daddy helped me with this post, sorry

the whole camp would like to say a big hello to everyone who reads this blog. we would like you to feel that each hello is personal. thank you.

have now made it within spitting distance of the border with laos and are staying in a small town about 200 miles away from the town where we will actually cross.
tonight was shorts night as we ventured out into the town to find dinner. despite stumbling across a few appealing take-aways we settled for a restaurant serving szechuan (please note perfect spelling-standard) cuisine as recommended by queenie who is from that province. queenie did not eat any of the recommended items. we know her game. suprisingly the food was good and not a spicy as forcasted.

today queenie and i had enjoyed legitimate massages at the hotel where we will stay tonight. daddy, tessie and lewis did not have massages but were on scrap book and postcard duty instead.




loong looking pretty good at teh tiger gorge. it took us about 7 hours to drive to the tiger gorge as tessie decided to take us via the scenic route. daddy was not best pleased. however, when we got there was discovered that is was well worth the daddy's effort. this photograph was taken when the minivan that took us to the middle leap stopped at the road side for out tourist shots.



also at tiger leaping gorge, this is when we stopped ourselves to explore a cave in the mountain side. we all felt most explorer-like (especially daddy with his 'edmund hillary' walking boot firmly strapped on) but the feeling soon faded as we vnetured further into the cave and pitch blackness. i would like it known that i wanted to plough on but for teh good of the group accented to return to wilma and the bright sunlight that was with us for one day only.


looking downstream towards the lower leap at tiger leaping gorge. the steep sides of the gorge were sometimes covered with masses of vegetation.

looking upstream. this photograph was taken when standing next to a lovely couple from hong kong via paris and thier baby. we shared our minivan with them.

evidence of our bit of walking for the week. we managed to treck down the wooden steps and the upper leap to the bottom of the gorge and the raging rapids. we are currently in the possession of a video in which daddy plans his route down the rapids a feat that we are told is potentially fatal.

the taxis vary from city to city. we particularly enjoyed this little number but failed to actually get in one.

not an uncommon sight but as this day was clearer than most the evidence of pollution was made even more stark. this is not the only sign of inefficiency in china- today we have taken a photograph of 2 communal coal hotwater boilers outside our hotel (where we were advised not to sleep on the ground floor incase we got eaten by ants).

we do indeed have an artsy side. taken in the morning, having woken at the crack of dawn, as we left dali. in the bottom left you can see a typical fishing boat of the countryside. we have eaten much freshwater fish.

all people- big and small- seem to carry tremendous loads in china. they carry everthing from rubbish to babies. this woman in carrying both.

perfect example of traffic directions.

today we had a ride on some motorbikes that were used as taxis in a city we stopped in for breakfast. unfortunately they were not electric or protected using a bike umbrella but the experience was exciting all the same. with a bike each we looked like the hell's angels. this is the truth.

daddy is a poser. currently outside a tea shop preparing to go on a boat ride to his, at this point unknown, favourite temple.

in the middle of an ancient city tourist trap our amazing photography skills managed to seek out this cracking photograph of the 'old city' and river running thorugh it down which rich chinese tourists were rowed.



a little punkin stall next to the orange stall near to daddy's favourite temple. we were sorely tempted but thoughts of the chutnies that granny is now brewing kept us at bay.

car transporter of chinese proportions. two rows of cars on the top deck. these trucks keep up with the rest of the traffic on the expressway. we do not.

lewis wishes he was this child.

cruising on the expressway.

l-r: wilma, tessie, loong, lewis, daddy, jon, jack, hitherto unnamed 4x4 landcruiser
the hut of oranges next to the famed stall of pumkins. in the middle of the mountains with seeminly no one in the hamlet but still advertising for accomodation.

snowcapped moutain in the background. stunning photography managed on the only clear day we have had so far in china. this in on the way to tiger leaping gorge via tessie's scenic route.

welcome to stoke-on-china. typical brick kiln in the area of lijang.

the river down which we were punted going towards daddy's favourite temple in the mountains. this ride was made all the more exciting by the notable absence of safety equipment, and indeed any equipment or safety at all, and the rapids. tessie was bricking it- we will try to upload the video.

one child policy. permanent poster.

not the highest height we reached but when taken we feared it might be. lewis' height obsession kept us looking but we missed the photograph opportunity of 3.2km. also note vera in all her glory.

modern ancient china. this is the old area of one town at night.

grasshoppers. would highly recommend. lewis no longer enamoured. a couple of days ago we had our first taste of the elusive dog. our excitement was tempered by the housing of the dogs we would be eating in in actual toilet cubicle. they looked like people's pets. lewis was not allowed in. very tastey though.

drying handmade noodles in the street just like they do everything else.

inside the now famous daddy's favourite temple. original building- now 1000 years old. one of our favourites as it was actually authenic, quiet, interesting, different and modest.


dear reeve (and anyone else who doubts us),

daddy would like to make it clear that he is an amazing driver and we have, in fact, seen many a smashed up car. as there is no hardshoulder on the expressway these cars may be seen anywhere at anytime and are usually in a worse state than wilma.

n.b. our trusty tesco tent has mould. this not unexpected discovery was unearthed when we brought out the tent from the depths of larry and dried it in citroen garage in kuming where wilma spent many an hour.