C A N A D A

My apologies if there is little coherence today, my day has been approximately, oh hell, I don't even know how many hours long, and still counting. And the day did not start well. Checking in at Beijing I got the girl in training. She asked for my Visa for Canada. I explained that I didn't need one to enter Canada as a tourist, and if I want to work I get the visa upon entry. OK. Suddenly my not having a Visa for the Sates while only transiting for 2hrs became a BIG problem, even though I don't need one, even if I was staying. They smiled and handed back my passport and said it was not possible to board me on this flight.

"So what do I do now?" I said trying to maintain 'face'.
"You need to get Visa from US Embassy."
"And how do I do that before my flight in 2 hours?"
"Perhaps you do not fly today."
"Can I please speak with your manager??"
I was impressed that the Manager of Northwest came out to speak with me, and we spoke about how I didn't need a visa for a stay for up to 90 days in the states, and it was fairly harsh, not to mention expensive for me if they refused me to fly when they were not 100% sure. Thankfully my small prayers in the time she was double checking were answered, and she confirmed they would let me fly, which by that time I was ecstatic about the prospect of leaving China.

So, Beijing start time 5am, taxi to the airport, 2 hour tense negotiations, eventual 2.5 hr flight to Tokyo with 2hr layover, then 8.5hrs to Portland, Oregon with 2hr layover, then 1hr to Vancouver with a 3 hour wait in line at Immigration where at least I got a really nice officer who didn't ask me any of the curly questions I was expecting. I am so looking forward to a suitable time to go to bed and not get up until 8.45 for the free hostel breakfast.

I'm really pleased to be here, even though I'll have to start looking for a job soon-ish (woe is me...) but I can read everything (or at least have the English translation from French) and I can speak to anyone I want and understand their response, and order bland food again. I might need to re-learn the etiquette for knife and fork use though, and not throw the food scraps on the floor like the previous locals...I'm sure I'll cope.

Rickshaw on the City Wall, Xi'an.

Giant Panda, Chongqing zoo (one of the 'nice' enclosures...)

Street restaurant, Chongqing.

Overlooking the Yangtze from Chongqing, sunset.

Yangtze sunrise.

Well, it already has the spit, and now it has the polish to match. It seems that Olympic fever has well and truly hit Beijing, and what a wonderful thing it is. All the toilets, whether squat or the occasional western treat, are clean - even sparkling at the major attractions), English is being posted or announced on public transport or major tourist sites, and the price of Peking Duck is rising.

We arrived Friday morning at some ungodly hour, and got to our hotel just long enough to drop bags and head to Tienanmen Square in an effort to beat the rush of tourists. Fools we were. It was swarming. For the biggest square I have ever seen (and I head a rumour of it being the biggest city square in the world), it was certainly filled with the greatest amount of humanity I think I have ever seen occupying the one space. I just need to quantify this a wee bit - most of this sea of people were actually Chinese tourists, and it was an amazing experience to see them all a-buzz with excitement at being where they were, and obviously knowing the significance, both good and bad, of what this square represents to them, something which I will never be able to comprehend, and this awed enthusiasm and pride that seemed to wash over every single one of them.

To be honest, it was hard to imagine what it would have been like, full of soldiers, put through their paces in front of the Chairman himself, or some years later, full of students gunned down seemingly at will. After dinner one night a few new friends and I wandered down to see the square by night, and found the locals flying kites in the evening breeze. If these are not complete polar opposite concepts, I don't know what is. Yet over lunch by the square another day I saw a woman being arrested and removed from the square by the ever present and watchful guards for holding a small banner (which obviously and unfortunately I could not read). Again, the ying and the yang of the China.

I have to say, Saturday morning was probably the most highly anticipated time I've had here. We were up at about 5.30 and on a bus by 6.15 on out way out to the Great Wall of China at SiMaTai. SiMaTai is a 19km stretch of wall about 3 hours from Beijing that is a little bit steep, so mostly attracts the Western Tourists. (The Chinese tend to stay a little closer to Beijing, which was fine with me, as their tour groups can be huge, all following little coloured flags held up by their tour leaders, rushing through sites in waves of noise and elbows and pushing and shoving.) It was great, the wall was mostly intact, although some had been repaired, and went for miles - 19km's worth actually - over hills and down valleys. It was one of those 'pinch me' moments you get every now and then when you're having trouble believing you're awake and actually living something. I find it completely amazing that the Chinese people saw the worth in creating a 5,400km (roughly) fence that took from 221b.c. to 1300a.d-ish to keep the rabbits out.

But Beijing has a hell of a lot more to offer than great proximity to The Wall. The shopping is FANTASTIC. Great quality gear of all sorts, that I suspect was an extended run of the original merchandise. Honestly I would not pick most of it as counterfeit, except where things are obviously not smelling of leather, but more like pleather...The stall vendors are a bread unto their own. I have not encountered anything quite like it - there's emotional blackmail, laughter, tears, red vests, violence - and every bargaining trick in the book. Lots of fun, but short recommended doses only.

China has been full of surprises. I really like it and would love to come back and see more. The magic and myth still sucks you in, but that's OK, because its China. For all the stinking, dirty, vomit inducing toilets and plates full of pigs lung, there is something that will completely turn your head and make you realise that all the rain in Tiger Leaping Gorge, inconsiderate smoking by the person in the restaurant or on public transport next to you makes it all worthwhile. There's so much to say about China that its hard to find all the words - hopefully I'll be able to upload some pics soon and they can fill in the gaps for me.

I have one day left here. I am taking my hair in my hands and going to a Beijing hairdresser tomorrow. Not sure whether you realise, but perms and or mullets are big here, both metaphorically and literally, so wish me luck.

The Terra Cotta Army

When we first arrived in Xi'an (7am Tuesday morning) a few of the group and I headed out for a lovely, scenic bike ride around the city. This scenic bike ride just happened to be on the city wall of Xi'an! 14km's of smooth, then bumpy brick road that surrounds the original city site, and was just a sniff of what we might allow ourselves to imagine for the Great wall when we walk some of that in a few days time. I quite like Xi'an, its still big and busy and crowded, but it has heart - and Starbucks, so I've had a decent-ish coffee.

I've also discovered that Xi'an is a great spot for shopping. I'm a little worried that when I get home my room will look like a well travelled and/or cultured teenagers room, as I can't help but buy some of the awesome scroll paintings they have here. They are so beautiful, but I have now banned myself from entering any more establishments selling anything that I can put on a wall.

The night life is not bad here either! Last night a small, but dedicated group of us headed out to a bar called 1+1. This place was the most unlikely find in China - and by that I mean it would be quite a swish place in Melbourne or Sydney! There were 5 levels of discos, lounges, VIP seating, karaoke, bars and dance floors, all surrounding a beautiful waterway that wound its way around the ground floor. OK, so maybe the water way would not be in Melbourne or Sydney, as there would be 20+ bodies flailing around in it by 9pm... But it was really cool, but our dedication soon waned when we discovered the pricing of a small beverage was also of Sydney standards - which is just not done in China, where 630ml beers can be had for a mere Y3 or 50cents.

Xi'an is also home to the Terracotta Army. I find it absolutely astounding that there was a HUGE pile of lifesize clay figures in the ground that was not discovered until a farmer and his mates decided to dig a well in 1974. That no-one knew about the story of Emperor Qin's massive undertaking to build an army to protect his soul in the afterlife is pretty odd, as it took about 11 years for the tomb and army to be completed. Even when the surrounding villagers revolted after his death, plundering the buried army, stories still did not flow on through time, so that when the site was eventually discovered, it was a complete surprise.

This Emperor Qin sounds a little egotistical if you ask me, but he was responsible for the first unification of China during his rule between 246-210B.C. and subsequently became the first Emperor of China and then ordered conscript labour for the building of the Great Wall of China as defence against nomad invaders. It was quite amazing to see these stoic clay figures, all with individual personality and ranking. More than 7,000 soldiers, horses, chariots and weapons were buried , standing in battle formation with Emperor Qin when he died suddenly in 210B.C. so that his military mastery could not be copied. In typical style, you can't get all that close, the site is still an active archaeological site, there are annoying barriers in the way of many of the photos you want, but I thought it was a really awesome thing to see, and highly recommend if when you're next in Xi'an.

The Biggest City in China

[Sorry, just to clarify, I didn't mean to publish this yesterday, but the buttons are in Chinese, and as I can not read it, published a crappy blog...]

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it, but China is a place of huge contrasts - I kind of liken it to their yin/yang theory. They are ridiculously proud of their land and their culture, but its so polluted its not funny. I guess the difference is that they do try to make an effort to clean it up, but the population is too much for it really. (And while strange at first, I am glad that the kids DO run around with pants that do not have the seams up the back, rather than a population of this size using disposable nappies!) Its also very strange looking at the houses and new towns - the buildings are quite clean and modern, with no dicernable character, but its like the people have not quite caught up just yet - they still have their hay stacks in the front yard, next to the wood pile, and corn crops in any available land and farm them with hoe and basket.

I'm currently in ChongQing, with a population on 32.5 million people. It's a huge, spread out city, which is kind of odd, as they have not been all that big so far - they have all this land, but the cities are still crowded on top of each other with huge apartment buildings as far as the eye can see, which isn't all that far because there are apartment buildings in the way! Subsequently there are really thick clouds of haze covering most places in China. Its quite disappointing to see, or not see, as the case may be.

ChongQing is on the Yangtze river, upstream from the dam wall. We've just got off our 2 night, but only one and a half - quarter actually - day cruise of the Yangtze river. We drove past the 2km long Yangtze dam wall on the way to the wharf. It is a massive undertaking. Actually we were still quite far from it, so I don't think I even comprehended its scale properly. It has a 10 level boat lock. I can't even imagine the engineering skill required to do that. As I said, the wall is 2kms long and the reinforcement of the banks goes for miles back upstream to prepare for when its full; most likely late next year (prior to the Beijing Olympics - was originally scheduled for completion 2009). The level of the water is at about 165m at the moment, and will get to a high water line of 175m, but I have no idea how they expect to maintain that, and control the seemingly uncontrolable Yangtze.

This is the biggest engineering project undertaken in the world, and the benefits have been predicted as supplying 10% of the national electricity requirements, increase tourism to the area and ease flooding down river. However the negative ramifications can not even be predicted because nothing like this has been done before. People against the project argue that there will be loss of wildlife (possible endangered species), loss of approx. 8000 so far unexcavated archaelogical sites, and it may case rock falls or earthquaked due to the sudden and dramatic change in the landscape. If the wall breaks the ramifications will be catastrophic for the cities miled down river. Its a big risk they are taking, and before this construction has even been proven they are planning to dam Tiger Leaping Gorge - teams have already been looking at possible sites, so I expect that the government will go ahead regardless of opposition.

There are about 5 relatively large cities that have been relocated under the project, and most have now been covered with water. The new cities are strangely sterile, and appear to be empty of people at the moment. Actually most of the cities have no particular feel to them, except for the old towns.

Our hotel was rubbish. We stayed one night, but that was enough to know that it was the kind of establishment that offered rooms by the hour. There were items of assistance in the rooms, just in case it was a spur of the moment decision. Breakfast (typically Chinese I'm led to believe) was a bread dumpling with rice porridge, Chinese pickles, a boiled egg, a greyish coloured ball covered in sesame and spicy beans. Of that I ate the dumpling and boiled egg. We even had a large black rat under the table for company. Not surprising when you stuck to the floors on the way in and out, and the custom when eating in a Chinese restaurant is that any scraps; egg shell, fish bones etc, are just discarded on the floor, but the 4 staff employed (but do nothing because under communism as long as you have a job that's enough to maintain 0% unemployment figures) did nothing at all. One even looked at me blankly when I enquired as to whether tea was available with breakfast. Oddly enough there was no tea - very strange for a country when the men carry a flask of green tea with them everywhere, and hot water outlets are nearly everywhere to make sure you never run short of tea. I was presented with a large bowl of some soy drink instead, but given the presence of the rat I courteously declined.

With some trepidation I went to the ChongQing zoo to see some Giant Pandas. And yes, while the pandas were extremely cute and lovable and very entertaining while only eating bamboo, I was fairly heartbroken at the rest of the zoo. One tiger was in an OK enclosure with grass and a few trees but looked like he had a lame back leg and was quite skinny - the other one was in a straight concrete and metal cage about 2.5x2.5m next to a male and feemal lion in the same area. Man they just looked reduced to old decrepid cats, not like the 'kings of the jungles' they should be. There were also Himalayan bears, Malaysian Sun Bears, a leopard, cheetah, jaguar and wolf in cages the same size or smaller. As you can probably imagine I just about choked up - you could barely even see the animals for wire and bars. But that's enough of that.

We had a lovely train ride later that afternoon - some 15 hours on the way to Xi'an where I am now. I'm pretty tired actually. I'm looking forward to meeting the Terracotta warriors later.

It was a big, big driving day when we left LiJiang. Leaving at 8am and heading to Dali 3 hours away to change to a bus bound for Kunming once again. We arrived at about 6pm, but the day was not entirely wasted on travelling, it was still raining so chances are I would have sat drinking coffee somewhere watching the rain fall and fall and fall anyway.

The roads are incredibly windy, so even though these towns are not that far apart it does take hours to get anywhere. Particularly when you pass trucks that are still teetering on top of nice black sedans, having clearly just ran over the bonnet. It looked pretty nasty, but also appeared that no-one was seriously injured. In Tiger Leaping Gorge itself, out guide had pointed out a truck that was resting at the bottom of a 100m drop. Unforetunately both driver and passanger had been killed in that incident. Yes the passing at any available time 'rule' still seems to apply. I don't know that I'll ever fully understand.

Yesterday afternoon was hot and sticky - so it seemed like an ideal time to slave over a hot wok. I took part in a Chinese cooking class with several others from the tour, which was great as our Vietnamese cooking opportunity fell by the wayside when we were in Hoi An. It started with a quick wander through the local markets. All the fruit and vegies are so fresh and they look fantastic, even if i don't know what they are. The meat section is always a surprise. Theres a heart wrenching live section full of pidgeons, chickens, hares, rabits, ducks, geese, turtles and so on. Pigs legs are really common, as are chickens feet, but it was the first time I had seen a full dogs body hanging, skun and ready for sale. It was odd, I had my camera out and was about to walk over for a closer look (still deciding whether I could stomach taking a picture of a dead dog) when I was told 'no photos'. I asked why, whether it really was legal to eat dogs, and it is, but I get the impression its one of those grey areas, like discussing the pro's and con's or communism with a local.

Interestingly I was at a tibetan restaurant on our last night in LiJian, and I ordered curried fried noodles with beef (and it was delicious, by the way). When it arrived the waitress said "Noodle with yak?". Silence.
"Noodle with yak beef?" to which I piped up "Beef?"
"Yes, yak beef." Interesting. I would not have picked it knowing it was yak, but it was very tasty and tender. But I definitely stop short of the rancid yak butter tea, however. Oh, and rancid is not being used as an adjective here, but more like a noun...

So here I am in Yang Shuo. Its a small town of about 30,000 people, and many, many tourists. Its a really beautiful spot, with the gorgeous Li River running through town, surrounded by huge limestone peaks sticking out of the ground in a similar way to those at Halong Bay. Its so pretty here that they have in fact put a local lanscape image of the river and hills on their 20yuan note. Cormorant fishing is still a common practice here, which is quite interesting.

I have picked up a copy of Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung here also, which should be an interesting read on one of our long bus rides inevitably still coming. I'll try to note down some gems of wisdom to share with you next time.

OK, so you're heard the good - now comes the stuff you won't be quite so envious of: Headed off to Tiger Leaping Gorge and was very optimistic for great adventure and sight seeing. (OK, you've seen the pics, you know where this is going.) We had caught the bus from LiJiang to the upper Gorge and drove in to the middle gorge. Starting with a light trip down to the first big set or rapids, I was already fearing for my health when the steps kept going down and down in a fairly steep decline. On the way back up I was wondering why I had not opted for the nice stay in LiJiang for 3 days to 'properly explore' the old city. I felt had to reward myself with a snickers, even though I don't really like snickers, but really thought I wanted chocolate.

After the 'scenic walk' we settled into an 8kn walk on relatively level ground to middle Tiger Leaping Gorge proper. It started to rain about half an hour into the walk. I think I love Goretex. We arrived at our guesthouse at about 2.30pm when the clouds promptly cleared. Our local guide thought it best to wait until the next morning to walk down to the Tiger Leaping Stone - OK, I think I have to tell the 'legend':
Tiger Leaping Gorge is said to be the deepest gorge in the world. The waters of the Golden Sands River rush between a 30m pass before flowing on to join the Yangtze some 130kms down stream. Its a treacherous stretch, and the legend goes that a tiger once leapt from one bank onto a rock in the middle of the river and onto the opposite bank to escape a hunter.

OK, so, sunny afternoon upon arrival, but waiting to see the legendary stone the next morning. Next morning the alarm goes off, but there is this insane, crazy wind outside and pelting rain. The dash to the toilets required full wet weather gear. I assumed the walk was off. The guide suggested waiting for the weather to clear. When it was clear the weather would not clear, I suggested finding a look out to at least see this rock that we would probably never be back to see. OK. So a few keen souls headed out into the weather, slipped and slided down a steep hill until we could glimpse the rock that was not, I'd like to point out, slap bang in the middle of the river, but was accessible by newly constructed walkways, thus reducing the significance of said rock, and on the ridiculously steep climb back up I had to contemplate what it was about Tiger Leaping Stone that suggested that I go look at a rock, in the rain and howling wind.

Overall, I was quite disappointed that there was absolutely no gratuitous misuse, exploitation or abuse of the legendary name of Tiger Leaping Gorge in any way. There was not 1 tacky souvenir to be had that played upon the unfortunate tiger's tale at all. An abysmal display for such a country that is riddled with tacky merchandise everywhere else.

That afternoon we were to walk to our next destination, some 8kms away, but up, up and up. It was still raining. That's all I have to say about that.

Following day we were walking 17kms on level ground then up, then down, down, down. It rained all day. The beautiful scenic gorge was shrouded in cloud all day. I had been hoping, and waiting to see Cloud Mountain (Cloud mountain is the mountain that causes the Yangtze to change its course, thus keeping it flowing its entire length though China, instead of flowing out, as per its original course were it not for the mountain, though Vietnam) but ironically, it was too cloudy to see.

I don't know that I have ever been so cold in my life. I now have an appreciation of the term catching your death of cold, just by being cold. The hot shower upon out eventual arrival back at LiJiang was the best shower I think I have ever had.

And if I never see a squat toilet again it will bee too soon. Alas I am in China.

Times up, but hope you enjoy the pics. Will let you know about T.L.G. time.

Have you ever seen such a scenic view from a toilet before? Glad this internet thing has not yet progressed to giving you the smell yet though.

Tiger Leaping Gorge Day 1: Rain and partly cloudy.

Tiger Leaping Gorge - and no, this is not a black and white picture, and yes, it was as cold as it looks. There's snow on them thar mountains!

I was quite amused at the restrictions to traffic in Dali Old town, and strangely disapointed that I could not drive an exploding truck in if I so chose...

Balloon salesman, Dali Markets.

This is the western gate of the old walled town of Dali. Can anyone tell me what this effect is with the light rings around the sun?? They were visible to the naked eye also, so its not a camera effect. A shiny new penny for the bright spark who can enlighten me...

Dali (No, not the painter)

We left Kunming on the overnight train departing 11pm and due to arrive 8.20am. We were booked in a 6 berth section in an open carriage, so I was thankful all the honest people were on the train that night. I think I was asleep as soon as my head hit the roof, then the pillow (its possible I had altitude sickness from sleeping on the top bunk).

Dali is a couple of towns fairly west in southern China. I say 2 because they have built a new town next to the old town - I'm suggesting that they kept them separate as the old town is so cool and they didn't want to take away from it... We're only about 2-3 hours from the 'Tibetan border'. Not sure if I'm allowed to say that here, but I just did. Dali (old town) is about 1000 years old, compared with the new town of only about 100 years. The centre of the city is still surrounded by its imperial wall, and inside is an amazing maze of streets and waterways. It really is beautiful. All the buildings are adorned with those beautiful landscape paintings that are synonymous with China, and have calligraphy encouraging good luck and well being to the household.

Dali and its people's farm land, is squeezed into a strip of land set in between a huge lake and equally huge mountains. The town is about 1900m but the mountains reach as high as 4000m. I know this because yesterday I made some poor horse drag me up about 2000 of those metres. The view was nice, and I hope the horse enjoyed it also. Today I headed to the lake by bike with a few others from the tour. The ride was lovely - through the local rice/garlic/onion/white carrot allotments to the next village. What's really great about the locals here is that they still dress traditionally, and its not for the benefit of the tourists. (Well OK, some dress elaborately traditional for the pictures and then part you with a 'small' amount of cash). The women wear dark blue trousers with a blue apron and shirt, with their hair wound up in a lighter, but matching blue scarf. The men are in a blue blazer with little blue caps. Unfortunately this tradition seems to be dieing out the younger generations who are opting for jeans and jackets.

We dropped in at the local kinda. The kids were ridiculously excited, and promptly put on a dance - first the girls and then the boys. It was very, very cute.

From that village we headed north to the next, older village who still have a traditional tea ceremony. Unfortunately is was 25kms away, and it was quite hot, so I could probably fry tomorrow's eggs for breakfast on my shoulders. I opted out of the tea ceremony in favour of my bank account and a good stretch of the legs. The town was fairly small and quiet, but as always had a centre where everyone congregated which is always great for people watching.

I've said it before, but the food has been amazing (thank God for 'small' bike rides). I don't know if I mentioned it earlier, but when you go to a local Chinese restaurant here, you pick your meal - literally - from a large selection of ingredients including nuts, vegetables, seaweeds, tofu, chicken (usually the whole chicken which includes head and feet), beef, possible its stomach, the aforementioned pigs lung, crickets, live fish, eel, shrimp etc. Steering clear of the weird stuff you can't really go wrong. Everything is 100% fresh and delicious.

We leave at 8am in the morning, heading to LiJiang. By all accounts its a beautiful spot. From there we head to Tiger Leaping Gorge which I'm really excited about, but means it could be a few days before my next post. Catch ya then.

Kunming, CHINA

I'm in China. I think that's pretty exciting, really. I arrived Saturday night after an epic 24 hours of travelling - in fact it was more than that. I met up with the new tour group on Thursday - 6 people who had been travelling through Vietnam as the start of this tour. An American chick from California, an Accountant from Brisbane, Dee and Gav from Perth and another two 19 year olds from England who are very loud and very cheeky. Looking forward to developing the kind of relationship with them where I can smack them across the ears.

We were due to leave Hanoi Friday night. Unfortunately our last day in Vietnam was a shocker - it poured all day. But once again we boarded the overnight train to Lao Cai to leave at 9.55 pm, and again it was a very nice carriage, but this time there was no air conditioning, and without wanting to sound like a slack tourist it was completely horrid, and I don't think anyone really slept that night.

Subsequently we were on top form to go through customs into China. We filled out quite a bit of paperwork for general entry and quarantine customs before having our passports completely scrutinised without a question being asked. They examined my passport under UV light, flouro light, a magnifying glass, checked every single page, examined the watermarks, checked the lamination on the face page, held it up to the window, consulted their colleagues and finally, finally stamped me through.

Next was the baggage x-ray. Straight forward enough, but I was asked whether I had any books. I've been reading a book on travelling up the Yangtze, so I was worried it might contain sensitive material that would offend the Chinese, but it was fine. A couple of others from the group, however had the 2005 edition of China lonely Planet guide which were promptly confiscated as they do not make reference to Taiwan being part of China. Welcome to the People's Republic.

We were to jump on a fairly long bus up to Kunming, so we headed to the Supermarket to stock up on snacks. It was a classic experience. For those of you familiar with engrish.com, you know what I'm getting at. In fact anywhere we are lucky enough to come across English translations its a hoot. I'll note some of the better ones down later for you. I decided to take the challenge set out by a bag of watermelon lollies, that they were specious, and to try one I would love more and more. Muh, they're OK.

The Bus. The bus was supposed to be a large 40 seater for the 11 hour journey, but it turned out to be a 20 seater - well actually a 16 seater with fold down chairs in the aisles. For anyone who has made fun of my height - I was having the last laugh. I was quite OK in my corner for the 1st 7 hours - then no-one was happy. The road was like a rollercoaster - a mud track basically which we prayed we would not get bogged in, all the while a new freeway in varying stages of construction was teasing us just above our heads.

We were fortunate enough to get a few toilet stops along the way, but after the first I don't think anyone drank another drop of liquid. It was basic china - stalls with partitions about 60cm high to divide the long drops. You were lucky if there was a door. At one stop there was just a trench in a room - most of us declined to make use of the facilities at that time. Its an adventure every time. But the food was OK for random stops along the road. Where we stopped for dinner we had a great spread. I had no clue as to what I was asking for, so just picked what I thought looked good. I have learnt not to trust my eyes as I have now tried pigs lung (and no, I don't recommend it).

Eventually we made it to Kunming at about 11pm and were all pleasantly surprised to find a big, clean city, with normal noise levels and most importantly a really nice soft pillow. The streets are wide, have footpaths and are not crowded. Its a nice place. And the food here is fantastic. Yesterday a few from the group and I headed to a market where everyone was happy for us to taste their food. It was so much fun, and I think the locals were having a great time at us, as we could not hide our facial expressions when trying nashi fruit - expecting something sweet, but getting it pickled.

Today I headed out of town to Dragons Gate in the Western Hills. Its a lovely spot with loads of temples, but far too many stairs. We eventually found the chair lift, as we were coming down...Subsequently I'm pretty tired, hence the lack of oomph today. Sorry. I'll do better next time.

"When I was a kid, I had to walk 15km down valleys and up steep hills in the snow to go to school."

Dsar children, valley near Sapa.

Basket anyone?

Fresh cut pineapple, about 1000d (8cents roughly)

Lake in Hanoi where the Large Turtle took back the Emporor's sword...

Uncle Ho & the Magical Social Reform Policy

Just like the Thai's love their king so much they are happy to send an older Swiss man to jail for longer than required really, just to send a clear lesson for defacing an image of the Royal monarch, so to do the Vietnamese still love former President Ho Chi Minh.

Ho Chi Minh, or 'Bringer of Light', or any other of his some 50 aliases you wish to call him by, is affectionately known to the nation as Uncle Ho. His body is preserved at a mausoleum in Hanoi, despite his express wishes that he be simply cremated. It is a strange experience, walking in pairs with Vietnamese families on their day off to go and look at the body of their President, deceased since 1969, having them chatting, laughing and teasing each other until the moment they file in to the temperature controlled room where their Uncle Ho lies, motionless in his glass sarcophagus, looking like he might make up at at any moment, or maybe twitch a finger, and have them fall deathly quiet in awed respect of this man.

Personally, I could not tell whether the body was the real deal and subsequently sent to Russia every year for 'retouching', or whether the rumours of Madame Tussaud's getting a new contract are true. Its an interesting thing, these people loving a leader so much - I can not begin to imagine Australians feeling that way about the 'Honourable' John Howard. But if you can give your country independence than I guess you're a fairly stand up bloke.

This communism thing is a funny thing. Its apparently quite hard to find a job here, but everyone seems to have one. I do know that for an OK job you mist pay and 'authorisation license' to a government official to even have a chance. The more you pay the better your job might be. No wonder so many people work in the rice paddies here. On the flip side, most people I have seen do have jobs, however they are completely superfluous - a tollway has a guard to slow traffic, then a ticket seller, then a ticket checker, then another guard to usher your vehicle in the right direction out of the tollway, and they all have additional people in the booth for some reason I am yet to work out.

Hanoi was pleasantly raining for much of Sunday. It gave me a chance to lounge around and read while vainly hoping that the streets might be shiny and clean when next I stepped out...

As I mentioned I was bound for Sapa that night. The overnight train left at 9.55pm (on the dot) and I have to say that this was by far the best sleeper train we have been on this whole trip. The sheets were clean and already on the bed, and there was even a nice little lamp on the table under the window. Unfortunately this did not automatically guarantee a good night's sleep. I don't think I slept at all that night, so when I arrived at Lai Cau at 6am I was surprisingly grumpy.

Thankfully the view on the drive from Lai Cou to Sapa was spectacular, so I was very quick to forget how much I would love to crawl into bed and sleep for the rest of the day, which was lucky because this was not an option. We were to breakfast, shower and meet our guide by 10am for a trek through the highlands some 20km from Sapa.

As we left town we were joined by a small group of minority villagers - friendly and inquisitive, but with a definite agenda to part us with whatever cash they could manage. All the women sew brocade to sell to the tourists while their husbands toil in the fields, or possibly drink at the neighbours place in the off season. The trek was beautiful, hills on either side of us and a swiftly flowing stream between. It wasn't too tough going, but a nice bit of a stroll. At lunch there seemed to be a changing of the guard accompanying us. This time we managed to get a group of 13 (plus 2 babies strapped to their backs) who joined us until we finally sat down at our homestay some 12-15kms from Sapa. Unfortunately the aggressive sales pitch continued for about another hour, before we got out the cards and started dealing out, trying to send a very disinterested message.

The family we stayed with were lovely. We sat and watched the mother prepare dinner, hoping to pick up a few tips on Vietnamese cooking, but as soon as the chips were ready (which we all knew how to cook...) we were ushered out of the kitchen to eat. The kitchens are so simple - a small fire pit in the centre of the kitchen with a grate over it, and a few pans, a wok, some sharp knives and a truck load of vegetable oil and Uncle Ho's your uncle. When the rest of the food was ready we joined the whole family to enjoy some great food and company. Com (the father) pulled out a couple of suspicious bottles and as a good host, poured everyone a shot of home made rice wine. Without knowing the exact alcohol content, you would not be far wrong approximating 30-40% proof, and it would put hairs on your chest. Immediately another round was poured, and then a third, and so on and so forth. I had lost count quite quickly, but there was a point when we protested the next shot being poured, but when the hosts only knew a few words in English that went something like 'one more', how could we refuse their generous hospitality. It was a funny evening, and probably one of the most enjoyable where we were really welcomed into the family.

Next morning I was up at 6.15 to try to catch the sunrise over the hills, but it didn't work out exactly as I'd planned. The sun rose, but in the valley, the effect was just missed. It was a sunny morning so I sat on a rock and gazed about, writing in my diary, to the great interest of the locals. Every single person who walked by on their way to work stopped and stared at my writing - I really didn't think it was that bad...

Our trek for that day was shorted, but pretty much straight down and straight back up the valley. I was whinging to myself about the 'tough paths' until about 8 people trotted by us with concrete roof slabs about 1m x 70cm strapped to their backs. After that I just put my head down and kept going. It was a great day, and probably the best experiences I've had in Vietnam.

I'm back in Hanoi now, and have met a few of the people I'll be joining on the China trip. A couple from Perth and a girl from California. I don't think the group is full, so hopefully it will be a nice small group of nine.