Lets Take a Walk

Leaving the hotel in Gongshan, I look up at an old woman gaping down from her balcony resembling a bobaloop of sorts in her thick pillowed silk turban. I wish her thoughts would penetrate my conscious as I regain my focus to the steps below. Descending into the daily market street the sights are now becoming as common to my eye as my alarm clock. Every cube of business greets its customers with the same raised garage door releasing a few lucrative products out into the street. The filmstrip of stores lining the streets goes something like this…First the common market furnished with yoru choice of double mint gum, cigarettes, Sprite, Pepsi, water, RedBull (god they are an incredible company) or a surprisingly delightful nutrient milk containing Melamine (kidney stones beware). Open air produce markets sprawl from every alleyway flourishing with peeling oranges, surprisingly bland bananas, delicious crunchy apples, dwarfed watermelons (perhaps the size of a healthy watermelon without the help of artificial growth hormones) , and more mysterious fruits of various colors and shapes only found in these nomadic marketplaces…….and of course, SUGAR CANE, my guilty pleasure.

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Tibetan Sepia

I wrote a song this week…well perhaps it is more of a poem right now considering the musical additive has not been applied. Regardless, many people are under the impression that China is covered by a veil of spiritual and majestic life. Although the landscapes of this country and its surrounding borders most definitely satisfy that stereotype, the reality of life here is far different that the picture so many people have painted and I wanted the poem to portray the image and thoughts that have passed through my eyes and mind on this journey.

However, this journey is its own story and deserves to be told as well...

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China! - The Great Bend of the Yangtze

After 2 days of traveling and layovers arriving in China was much like the old adage of having a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. Much to my surprise, all of our kayaks and bags arrived on time as well. Great success!

Our arrival city was Kunming and it was a short 45 minute drive to our destination of Lijang. It is amazing how 12 hours in an airplane can place you into another world. The 3rd world experience before my eyes on the drive to Lijang was well beyond my expectations. The vehicles the farmers drive all have the exact same little 2 stroke engine and frame. The engine is also used for just about anything that requires power so when you pass an engine shop you see the same parts and same gaskets all made for this one engine.

Just as fast as we passed through the farmlands we landed in Lijang which is currently a tourist city that has preserved its historic and cultural roots. On one side of the city "the old town" the streets are very small and made of stone, the shops and restaurants are rustic and rich with Naxi art. A small stream guides the streets through the old town. On the other side of the city you see the modern emerging world with designer stores, supermarkets, banks, stoplights etc. Spending 2 nights here was plenty as we were a ll very anxious to begin our 10 day river trip on the great bend.

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Spiked Shoes, Hydroelectricity and a Humble Abode

Men working dawn to dusk building Cliff-side roads;
wearing business suits and spiked canvas shoes while handling shovels and hoes.

An array of colorful hardhats piled like a stack of cairns, this protective plastic would serve more of a purpose as a noodle bowl and their colors are as much a status symbol as the dirt under their owners fingernails. No machine bigger than that which can be carried on ones back is being used. Hours are inches and the inches fill their years.

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