Dali, Dali

Well Echo and I have been moving around a lot. We stayed 2 days in Kunming, then took a bus 4 hours south to DALI, yes like the artist. This is a very beautiful region with a large ethnic population that are smaller and darker than the northern Chinese. Echo's Grandpa was a member of this tribe. They wear a dress that looks like a combination of greek and American Indian. the women all wear this beautiful head dress. the area was so beautiful, I took a lot of pics. It was about 8 hours from Tibet. We visited Xizhou, an old tribal village that was built in 1390. We watched the marriage ceremony and had a tea tasting and bought some gifts....

Then we went up to a something called dragon mountain, took a cable car ride way up into the mountains, visted a cave, then bought more gifts...

We hired a guide, a taxi guide for teh day and he drove us all over which was great. then we visited the Old City, an old walled city built in the Ching Dynasty. it was verrrry tourity, as was just about all the places, but we got some good food and had a great conversation with an older couple from sacramento.

Dali is great for a day, but the people are not very western oriented at the hotels, though they constantly boast "western this, western that". We did eat at on Western Street and as I ate a hamburger as a break from the rather repetative chinese diet, Echo sketched as we were constantly bombarded by locals trying to sell us stuff. Old chinese ladys come up and fucking hard ball you, grab you try and make you grab your money, I thought when the one grabbed Echo she was gonna meet Budda quick! Echo said "Don't fucking grab me!" The owner of the resturant came out and drove the lady off, but she came back 4-5 ,ore times as well as another old lady who was "over 90" according to her. She had teeth that look 1000 , and she'd poit to her eyes, pulling them down, her shoes, with the toes coming out, begging. I gave her a little money as I felt sad...oh boy, that was like pouring sugar on the ant hill!

We are now back in Kunming for the rest of the trip, we may go to a hot spring for an afternoon. Ecgo wants more messages, but frankly, I am done with them. They hurt! I don't feel relaxed, pressure points, vise like fingers...no sir.

Now you wanna get a few young gals to later up with oil and slide on my budda belly--well ok!

I will have exhausted the 3+ gigs of memeory cards with pics. Echo is very harsh with how she feels about the way chinese people are so dirty.

You wanna blow your nose/ lace the finger against the nostril and blow out the other while facing groundwards--or not. Blow your snot gobs out for all to see or step on. same with spitting. Fuckers hawk looggies like a pitcher with a mouth of tabacoo-

I am having a really good time though. I was mad at the hotel in dali as they were more expensive but it was Mayberry Chinese style. Okidokes from the Ching Dynasty:-) nobody knew shit!

The police wouldn't let us use the internet in Dali, they were either angeling for a bribe or thought it was the work of the devil.

Anyway I need to get some chow. I'll e-mail later on, just wanted to give you all an update. Also, I can post to blogger but I can't see my actual page here, it has been blocked since Beijing.

Mike