We drove for a coupleof hours from Jinghong to Mengla today, through a neverending series of randforest-covered hills. The streams and rivers are red-brown like the chocolate river in Charlie and the Chocolaten Factory (I suspect the water doesn't taste quite the same). I can't imagine having to use such dirty water, but as we were driving through town I saw one womanbrushing her wet hair by a small hut beside the river, I can only assume she must have just bathed in it. This is just a whole different world,so foreign to everything Iam used to, and I found it fascinating (and a little bit sad) watching these entirely different towns and villages roll by my window. As we drove I saw crumbling houses that looked as thoiuh they must be deserted, that no one could possibly live there, but then as i peered closer I could make out a face or two in the darkness. The hills are so huge the houses look tiny and the farmers mere pinpricks. A thick mist swirled around the tops of the hills, and everything is so tropical, like we must have already left China. OIher than the babble of Chinese from the driver and his friend, I could have been convinced that we had crossed the border aleady!

After checking into our hotel (itseems the rooms are getting shabbier and the food is getting cheaper) we all met up to take a mini-bus to the rainforest near(ish) by. We drove pass groves and groves of banana trees, the fruit hangin in blue plastic bags to encourage faster growth - this must taken ages because there were thousands of trees1 The rainforest was beautiful, like a set from Jurassic Park (minus the dinosaurs, obviously). Vines grew all overt the place and tree trunks protruded from the pavement. Streamsnand rivers (the water was considerably cleaner here) ran everywhere like the lines on the on the palm of my hands, and small stone steps allowed us to cross. Everything was wet and it even started to rain at one point (still very, very warm though!). They had little signs everyhwre, with odd translations like "Watch! These leaves have brains" and "A hearty welcome to the heart of the forest".

Speaking of odd translations, btw, here is a confusing one from our room that had me scratching my head for ages...

1. A telephone iss free to stir to make local telephone calls

2. This telephone stirs to beat the native net talks on the phone, converse fee another a balance of accounts

Let me know if you can work it out....

Anyway, at the end of our rainforest walk was a huge pool of water that you coiuld swim in, and its got to be the most beautful pool location every, with the rainforest towering up on all sides...absoloutely gorgeous!!!

At night we discovered that we are right beside the "Pink Light District", as the stores that we had previously thought were shut down opened their shutters and turned on their pink neon lights, attracting lonely men like bugs to a lamp. We had dinner in another dirty little resturant (I love these places btw - the always seem to have the best food) an, like lunch, the smell of chilli was so strong it watered our eyes, scratched our throats and made our noses run - and that was jjst the smell of them cooking! We covered our mouths with wet tissues, which helped a bit. These restaurants don't have menus, instead they have one wall of shelves filled with boxes o all different types of vegetables and a fridge that looks so old it can't possibly still work dippping with all varieties of meat. You simply point out what you want to eat! It's so humid that may of themen around here roll up their shirts to show off their bellies, and we saw quite a few of them with MASSIVE pipesthat looked like didgeridoos.

I must admit, I am ready to leave China. A cit is a city, and I did get a bit sick of them. I won't miss the smog, or the legendary "Chinese Cough" (some of the girls actuall started rating these) but certainly its been a fantastic experience, unlike anything I've ever done of seen (or smelt - Icould never get used to all those different scents. They are so sudden, you'll be walking down the street breathing in a yummy smell of somehting cooking nearby then BAND a sudden stench of poop) Bring on Laos!!!