Peeking into the Black Box of China

Two weeks in buses and trains and rickshaws and on foot through a multifoliate landscape ranging from the fast-paced neon matrix of Kunming, to the remote and rugged Tiger Leaping Gorge. Much much to say about China.... a gorgeous wonderland full of awe inspiring mountains and gorges surrounded by rice patties and water buffalo, being worked by friendly people in silly conical hats --- ya know, all that quintessential stuff from the ink paintings on rice paper scrolls....

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Kunming:
--A bustling and modern metropolis, the capital of the Yunnan province. I only stayed briefly to arrange transit to the north, and to stock up on english books (which were rather difficult to find!)
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Dali:
--A quaint and adorable town with cobblestone streets lined with beautiful waterways. Surrounded by ancient walls and verdent rice patties, and backed by a long ridge of mountains, which can be accessed by cablecar and hiked along via the "Cloud Road".
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Lijiang:
Greetings from Lijiang! I am in this adorable little cobblestoned town at the base of a massive snow-covered peak -- spent the last 5 weeks moving northward from Bangkok through Laos, then Vietnam, and then China (which is completely a different world!). Lots of new insight and inspiration. Having fun, but also I am beginning to want to do something more than just play. Consequently I will be headed down to Indonesia next week to do some scuba diving -- eventually I want to get divemaster certified so I can teach -- might be a fun way to have a sustainable lifestyle overseas, while hanging out with happy, upbeat, excited, strong, and worldly people. -- I remember the last month before I left consisted largely of shouting at business analysts, fixing user-corrupted data, rewriting bad code from developers who skipped town, etc, (yet at the same time I miss the challenge of the creative process and the ability to use logic to solve real-world problems, etc, general "womb-envy"). So the prospect of just playing in amidst teeming coral with fun-filled people who really want to be there and smile in the process sounds divine.....

Further, I somehow managed to get dysentery here. Spent a lot of time staring at the ceiling of a tiny hotel room. Ah well.... gotta pay my dues to be in Asia.
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Tiger Leaping Gorge:
--The mighty Yangtze river is funneled through this narrow gorge, creating a wicked and unbelievable torrent. I spent two silent, contemplative, and invogorating days hiking through the mountains overlooking this raging waterway.
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I do admit that I am Kinda looking for somewhere to settle down for a little while, and start a routine for a little bit so that I don't have to pack up my stuff every night. There are some real beauties to routine -- knowing where you can go to get the food that you want -- nothing like a Wal Mart over here -- double edged sword that it presents.