I flew the quick hour to LiJiang which is supposed to be a typical old village. It was more like a Disney World look alike of an old village. It was jam packed with tourists (mostly Chinese) and every shop was a souvenir shop selling jewelry, clothes, leather, wooden products (like toy guns), teas and lots of weird dried stuff I can't possibly identify. I met a Finnish girl and we booked in the youth hostel which at first appeared quite quaint, but turned out to be a real dump (note to self: find out when exactly the hot water works when staying at cheap accommodation in China). We then ran around trying to get info on the Tiger Leaping Gorge which is the thing to do here. We just could not find anyone who spoke English and could not find maps or anything! We ended up booking a bus ticket to the place. Well, it happened to be monsoon season and I mean it was pouring! I regretted having cut up and given away all my warm clothes in a heat induced delusional state back in Yangshuo. The following morning in the downpour we decided to chance it and go to the gorge even if we only got to see remote shadows through the rain. When we got there we found a crazy Australian woman who had opened up a cafe, not to mention there were other hopeful foreigners on our bus. After we all warmed up with some really bad coffee and noodles, we all began the hike. The weather had cleared a bit so all were optimistic we could make it somewhere. The hike usually takes two days and there is a park fee but because of the weather and the landslides the park was technically closed and therefore you could enter at your own risk and free of charge. So there I was with a 20 year old gung ho Finnish chick, neither of us with the proper gear as we had thought we would be taking a taxi or something to see the gorge. Seriously, she was in one of those see through plastic raincoats you buy at the dime store, with a bright green book bag! I looked a little more together but purely on the outside. The trek, however, was spectacular; I believe we got over 3000 feet. Below was a raging river and of course the huge mountains towering above. Even with the rain and clouds it was quite impressive. Along the way were the locals with their donkeys waiting for the tourists to just give up. They all thought I was Kaarina's mother and were saying "MaMa Ho", meaning does your mother want a horse. I was being offered many rides and am proud to say I never accepted. Eventually we met up with these two seriously outfitted Austrian women and their personal guide. They saved the day! We attached ourselves to them and made it to the "Halfway House" guesthouse. My God, you should see this place! Beautiful!! Brand new rooms with balconies overlooking the gorge. Semi hot showers! and yes, the ceramic trench. They had little braziers to warm us up and good hot food. The entire thing cost about five bucks!! Needless to say I was soaked most of the time while hiking and my little cold had turned into something resembling pneumonia. But it was worth it. The next day we kept hiking and made it down to the bottom. We were going to go on but it turned out all the roads were blocked with landslides. I was beginning to freak out that we would get stranded in there, when KABLOOIE!!, We start hearing blasting. They were literally blowing up the boulders on the roads! So, in the end we hired a local to drive us back to the entrance via the teeny tiny guard rail-less road, weaving around the boulders, overlooking the huge abyss down to the crashing river at the bottom of the gorge... it was almost more exciting than the hike!

Leaving LiJiang was rather a nightmare. I waited forever for a bus to the airport, then a quick flight to Kunming, which seems to be a major hub of the west. There were soooo many people! And Lo! they tell us our flight will be delayed two hours! That would put me in Xian at about 2AM with no firm reservations and only a pretty sketchy address of copied Chinese characters. But as had been happening so frequently in China, I got saved again. A Chinese girl came up to me in the airport to see if I needed help since generally I was standing around like a deer in headlights. She had been living in NY for the past 4 years trying to "find herself", was 26, and had married an older Chinese guy in order to get residency (he'd been in the U.S. about 17 years). Turned out her father worked for the Communist government which she found rather distressing. Well, those two got me to their hotel where I stayed for 3 nights. The hostel it turned out was full and it would have been a real disaster. I ended up spending my entire time with this family and it was a hoot! A government liason arranged our transportation with a driver and took us to every possible tourist attraction AND fed us the most amazing meals I've ever seen! I never paid for a thing! I have to say again, that the Chinese have been some of the most gracious and generous hosts I have ever encountered and I told them so in one of our very many toasts we made over eel, fried donkey, wild mushrooms and the many other dishes flying around on the lazy susan in our private dining room. Seriously, I was sick from eating so much. And the custom is to toast your fellows, slug down the whole shot, then show them you drank it all so they have to drink all of theirs!

We saw the Terra Cotta Warriors (the burial ground for the first emperor) and really that guy was quite something. He's the one that conquered all the provinces, unified the writing, built the Great Wall, and basically created China. We also saw the temple that houses Siddarthas finger bone (no kidding) and here are all of these supposedly non-religious Communists bowing, praying and lighting incense...very strange and endearing. Then to the tomb of the one and only female empress where really it was much more interesting to see the cave houses built into the surrounding land. Finally we ended up at a museum of calligraphy and I must say their writing really is more like art. Overall I have found these people and their to be quite impressive.

In the meanwhile my little Chinese hostess is expressing to me, very openly, her concerns about her future, her sexuality, her marriage, her family being so involved with the Communist party, her weight and her desire to study law and return to China to lead a revolution. She continually shocked me with her frank comments. My hostess was especially disgusted with the rampant growth in China, lack of conscience and of course, the toilets

My new friends told me McDonalds was better in China. The only difference I noticed was that there were a thousand people in line rather than the usual ten or so. They also wanted to go to Pizza Hut to have "tiramisu". They said it was the only "Italian restaurant" in these parts. Turned out they were right. The waitresses even dress in what appears to be Mexican style garb, at least I don't remember seeing that costume in Italy, and they were having a Spanish special with sangria and tapas. The Chinese like their uniforms. McDonalds workers have jeans with the arches emblazoned on their behinds. Anyway, I couldn't find a seat at McDonalds, it was so crowded, but once again looking like a freakazoid helps out. I was offered a seat by a couple of young kids who of course wanted to practice their English. It goes something like this... giggle, giggle... "ahhh.... where are you from".... giggle, giggle. "ahhh... what is your name?" giggle, giggle. That's usually about it. Sometimes you get a bit more and can even ask them some questions. If they don't speak any English at all at least they ask you to let them take a photo of you with their kids. They couldn't tell how old I was, they thought I was 28... you gotta love 'em.

I got pretty savvy with the rip off scheme. The taxi tried to get me on the way back from the airport. First he tried to show me a rate list they made, 350 yuan to the hotel, "no way" I said. Then, he said he would go by the meter, which was rolling way too fast, so I said it was broken and I wouldn't pay that either. I gestured I would pull the meter ticket and take their license number to the police to check their machine (kinda like Lassie; amazing what people can infer from a few select sounds and movements). He turned off the meter and let me pay what I said I would pay,120 yuan. Really something. I don't mind being ripped off maybe double, but triple! That's just too much. Then, when I got to my hostel they at first told me they were full, then that the price went up a hundred yuan. When I stared blankly and said "gee", reminding them that I would be staying there a total of 7 days, that I use and pay for all their services, and how could things change in a mere week, etc, etc,... I got my old room for the same price...they evidently were not so full afterall.

My final and one of my favorite outings in Beijing, was to the Temple of Heaven. I arrived at about 6:30AM to miss the tourists and see the hundreds of people doing just about everything you can imagine. I didn't care the temple was under construction, because I had gone specifically to see the activity. These folks meet every morning to do fan dancing, singing, ballroom dancing, hakey-sak, tai-chi (with swords)... or to walk backwards screaming (my particular favorite). I also like the calligraphy guy, he writes with water on the cement and so soon it evaporates... very Zen.

Another great thing to do in Beijing is to rent a rik-shaw and visit the "hutongs" which are the old alley ways of the city. On my last day I decided to have a meaningless little chore. I like to do that sometimes, just to see where one might end up. This days goal was to find those white doughy buns stuffed with sweet red beans. I had had them in Japan and loved them and heard that they also eat them in China. So first I tried just looking for myself at different bakeries. When that didn't work I tried explaining what I was looking for to various people. But as you can imagine, gesturing buns filled with something could be interpreted as a very different thing. Finally I found someone who spoke a bit of English and wrote out the word for me "do sha bao". I proudly returned to all my previous folk and showed them my wee bit of paper so they wouldn't think I was absolutely insane which may have convinced them that I was. Anyway, I found the buns and the lady even warmed one up for me. While I was gloating and moaning (even though I must admit I had been experiencing euphoric recall yet again, and it really wasn't as tasty as in my memory), I was approached by yet another young girl wanting to "practice English". I really was in no mood; tired, grumpy and just wanting to be left alone. But somehow she convinced me to come see her schools display of calligraphy. I thought it would be obvious by my ripped up shorts, dingy stretched out T-shirt, something the cat coughed up hair and otherwise total lack of class... that I would not be purchasing any artwork today... but no, she just didn't get it. I waved good-bye and decided to hide out in my room and try to make sense of Chinese TV. I was actually able to follow some of the soap operas which just convinced me it was time to go home.

My flight was delayed and I spent entirely too much time in the airport in Seoul, although it is one of the nicer ones I have been in. I read the new Harry Potter and considered that the traveling part of traveling was losing its charm. I imagined the day when like in the books "Dune", one can just eat "spice" and "fold space" and be there. In the meantime, keep me posted China, and, "more peanuts please".