Dali....Takin' it Easy

Dali's known as the place to take a vacation from your vacation; a backpackers haven. And that's exactly what it was. We meandered the old town, wiled away the hours in quaint cafes, and soaked in the Dali rays. Our one exciting night consisted of drinking, pool and darts with some guys we met from Leeds and the hostel owner (an Aussie who kept the local plum liquor flowing). This made for one hungover 5 hour bus trip back to Kunming. Here are some of Nick's best pics from the town:

Kunming and The Stone Forest

If for nothing else, Kunming was worth a visit for the weather alone. It was high 70s, sunny, and blue-skied with just the perfect breeze to keep you comfortable. The winter jackets came off (Nick actually sold his for $20, a map of Goa, India and some mosquito lotion) and our short sleeves went on.

The night we arrived, Rebecca met Andrea from Germany and Andy (the recipient of the jacket) from Scotland and agreed to travel to the Yunnan Stone Forest together the next day, which happened to be Valentine's Day. They were awesome travel partners and we had tons of laughs and a great time getting to know them.

Legend has it that the Stone Forest was created by the gods, who crushed enormous caves in order to create this landscape, which formed hundreds of private spots for lovers to enjoy some privacy. This myth made it a perfect place to spend Valentine's Day. The four of us immediately hiked to the top of the tallest hill for a bird's eye view of the stone forest that stretched for miles. Afterwards, we hiked through the stones, sometimes having to squeeze through small passageways. It was truly spectacular and it seemed otherworldly to have so many tall pillars surrounding you like trees. We all felt like the forest was a bit magical and this was furthered when at one point Andrea mentioned wanting to see a stone resembling an elephant and as soon as the words came out of her mouth, Rebecca, a bit further ahead, turned to see this:


A few days later, after returning from Dali, we unexpectedly ran into Andy again in Kunming- it's a small world- and spent the day with him. We went to Green Lake Park, which was overrun with thousands of seagulls both on the lake and flying overhead hoping to catch some bread thrown by visitors. Good to see, but better to leave behind. It was a little too much like The Birds...

For Kunming pics, check out:

Nick: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Kunming%20-%20Nick/

Rebecca: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Kunming%20-%20Rebecca/

Hohhot and the Gobi Desert

We had visions of days spent riding horses in the Mongolian grasslands and sleeping in yurts when we arrived in Hohhot. These were quickly dispelled with the reality that these experiences are best had in the summers months when the grasslands are actually green and the nights are above freezing (they were around 10 degrees F while we were there). So we cut our time there short, but not before we had our first ever camel ride in the Gobi Desert. Nick's camel was a bit feisty (and gassy), and the desert was COLD, but we made the best of it. We also managed to get in a few traditional Mongolian meals, including their infamous salty butter tea (Nick, of course, was a fan....Rebecca managed to put back enough so as to not offend our Mongolian hosts).

Beijing and the Great Wall

During our search for a hostel, we approached two fellow travelers who happened to be from, of all places, Astoria, Rebecca's old neighborhood in NYC. They ended up accompanying us in our search and even joined us on the "Secret Wall Tour" we took the next day. The "secret" about this tour was that it was to a non-touristy, (literally, we were the only group there) unrestored section of The Great Wall. We hiked 40 minutes up a mountain before reaching the Wall, and then spent the next two hours on the Wall itself as it snaked through the mountains. It was every bit as spectacular as people say! Every time you turned around there was another breathtaking view to soak in (we were surrounded by mountains with no civilization in sight). It was one of the best travel experiences either of us have had to date, and the pictures really don't do it justice.

The next day was a special one, as it was Rebecca's 25th birthday! It started off with a small celebration in the hostel with a pin thin candle and a muffin (Nick had to improvise) and ended with a Peking duck meal at one of the most famous duck houses in the city. In between we wandered the Lama Temple, Tienanmen Square, and the Forbidden City, then hiked up a hill to give us an aerial view of Beijing. We left that night for Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia, on a 10 hour, smoky sleeper train on the top of a 3 bed high bunk.

You can find our Beijing photos at:

Rebecca's: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Beijing%20and%20Great%20Wall-%20Rebecca/

Nick's: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Beijing%20-%20Nick/

Our Slow Boat to China

So, our 25 hour boat ride to China turned into 42 hours due to some heavy fog, but the delay was certainly worth it based on a number of insightful and sometimes hilarious experiences:

• As the only foreigners on a boat of 700 passengers, the Chinese expressed their interest in us by lining up to get a photo together. The line was long. They even went so far as to fix Rebecca's hair and clothes to make sure the picture came out just right.
  
• Rebecca learned the intimate nature of Chinese women when, while brushing her teeth, a women reached into her bag and made use of her hairbrush without thinking twice.
• Nick received a private tour of the boat as research for a travel article he is currently writing and shooting for a Korean magazine that caters to ex-pats.
  
• After Nick was approached by a Chinese-born Korean high school student, Yan Yan, to charge her electronic dictionary (which ended up becoming quite handy), we adopted her as our informal translator as we befriended a number of other passengers. We wound up exchanging numbers with a group of women who promised to show us a good time during our stay in Inner Mongolia. We look forward to that....
  
• Yan Yan's family ended up being equally as friendly as they offered us a ride to our hostel in Beijing, which we gratefully accepted!

Rebecca's comfy living quarters

Us and Yan Yan

Nick and his ladies :)

Sunrise looking back toward Korea