trip photos

A mossy mottled rock in the Stone Forest outside of Kunming.



Looking down the wavy rock into a deep dark hole.



It really does look like a forest of stones.



The crazy-narrow path on top of some tall pointy rocks, complete with scared Chinese girls.



A really big forest of rocks - see the pagoda for size comparison.



Hmm, what's this rock look like?



Dali, seen from the mountain.



Looking out from the snowy mountain path.



Graves are scattered amongst the pine trees all over the mountain by Dali.



Independent rest. Clockwise, from the top: Jing Bin, Korean. Wu Xiaoli, Chinese. Alyssa, Minnesota.



The Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, near Lijiang.



Watering the fields the hard way.



The "old" streets of Lijiang.



The grand and glorious beginning of the Tiger Leaping Gorge.



The opposite face of the gorge.



Dirt paths really make for the best hiking.



What a place to build a guesthouse.



Oh, I wish I were still there . . .



All the land is terraced - there are many mouths to feed in China.



The waterfall, from afar.



Up close and wet.



The water runs right across the path.



The highlight of the hike.









The Yangzi River, far down below.



The descent - it sure was sad to go down, leaving all that beautiful scenery behind.



Back on paved road, unfortunately.



Now that's what I call whitewater.



Lijiang at night.



Looking out the door at Lugu Lake.



Snake Mountain



Cycling around the lake.






Countryside from a moving bus.



A bath for Baobao back at Sun Island Cafe in Dali.



A drippy tree is really what that bit of wall needed.



Excellent place for the morning cup of tea.



Taro playing the tabla.



The view from beneath the cable cars near Dali. We walked up, of course, sneaking through the woods to avoid paying the entrance fee. What mountain has an entrance fee? And we already paid the first time.



On the way down, we went around a bend to find a roofless building with monkeys chained to the porch. They get vicious if you get too close.



Last afternoon in Kunming.



The sun sets on my journey.