Saturday, July 6, 2013

Random notes from yubeng and beyond

* the owner of this guesthouse employed a hammer to reshape my door frame, to help me get my door closed.

* we drove in on chill-out-cow road. Cows saw us coming, then sat down in the road

* the locals cover the trail we hiked, on a regular basis, with their babies, 3 year olds, and TVs

* erosion control on highway isn't working. They aren't using any plant life either to hold the cliff sides in place

* flies, gnats

* the tree mushroom is good to eat, the fern that Fox collected - not so much. Beware flavor bombs in the food

* mr luen is on better behavior now, and driving more slowly.

* gold sands river would be a good one to raft. Afloat on chocolate milk

* the countryside we hiked through today looked storybook: rustic cabins in green fields next to river, with horse grazing, and single track trail cutting through

* clear the roads with big machine that heaps rocks down onto the dirt road below

* pigs, chickens don't wander around freely in this town. They are held on barnyards. I'm certain I saw the barn, pig, chicken for charlotte's web.

* no tourists in this town. We've finally left the tourist trail behind

* hike into yubeng village was trashed out and over-touristed. Too many mule trains.

* hike out of yubeng village was like Sound of Music

* huh, "tea houses" are little huts that sell sodas

* prayer flags in nature begin to look junky after a while. But for all these Chinese tourists visiting these sacred waterfalls, they indicate holiness of the area. Highlights the different purposes for nature. I like my nature pristine

* all this Chinese food is beginning to seem the same

* how are we going to cross this river? Never fear: there's a log crossing just here

* all these hoteliers that say they have wifi but don't

* all these hotel bathrooms with showers that point onto the toilet.

* they never give you enough toilet paper

* how about scaling the side of yubeng village in pouring rain? Glad I brought that rain coat

* how do people in the village know whose pig they are killing?

* what a pleasure to have electricity. And sit down toilets.

* how did yubeng villagers get riding lawn mowers over the pass?

* awesome little mini canals that siphon water off of the rivers to the towns' waterworks

* spotted: crested mynah bird

* Fox has all the info; Julie doesn't, but only Julie speaks English

* spotted : 2 other white people in yubeng village



Sent from my iPhone

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