As you may remember my travel plans have been shifting almost from the very beginning.  My recent trip to the Yunnan Province in order to see Tiger Leaping Gorge is no exception.  When I first started, I had no intention of returning to China after my initial visit in July, but boy am I glad that I did.  The Yunnan Province was not only stunning, but also it gave me a starting point for my current detours, Tibet (now) and Nepal (10-12 days from now).  Before I get ahead of myself, here is a summary since I left Sapa, Vietnam.

For starters, the trip from the Vietnemese border to Kunming, China was one for the ages.  I knowingly signed up for an overnight sleeper-bus which was to take between 10-12 hours depending on who you asked. While I was ready for the misery of being couped up for way too long, I was not ready for the little con artist bus station manager or the obstacle course that served as a road for better than half the trip.  In summary, the bus station manager said that if I did not pay for his bribe that he would call the cops.  I promptly encouraged him to do so.  In the end, he got some money out of me but not as much as he was originally going for or not as much as what he conned out of other travelers that I since met up with.  As far as the road goes, lets just say that boulders, unguarded steep drop offs, and turned overs lauries (big trucks) were common place.  Combine the road conditions with a bunch of chain smoking Chinese men and a “bed” that I barely squeezed into, I did not get much sleep.  I ended up sitting in the jump seat next to the driver for most of the night taking in the sights.

The first and last stop on my trip was Kunming.  Between the rain and the construction, my only tip to fellow travelers is to get the heck out of there as soon as possible.  There is tons of shopping for outdoor clothing and there is a pretty cool night market (food), but Dali and Lijiang have way too much to offer to spend precious travel days in Kunming. 

If I had not been on an organized tour, I would still be in Dali and/or Lijiang.  Both cities are totally geared for tourist, but both are way cool.  Watching the Chinese tourist live it up in Lijiang is absolutely hilarious.  Between the dancing, the cowboy hats, and the singing contests there was just one cool moment after another.  While most travelers will likely prefer the picturesque beauty of Lijiang (rebuilt for tourists after the ’96 earthquake), Dali was more my speed.  Call me crazy but I have a soft spot in my heart for any place that will sell me a beer for under $.50.

The sole purpose for my detour however was Tiger Leaping Gorge.  It is the world’s deepest river canyon.  Sadly, the canyon as well as all of the nearby villages will be gone as early as 2008 when the Chinese government finishes a dam in the area.  Take a look at some of the photos that I took during my two day trek through the gorge.  You don’t have to be a tree hugger to realize that losing such a beautiful place all in the name of bottled water, electricity, and silt reduction is a sad, sad thing.

Today is the 18th and I just arrived in Lhasa.  I plan on hanging out here for a few days to get used to the altitude and then take off on a 5-6 day jeep tour to Nepal.  It should be good, but I am way, way off of schedule.  Christmas in Israel is not looking like it is going to happen; we’ll see.

Take care and thank you for the emails,

Jason