they have along the route. Oh, and the bars also had swings and zipwires where you could jump into the water from anywhere up to 30 metres above the water – nice. Bar Four had a little something extra too.

I was skeptical at first, particularly given people have died doing this, but there were guys coming out with us who had been the previous day, who survived the adventure, with only cuts and bruises. I went twice, and here are the best moments.



Bar 1. The atmosphere was great, everyone sitting around relaxing and drinking, with an energetic few playing volleyball. Despite my fear of heights, I thought I'd better 'swing off' now, otherwise I will struggle later down the river. The experience was terrifying. The walk up to the swing is on bits of wood nailed together in a random and very dangerous way. Lucky I went when I did, as the guy who went immediately after me belly-flopped into the water. As he floated downstream with everyone 'oohing' at the pain he must be in, two locals realised he wasn't raising his head out of the water. Apparently, he landed on his lungs and was unconscious for a few minutes. He was ok after a few minutes though. After a few hours at Bar 1, we had to move on. It was time to experiment with my acrobats.



Bar 4. After spending a little while at Bar Two and Three, we headed to Bar Four. This place is ridiculous! What a complete mess. There was a volleyball net, but instead of sand, there was a mud bath. It was brilliant fun. Everytime I got out and sprayed the mud off with 'clean' water, I either ended up throwing someone else in and myself while I was at it, or being flung into it again by any one of many randoms.

After a few trips to the mud bath, it was zipwire time. On day one, I had held onto the zipwire with my back facing forward - ended up being very painful - ribs still aching 3 days later. So on day two I decided to look forward as I jumped in, but with a mate on the swing too. I'm not sure why I decided to lift my leg up onto the bar, but as a result, I landed badly again. Only cuts to my feet and legs this time.

The bucket drinks were being finished at a very quick pace. By this point on day one, Hinesh had already lost a pair of slippers and a t-shirt. We had our camera on day two, but not for long. Water had somehow got into our bry bag and that was the end of Hinesh's camera and my BlackBerry. We only left this bar around 5pm, although we were advised to leave the last bar (No.9), by this time.



By now, there were around ten of us travelling down the river together. We stupidly, unanimously decided to go onto bar five rather than to the end. Nothing untoward happened here, just more swings, higher ones, and more messy behaviour, including noughts and crosses on someone's back.



It was now dark and we were yet to get back. There were not enough tubes for those that remained on the water, so we had to share. I first shared with Chrissie, and then with Hinesh. We ended up deciding to get off the river earlier than the end, but after bar nine of course, and take a tuk-tuk. The tuk-tuk guy was being an idiot and refused to take us, so we walked back to town - 45 minutes later we arrived back. It was too late to get our full deposit back on the tube, so I decided to keep it.

At night, nothing much changed, except we weren't in the water. Some Friends and Family Guy (showing everyone around town, but heavily cut) with dinner followed by Bucket Bar and/or Sakura Bar. Despite a curfew of 11:30pm (in all major cities in Laos), I ended up being out until around 4am most nights.

Vang Vieng had been costly for me - broken BlackBerry, many cuts and bruises - but for Hinesh, it was double that - broken camera, two pairs of slippers lost in two days (and almost three), cuts everywhere directly from tubing and indirectly as he had to walk around town barefoot, and one t-shirt down. Very few, if any, finish tubing unscathed.

After our final night, and without an alarm clock between us, we decided to get up at 5:30am to head to Vientiane. Despite being very tired, I did manage to take a photo of Vang Vieng as we were leaving ...



... and I took the tube with me!

A step into Laos' history

After a brutal bus journey to Xam Neua, I was expecting a lot from this part of Laos, where few backpackers choose to visit. The town itself was absolutely dead; no shops or restaurants open past 7pm. But it serves as a base to visit the caves in Vieng Xai. This is where the Pathet Lao (communist) leaders lived and ran operations during the 9 year ‘secret war’ against the US in 1964-73.



Vieng Xai was absolutely beautiful. A tiny town with a wonderful lake, stunning hills and mountains (hence many caves) and lots of colourful fruit trees.

The caves, some natural and others formed using dynamite, were very well setup, each with bedrooms for the leader, his family and bodyguards, meeting rooms, kitchen and bathroom facilities, and an emergency room to protect the Pathet Lao from chemical attacks. The US knew the leaders were residing here and subjected the area to an incredible amount of aircraft bombs, but were unable to infiltrate the area by land and therefore all the leaders survived the war. The ‘feu’, noodle soup with meat or fish, was recommended by one of the locals in the village and was excellent.

It was well worth the 20 hour mission east, but it was time to head back west to Phonsavanh. The bus journey was much better, although I did have a really smelly farmer come sit next to me halfway through the trip, which gave me even more reason to continue admiring the stunning views out the window.

Not surprisingly, we were a few hours late (Laos time) in arriving. It was here that I bumped into Miriam and Hinesh, who I would spend the next week or so with.

Phonsavanh and the neighbouring area were hit hardest during the war, both from the air and on the ground. The town itself was small, but there was a fascinating place called MAG ‘Mining Advisory Group’. Sounded to me like banking, but it is a group who are funded by various foreign NGOs, and together with local people, are responsible for clearing the countless UXOs (unexploded bombs) in the area. The 90 minute video they showed was pretty scary and gave a very good sense of the current impact of these UXOs in the area, i.e. many people are injured and killed from these UXOs, often kids who are searching for scrap metal to sell, and it makes a lot of the land unusable.



I also visited the mysterious Plain of Jars. Huge stones in the middle of majestic fields amongst many UXOs but the restricted, tourist area has been cleared of them by MAG. There are a few explanations as to why they were made, the most ridiculous being as containers for rice wine and lao lao whisky.



The area around the jars was truly amazing, difficult to believe this area was battered during the war.



We also visited a local village as well as a Russian tank that had been there since the war.

It was now time to head to the very different town of Vang Vieng, famous for its ridiculously dangerous tubing. Don’t know what it is? You’ll have to wait a bit longer as I have run out of time. Many have died whilst doing it. I clearly didn’t, but have many scrapes and bruises from it!

Epic: mother of all bus rides

It was time to leave LP and take the not so well trodden route to the far east of Laos, to Xam Neua, in the Hua Phan province. It was where the Pathet Lao (communists) leaders hid during the ‘secret war’ against the US from 1964 to 1973, and I wanted to learn a bit more about Lao history.

I also decided, after almost 4 months travelling, to give myself a budget for the remaining 2 months, more as a challenge to spend as little as possible whilst still enjoying myself.

Just before I left LP, I connected onto an open wifi network with my blackberry, found outside one of the decent hotels. Internet would usually cost 6,000 kip –saving 30p.

Instead of taking a tuk-tuk to the bus station (30,000 kip or GBP1.50 for 5km journey), I agreed to be taken by motorbike by some local dude for half price – saving 75p.

Instead of taking the morning bus that leaves at a fixed time, I opted for an overnight bus that would save me one night’s accommodation – saving GBP20 (was staying at an expensive place).

However, the bus I would take was coming from the capital, Vientiane, and its time of arrival was not certain. I showed up at 4:30pm, bus turned up at 7:30pm, I was told 5pm! The 12-hour bus journey could now begin, but only after we spent 30 minutes getting all the bags and large parcels of God-knows what onto the roof of the bus.

As I got on, I looked for an empty seat, but there didn’t seem to be any. However, there were plastic stools in the aisle in between more bags and parcels, this time mainly of fruits and rice. Yes, I was to sit on a plastic stool, with no back rest, and a broken one, for the journey, with my legs squashed in between someone elses. About 3 hours later, someone near me got off and I pounced onto their seat; finally I was off the stool and could begin rehabilitating my sore ass.

We stopped on the road for dinner. There were lots of fruit stalls and one restaurant. I had met a local English teacher who invited me to sit with him at the dining table. When I asked him what he was eating, because it wasn’t obvious, he said “bees with sticky rice” and continued “it’s a Lao favourite”!

This was maybe the first long journey of any kind where I couldn’t sleep – men and women were frequently opening the window to spit, kids were vomiting in plastic bags (provided by the ‘busman’), we honked our way along the narrow, winding roads that cut the beautiful mountains and hills. Every now and then, throughout the night, someone on the bus would yell something and the bus would come to an abrupt halt and let that person off the bus in the middle of nowhere (probably their village). Sometimes the bus would brake sharply to avoid cows, dogs or chickens in the road.

It was now 6:30am. I assumed we were close to Xam Neua, after all it had been almost 11 hours. However, I had as feeling we weren’t. we continued at a slow pace, honking at every corner, passing village after village with small kids and families watching and waving the bus by. The ‘busman’, who seemed responsible for checking tickets and helping load and offload bags on the roof of the bus, was now busy trying to pull one of the girls on the bus. Interesting tactics he used! This kept me entertained before I fell asleep!

When I woke up, I soon saw a road marker: ‘15km Samnua’. I couldn’t believe it, I checked my watch and it was 11:30am! We finally arrived at around noon, almost 20 hours after I had arrived to catch the bus.

Love it!!!

Why on earth have I come to Laos?

After spending only 24 hours in Bangkok and Thailand, many were telling me how silly I was to spend so little time there, and so much time in Laos (planning to spend 2-3 weeks here).



The aerial views from the 20-person propeller plane (courtesy of Laos Airlines) as we flew over Laos’ lush tropical forest and into Luang Prabang were breathtaking.

I took a dusty tuk-tuk (3-wheeled over-sized rickshaw) into town. I was so excited. Although the border with China was less than 200 miles away, this was a different world altogether.

Luang Prabang, where the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers meet, is the former royal capital of Lane Xang (Laos’ previous name for simplicity).



I already liked the place after just a few hours walking around. The scenery was beautiful with the main town sitting on a meander on the Mekong River. Even though there were dozens of food and travel shops aimed at both locals and tourists on the main drag, it was still very peaceful. The loudest by far were the chickens that roam around aimlessly everywhere. Most people travel around the dusty roads by walk, cycle or motorbike. The local people were very friendly and street sellers not ‘in your face' trying to make a sale. Monks were everywhere, not surprising given the dozens of ‘wats’ (Buddhist monasteries) dotted around town. It was roasting hot. It was super cheap: large dinner with drinks for around GBP2. And thanks to the influence of the French, the bread was great too.

I randomly met up with Dush, a colleague of mine from UBS, and spent most of the next few days chilling with him.



There are an abundance of ‘must-see’ sights dotted in and around town. The Royal Palace, built by the French, now the National Museum, was very good. The top of Mount Phousi, which overlooks the main town, was fantastic at sunset.



I must have visited a handful of wats, and each of them were different, but spectacular. Most were built out of wood, sometimes sandalwood, and decorated with lots of gold. My favourites are the Wat Xieng Thong, supposedly the finest example of a Lao monastery with a rare reclining Buddha and huge funeral chariot, Wat Sene, which houses a very large Buddha statue in one of its many chapels, and Wat Visoun, which has the town’s largest Buddha statue as well as hundreds of smaller ones.

The night market, which blocks the main road outside the Royal Palace, was also very cool – you could find lots of everything, mostly made of silk.



Just outside town, a very scenic 1-2hr boat ride away, are the Pak Ou caves. It’s a very religious spot with many Buddha statues inside the two caves.

I also went elephant riding for half a day. It was pouring down with rain which made it more fun as we were treading through mud as well as a river!



However, my favourite highlight has to be the Kwang Si falls. They’re not the largets falls by any means, but the sight was amazing, especially due to its three tiers. We also took a treacherous walk up to the top of the falls. It was very steep and slippery, but well worth it as you could literally stand on some rocks in the water at the very top of the falls and look down. We rewarded ourselves with a swim at the bottom. As an added bonus, there’s a bear and tiger sanctuary there, although we couldn’t find the tiger one.



The rest of my time in LP was spent relaxing and eating. I had the local delicacy, steam Mekong fish in banana leaf, as well as a Lao hotpot, some Thai food and many fresh fruit shakes.

It’s also a good place to have a massage, although I suggest the Khmu one (lighter) than the traditional Lao one (painful)!

There was very little to do at night, so Dush and I watched football in a bar until 2am while chatting to whoever walked through the door. Unfortunately, I returned to my guesthouse to find I was locked out. I had to climb over the barb-wired fence and wake up the guard! The next night, I watched the incredible comeback by Liverpool against Man City – and was singing ‘Fernando Torres, Liverpool Number 9’ all the way home.

Action packed final few weeks in China ...

I've been away from my blog for a while - busy checking out Beijing (again and again) and in between Yunnan, a province in the south west of China that borders Tibet, and in many respects follows similar traditions as Tibetans.

It was then time to leave China, after a fabulous 2 months travelling all over the country, visiting the Olympics, meeting new friends, other tourists, foreign locals and local locals, seeing some of China's, and in some cases, some the world's most amazing sights, and trying some of the best, most diverse food I've ever had.

I am now in Bangkok. It is nice to receive good service in hotels again, be able to speak English and get what you want, watch Liverpool play in the Champions League with English commentary, know what medicines I'm buying, have access to foreign newspapers and TV, using a knife and fork for the first time in 2 months, and not see pollution floating in the skies above me. Although, I have to stop greeting people in Chinese; Thai people are looking at me funny.

The highlight of my short time in Bangkok must be listening to the Kop sing You'll Never Walk Alone before the Liverpool / PSV game, seeing Robbie Keane score his first goal for Liverpool and Steven Gerrard score his 100th for Liverpool.

Beijing - Round 3

I returned to Beijing for a third time, but to see for the first time China's greatest treasure - the Great Wall - stretching over approximately 6,400km, guarded by over a million men at its peak, and with an estimated 2-3 million people having died building the wall, its construction began around 220BC by China's first emperor, Emperor Qin, but most of the current wall was built under the Ming dynasty, between the 15th and 16th century.



Rather than the very touristy excursion to Badaling, the nearest point from Beijing to 'walk' the wall, we headed 3 hours outside Beijing to Jinshanling. We walked 10km from Jinshanling to Simatai, a stunning, largely original stretch of the Great Wall. Many steps, some very steep, up and down, the watchtowers, the stunning mountains in the background, all created an amazing scene and experience. So good that I did the exact same walk 3 weeks later.

After an inspired trip to the Great Wall the previous day, it was time for more Chinese history and a tour of the famous Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden City. This was altogether less interesting and spectacular. While Tian'anmen Square is the largest public square in the world, it's still only a square. It holds great historical significance, however the Chinese seem to believe or at least try to portray that only great, wonderful (debateable) events occurred in the square, such as Chairman Mao's proclamation of the People's Republic of China in 1949, but ignore or claim not to be aware of the negative events associated with the square such as the massacre in 1989 of hundreds, maybe thousands of protesters. Mao's mausoleum, based on Lenin's in Moscow, sits in the square, and we went inside in orderly fashion (very unlike the rest of China) along with hundreds of Chinese tourists, kids, parents, grandparents, many carrying flowers. The Forbidden City, opposite the Square is where emperors resided, along with thousands of concubines to serve him/her. The "city" is massive and buildings stunning, although all very similar.

The rest of my four days in the capital were spent scampering around the City trying to retrieve my debit card, which got chewed up by an ATM (at the first time of use since I got new cards sent to me having lost my wallet last time I was in Beijing), or my BlackBerry, which I left in a cab and was very fortunate to get back (thanks to security cameras).



I also served as an unoffical night guide of Beijing to the rest of my group. Although I didn't get a tip (!), I believe my services were appreciated, with photo evidence. I took a few for a walk along Nanluoguxiang and around the hutongs, including my customary trip to Anna's bar and Ten Kwai Bar. On the group's final night together, we went to Club Kai. The girls were on fire, probably helped by the shots of jagermeister.

Lijiang

I then flew to the capital of Yunnan to join my new group - two couples and seven girls - Kiwis, Brits, Norwegians, Irish and an Aussie.



Then followed a long, uncomfortable (for most; I slept) 8 hour public bus ride to Lijiang. This 'historic' town is about 12 years old. It was rebuilt after an earthquake in 1996 destroyed large parts of the city, but it was rebuilt in a very traditional, old style, even though it didn't look this way before the earthquake. I wasn't a big fan of the town, although most are, maybe because I was trying to shake off a nasty cold. However, it was incredibly touristy, packed with street hawkers and noisy bars with bad live music. One highlight was the Black Dragon Pool, a lake set among wonderful gardens and buildings.

Tiger Leaping Gorge

Next was a short ride to Qiaotao for the start of the Tiger Leaping Gorge trek. The gorge is one of the deepest in the world and very narrow in parts, so narrow that legend states that a tiger leaped across it.



The walk was very relaxing, not too difficult, and passed through breathtaking scenery. My fear of heights were being tested, although I wasn't as worried as Marie, one of the Norwegian girls.



Our first night was at the Tea Horse Guesthouse, which had incredible views of the gorge. I had a mammoth meal and quickly got a rep as a big eater (along with Mian Xin, one of the Kiwis). The second day was even more chilled. I had a snooze at the Halfway Hut guesthouse before getting to Tina's Guesthouse for the night. I had a great chicken sandwich for lunch and spent the afternoon chatting to Charlie and Sheila, a couple from the UK (Liverpool and Ilford). Most of the group stayed at another guesthouse, so Mian Xin, Brooke, Marie and Hege had a quiet meal together before hitting the baizhou.

Zhongdian

Another short bus ride took us to Zhongdian, renamed Shangri-La to reignite interest from tourists to the town. It was very close to the border with Tibet, and the atmosphere around town gave us a taste of what Tibet might be like: fairly chilly, much colder than elsewhere, much quieter with few street hawkers shouting for a sale, and great yak hotpot. The town has a wonderful Buddhist temple overlooking the town and the Ganden Sumsanling monastery just outside time, although under renovation, is well worth a visit.



We had a very relaxing trip to some natural springs. Our drivers were very entertaining, but one of them kept on jumping on my back wanting me to carry him (even though he was three times my size). We also saw a truck turn over on the road.



Our first evening was spent at KTV (karaoke). Li, our local guide, Benny, Mian Xin, Brooke, Alice, Ali, Marie and Hege all showed up. We had a blast; great fun dancing and singing, returning to our guesthouse at 2am to find ourselves locked out. After a few spiderman-esque moves from Mian Xin failed to get us in, but a phone call worked.

The next night was spent watching local people perform daily traditional dancing in the main square. Ali, Hege and I joined in - it was similar to 'garba', a hindu dance performed at some festivals and weddings. Later, a few of us went to Karma Bar, a chilled late night coffee house where a local (famous) singer played Tibetan music. It was excellent and Aidan and I bought the dude's CD.

Dali

We next headed to Dali, 8 hours away. Some of our group were deeply distressed at the locals smoking on the non-smoking bus.

Dali was a very small, pleasant town, located by Lake Erhai. We had a great dinner on arrival - local freshwater fish followed by bumper dessert (cheesecake and brownie) at Sweet Tooth, a dessert shop run by deaf people.



The next day was spent on a tour of the surrounding region. We visited a few local markets, selling anything from fruits, veggies and meat, including live chickens in s bag, to clothes, and even calculators. We also tried the local delicacy, 'baba', which is a type of pastry, and you can choose sweet or savoury flavour. The savoury ones, lots of salt and bacon, were lush! This was followed by a walk along the lake, a visit to an island on the lake, a great lunch, a visit to a tie-dye workshop, and a quick detour to see the Three Pagodas. It was also the final day of the Ryder Cup, so I stayed up refreshing my blackberry all night to follow Europe relinquish their title!



Kunming

Our short tour of Yunnan's highlights was almost over and we returned to Kunming for our final night together. Maddie entertained the bus as she took a liking to my iPod and played random songs on my speakers.



We had food of the Dai minority people as our final group meal. it was one of my best meals in China, very different, lots of rice cooked in different ways (with spices, with banana leaves etc), very spicy, highly recommended! We then headed to Camel Bar for some drinks, incl baizhou, before a small group gathered in my hotel room for a bit longer.



Most of the group left the next morning. Other than a trip to the Stone Forest with Brooke and Mian Xin, which was great, although the weather was miserable, I spent most of 4 nights in Kunming chilling. I got my visas for Laos and Vietnam, I tried the local specialty' across the bridge noodles and bought some new clothes to replace some of my badly worn clothes.

Beijing - Round 4



Yes, I went back for more. I had a very relaxed time. I was a tour guide to my local tour guide from Mount Emei who had previously never been to Beijing. I was surprised how well I know some parts of the city. As well as revisiting some of the main sites, I also went to the Temple of Heaven. The place is awesome and the forest area is beautiful and very peaceful.



After some great duck, some time chilling by the pool, it was appropriate that my final few hours in China would be spent in the Olympic Village visiting the grounds and the Bird's Nest. The Olympics was the best of many highlights from my 2 months in China.