tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8076139320630675112024-02-19T23:39:51.726+08:00In Continent BrendanI'll be living in Cameroon for the next few years, working with the agricultural community as a peace corp volunteer. brendanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837657160598843294noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-807613932063067511.post-4047010317330446332012-08-01T17:29:00.001+08:002012-08-01T17:29:55.088+08:00Cycling the Alps with a Polo BikeCycling the Alps with a Polo Bike.<br />
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Not recommended.<br />
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But it is not as impossible as some people thought.<br />
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Since leaving China in June I have made some fairly intense journeys, considering distance or time or both. Such as riding the train for seven days over 9,000 kilometers across Russia. I could have just as easily flown over the continent saving time and even a little bit of money. But flying is like driving through an extremely long tunnel, looking out of the window you don't get to see much. Although many people figure I could have spent the extra time exploring more of Moscow, how many people can say they have watched the entirety of the Russia countryside cruising past their eyes. That means a lot to me and my feeling towards travel. I feel the same goes for choosing to ride my bike from Vicenza, Italy to Munich, Germany. It took the same amount of time as the Tran-Siberian Railroad did, but only to cross 477 kilometers. But despite hardships and mishaps, I can't think of a greater way of spending seven days of my vacation.<br />
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Plus how many people can say they cycled through the Alps on their polo bike?? Not many I bet.<br />
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7/19/12 (Rini's House, Bassano, Italy)</div>
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Day 1 [Yesterday] was very easy, just 40km or less in lovely weather. not getting lost or going over any huge hills. The touring handle bars Stefano and I put on to add comfort are more uncomfortable than the polo bars. Today I will adjust the angle of the bars and raise the stem a bit and hope it si better, if not tomorrow I go back to the polo bars. Shifting the weight of the luggage a bit. I'll wear the backpack with a few things in it, put the tent on the front rack.... I still have way too much stuff, going uphill will be impossible without walking, but the only things I could get rid of to significantly reduce the weight are my tools, which I need, my tent, which I need, or my computer which I want. Or I could get rid of absolutely all of my clothing, but I am still worried that once I camp up around Innsbruck [Austria] it will be so cold that I'll need to wear every article of clothing I have while sleeping. Today is 80km to Trento, camp on the lake, or stay at Laura's friend's house.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikIkFZdq0fQhb0sG80Rz3iZNnrpoXxrpU_C4SFRELczoBNI1_lv0_6vNZBVVmhG9AjeFiMvBJJJuaoC3g9sh-2pEPNmhyphenhyphenBsu71WnxDJ8ifpLqUZVi2-uEZcQpla1yNuIVK4-hXp-bYbg/s1600/DSC01432.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv1EujuCki4s-VLGirtXoul9DHUlWzwFeKrGjLj2DqH7RgGYApWVmeBzX4NUHwfN4q_lGG1uUol45EldXdx8oMWVjV-BSXo7gyt_YUVelBaHu6vruSEc7iKFKpf_PTEIRLmDbedtUUHA/s1600/DSC01431.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv1EujuCki4s-VLGirtXoul9DHUlWzwFeKrGjLj2DqH7RgGYApWVmeBzX4NUHwfN4q_lGG1uUol45EldXdx8oMWVjV-BSXo7gyt_YUVelBaHu6vruSEc7iKFKpf_PTEIRLmDbedtUUHA/s200/DSC01431.jpg" width="200" /></a><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikIkFZdq0fQhb0sG80Rz3iZNnrpoXxrpU_C4SFRELczoBNI1_lv0_6vNZBVVmhG9AjeFiMvBJJJuaoC3g9sh-2pEPNmhyphenhyphenBsu71WnxDJ8ifpLqUZVi2-uEZcQpla1yNuIVK4-hXp-bYbg/s200/DSC01432.jpg" width="200" /></div>
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7/20/12 (Joseph's House, Trento Italy)</div>
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So Joseph is the ex-boyfriend of Julia who was friends with Laura who is dating Stefano, quite a few degrees of separation, but he still hosted this dirty polo bum and showed great hospitality, introducing new friends, making amazing dinner, taking me out drinking and offered up his house. He just left for work and let me here alone to take my time and relax. The hospitality of the Italians is amazing, without which I would not have gone far in the last few weeks.</div>
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The adjustments I made to the bike yesterday worked well. Raising the stem, adjusting the angle of the bars, taking the the weight off of the front rack for better steering. It was 80km from Bassano to Lake Caldonone. There were small streets winding through Italian villages tucked between walls of mountains following the river upstream. Flowers and flags of the region hanging from all of the balconies, it was a colorful and beautiful scene. I made it to the lake after 6 hours of riding. I went for a swim and laid in the sun while my muscles rested. I had planned on camping next to the lake, but Laura surprised me saying she found me a place to stay in Trento (I didn't even know she was looking) the problem was Trento was another 20km away on the far side of a huge mountain. One could go north or south around it and it was still 20km. but what I didn't know is the southern route was 600 meters of climbing while the north was a much easier incline... I went south, and got lost somehow! Ended up climbing up a different mountain even further south, but in the end it added only 10 extra kilometers, but all the extra climbing did a good job of spoiling what was before a perfect day of cycling. I even lost my favorite black cycling cap. I know exactly when and where it fell off of my bike, but by the time I noticed it was already 2km behind me down the hill. There was no way in hell I was going back for it, because there was no way in hell I was going to climb 2km back up the mountain. </div>
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Tomorrow should be an easy day to Bolzano. 50km north along the river with no hills to speak of. There I can meet Danielle, a cycling guru who is friends with the Vicenza polo guys as well as friends with Morgan. He'll help me plan my attack of the Alps.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmOgDtTXf68O4jiW2z7X8D_c5EL_Z7CeRg66TKV-dEq1vrV_AJYV1rQ1d13kPRrXB3wNB80c5w2-EKPugy6uY2e_BlJ32tD_0cu1OAYNgtx8a5-432p7nmdFLd6tUXrOQC4TzDNwYbKQ/s1600/DSC01441.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmOgDtTXf68O4jiW2z7X8D_c5EL_Z7CeRg66TKV-dEq1vrV_AJYV1rQ1d13kPRrXB3wNB80c5w2-EKPugy6uY2e_BlJ32tD_0cu1OAYNgtx8a5-432p7nmdFLd6tUXrOQC4TzDNwYbKQ/s200/DSC01441.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>BICI & AGRICULTURA </i>'Cycling and Agriculture' <br />Most of the cycling paths through Italy <br />cut through farmers lands.</td></tr>
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7/20/12 Bolzano, Piazza Matteotti</div>
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Uneventful day of riding. Took about 5 hours to go 50kn including breaks and my first flat of the tour. There is something wrong with my back rim because I keep having blow-outs in the same spot, but when I inspect itI can't find anything wrong. In Bolzano I need to get a spare tube as well as glue for my patch kit. Once I rolled into the city I checked a map to find the closest city square. I've learned most squares have food, beer and coffee close by and they are good landmarks to navigate or meeting spots. I have texted Danielle and let him know I've arrived and now just waiting to hear back while drinking cans of beer from the kebap stand and relaxing.</div>
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This region of Italy is very interesting. All the signs are in Italian as well as German. It is one of Italy's 5 autonomous regions. I've heard the people would love to be a part of Austria again like it was 100 years ago, but apparently the Austrians don't want them back...</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJyZ24LC4CJqUTYaA0ZEBCYbRgb-kAwb-8R00m_l8vUftD6bII2e8CpInzy6fFzMSrMHxvHLexJOLyfl3eRlkYklhvSbuXUasH3iZDYJX1Mg3YgUouWmL5nCheinyRPLRr-W4eyVUCQg/s200/DSC01442.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peanut butter and dry oats.<br />Good quick snack.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4H-K0gtPjymC5lFbqNZz7xMmCouPOYuQafhYkeUL6tKlI2SVitD1Z4jfgiI0pXnUwCNhoUHUypGCzGLhPrTwxxliDKeDKX2d7RV24Qbujj8gqnvfqZJTHWzR3mZxAQV6nYLk9Z4wgRw/s1600/DSC01444.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4H-K0gtPjymC5lFbqNZz7xMmCouPOYuQafhYkeUL6tKlI2SVitD1Z4jfgiI0pXnUwCNhoUHUypGCzGLhPrTwxxliDKeDKX2d7RV24Qbujj8gqnvfqZJTHWzR3mZxAQV6nYLk9Z4wgRw/s200/DSC01444.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cycling paths even have tunnels<br />under mountains. </td></tr>
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7/21/12 Vipinteno, Italy. 7pm</div>
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Shit did today suck. Rain, flat tires, confusing as hell directions, head winds. Combination of 4 days biking all taking their toll on various parts of my body, just to get to this crappy little town, one that shuts down at 6pm on a Saturday, one that doesn't have a supermarket, or even an mediocre market so I can buy some beer. I have to camp tonight and I don't know where exactly, I'm saving that headache for later tonight. Now there is nothing to do but drink crap beer that costs way too much from a little cafe. F@*&. Only three more days till Munich. Today was hump day. Tomorrow I cross into Austria, and after tomorrow it's down hill into Germany. </div>
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These are the days that I am embarrassed by how I react. I get way too easily angry and frustrated.</div>
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7/27/12 Munich, Germany<br />
[Tour Days 7/22 through 7/24]<br />
DAY 5<br />
That night in Vipinteno I found a small forest on the edge of town right next to the cycling path. I sat in the trees for a while reading waiting for it to get dark before setting up my tent. I don't know why but I was very paranoid that night about someone finding my tent in the middle of the night and messing with me. Just paranoia. to one side of the woods was a parking lot with a small kebap/pizza stand. They were closed when I came in, but they would still sell me some beers. The rest of the evening I sat back and relaxed. That night was miserable. IT was the first night I camped the whole tour. Even wearing all my clothes and wrapped in my Ikea blanket I froze half to death [I didn't have a sleeping bag on the tour] It was so hard to fall asleep, and if I were lucky enough to, I would wake back up soon after.I think I woke up 4 times... The only upside to these sleepless camping nights is that I am up early the next day and start biking soon after i clean up camp.<br />
That morning of Day 5 I was on the road again at 7:20am. Miserably pushing on like a zombie. It would be another day of rain and bitter winds, plus the steepest climbs of the whole trip. But apart from the days hardships it was one of the most beautiful rides. Between spats of rain the sun would creep through the mist and send rainbows arching across the vallies below. The cycling path lead me deep into the mountains far from the highways and roads. For hours I was totally alone, not even others cyclists because I started out so early. After four hours of battling the the most bitter struggle with the Alps I made it to Brenner, the last city in Italy before Austria, and to my delight, the peak of the mountain. It was all down hill from here.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjW_yG7YQF-s50p3wQGNMgPP7qFQ5asUwR0qHv5FwzZgRkmQoo7dJj9zuKmQLXJjXpq4Yc85ocEJN73rfq-Lzb6qNOB8gXCCBpjDHMbtzEEzKBIcZFsi1odxn8BZH5c4UfY_OL8Bh6WQ/s1600/DSC01447.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjW_yG7YQF-s50p3wQGNMgPP7qFQ5asUwR0qHv5FwzZgRkmQoo7dJj9zuKmQLXJjXpq4Yc85ocEJN73rfq-Lzb6qNOB8gXCCBpjDHMbtzEEzKBIcZFsi1odxn8BZH5c4UfY_OL8Bh6WQ/s200/DSC01447.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Austrian border</td></tr>
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I stayed in a cafe for an hour eating and drinking coffee before crossing the border. I was so tired and famished. I just wanted to fall asleep in the cafe. The road started to decline right at the border. I was so happy. The only problem was there were no longer any cycling paths. From Brenner, the 40km to Innsbruck would all be on the two-lane highway with cars zooming by coming closer and closer to clipping my luggage racks. Also my back wheel had been making some awful noises for the past few days, and when I would coast downhill something in the freewheel would snag forcing my pedals to rotate, that or if I held them in place a terrible crunch would occur. I was getting nervous that if my freewheel bust on the mountain I'd have nothing but the 16-tooth fixed-gear on the flip side of my back wheel to get me to my destination. Lucky for me it wasn't till the first night of playing polo in Munich that it finally failed on me.<br />
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Getting into Innsbruck was gorgeous. It is tucked between two walls of mountains. In the city center I found some beer and just sat for a while waiting for the hostel to open at 5. I was too exhausted to move or explore the city. I couldn't bike another inch if I wanted to , and even if I walked around I still had to carry all my luggage on my back. No. I would sit, I would drink and I would people watch. I met two interesting people from Iceland. They were in a rock band on a European Tour, but they had run out of money and were stranded in Innsbruck for 5 days trying to make enough money for gas and food by selling their CD to tourists. I saw them for two hours but that didn't sell one CD. Looks like they'll be sleeping in the gas-less van another night. On the tour I planned on relying only on camping or crashing with friends. But i knew no one in Innsbruck and after the freezing sleepless night in Vipiteno there was no way I could risk a second night in a row, or I might not have been able to make it anywhere the next day due to pure exhaustion. At the hostel I found hotshowers, food, clean beds and another travelers to talk to . I met two cyclists who were riding the opposite direction as me. We exchanged maps and tips about the roads ahead.</div>
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DAY 6</div>
If day 5 was the roughest of climbing, day 6 was the roughest just for distance. That day I completed 110km from Innsbruck to Rosenheim, Germany. There was nothing too special about the ride. Cycling paths started up again just outside of Innsbruck, and it was all flat through agricultural fields. It did get confusing once in Germany because the signs for cycling paths change, and the German bike routes are a lot more complex than the Austrian and Italian.<br />
People suggested that I stop in and stay in Kufstein, the last city in Austria, but it was 2 in the afternoon when I arrived there. To stop then just seemed like I'd be wasting the afternoon, plus I really wanted to get into Germany. I figures the further I got into Germany I got that night, the less I would have to ride the next and day, the final day, to Munich.<br />
I finally got into Rosenheim, another city that closes all of its shops a half hour before I show up. I found a pizzaria close to a park that I decided to sleep in later that night. The owner was Italian and he was kind enough to entertain the poor Italian I learn the month before. He was happy to see and American on such an ambitious cycling tour. It seemed like he used to be a cyclists as well. We chatted about my trip for a while. I read and drank until it got dark then I went back to the park to set up my tent. The Italian gave me a discount on my beer, filled my water bottle and wished me luck.<br />
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Sleeping outside that night wasn't nearly as cold as before, but without a sleeping bag or mat it is hard to get comfortable. I was awake by 5am and figured that was as much sleep as I would get. I was packed and cycling towards Munich by 6:30am. It was agony. I felt like I had not slept a single minute. Six days of riding had taken their toll. My body had not recovered and I wasn't sure where it was getting fuel from. But I just kept crawling along. For two hours I wasn't moving any faster than 10km/hour. My neck was cramped from holding my head up. Nerves in my back were pinched under the weight of my backpack. My arms were exhausted from supporting my torso and the palms of my hands were bruised and raw. My lower back was stiff as a board. Besides the dull ache and creaks in my knees and ankles, everything below my waist to my feet was completely numb, and I swear my toes had long since fallen off my foot and were just rattling around in the bottom of my shoes. But still I was able to mindlessly push on. It was only 60 more kilometers to Munich but it took me 6 hours to get there. There was a bit of confusion as I got closer to Munich. Looking at my map printed online, I had mistaken the small suburbs of the city as totally different cities. I was biking for an hour getting angry that all signs indicating how far it was to Munich had vanished before I realized I had already arrived!<br />
I made it. I was in Munich and now I just had to get through this labyrinth of a city to the city center, the place where I realized long ago was my best bet to find internet, food, coffee and beer all in one spot. Finally I was in touch with my contact. A polo player from New York who'd been living in Munich for 7 years. He was also friends with Morgan, but as I am finding out, there aren't many polo players around the world who aren't friends with my brother.<br />
Not long after I was sitting on the steps of the Bavarian 'Statue of Liberty' eating a pretzel, drinking a beer from the oldest brewery in Europe and watching a construction crew assemble the miniature city that will soon become the center of the Oktoberfest celebrations in three months. Well if that is not a perfect intro to Bavaria I don't know what is.<br />
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<br />brendanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837657160598843294noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-807613932063067511.post-83328739303252375052012-05-21T16:53:00.000+08:002012-05-21T16:53:41.612+08:00The Conquering of Wenbi Mountain.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<span style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">On Sunday Brandon and I finally conquered Wenbi Mountain. We talked about it enough, and even attempted it last week but did not succeed. We were determined not to fail this time, but success was not easy. I'd say this was the one of the toughest hikes I have ever done. It was about 3,000 ft of climbing, which isn't too terrible, and took about 6 hours to reach the peak, which isn' that terrible either. The hard part was that there was little to no trails. Most of our trip was straight bushwhacking through the dense forest. If we were lucky enough to find a path it would disappear after a few minutes. We got the impression very few people hike this mountain, and at least not the route we took. But so long a we could make out the peak of the mountain between the tall trees we could forge a path through the tangle of branches, vines and bushes.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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First we had to bike about 15 minutes south of our village. After locking up our bikes by a construction site we set through this tunnel into the wilderness.<br />
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For the first two hours there were some trails cutting through the foothills. We could tell that these trails were not used for weekend hikers because there was no garbage on the path (sad but true) We figured the only other people that might use these trails were people searching for herbs, roots and fungi to be used for traditional Chinese medicine. These kindly folks are steeped in Buddhist and Daoist philosophies and would never upset the balance of nature on purpose.<br />
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After a few hours we made it through the foothills to the actual mountain. The road quickly turned into a steep incline of loose soil. But everything was covered in moss, and it was very beautiful and magical.<br />
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From the lower peak, a view of our home Lashi Lake.<br />
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Looking out toward Lashihai.<br />
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Practicing my Crane-Kick<br />
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At the top of Wenbi Mountain is this Buddhist shrine. The peak is about 11,400 feet.<br />
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Brendan, Buddha, Brandon.<br />
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In the end, it got too late to go back down the way we came. Trudging through thick forest in the dark without lights wasn't too appealing. We decided we had to descend down the Lijiang City side of teh mountain instead of the Lashihai side. Only problem was that we locked our bikes up on the Lashihai side. But during our walk down the mountain I flagged down a nice farmer and he agreed to take us down the hill in the back of his tractor. It would have been an tiring trek to the bottom after having already hiked to the peak. Then we made it home and passed out out of exhaustion. </div>
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<br /></div>brendanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837657160598843294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-807613932063067511.post-91256989151435183072012-05-15T18:10:00.000+08:002012-05-15T18:10:59.213+08:00What can be done?<br />
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I often go running in the forests and foothills of Horse Saddle Mountain. I hadn't been out there for a few weeks because I had spent some time in Beijing, but yesterday I went running again and found that in my absence one of the many horse corrals surrounding Lashi Lake had poured concrete paths through the forest to make improvements to their tourism industry. I thought the forest was fine with just a dirt path, but I don't guide horses for a living so what do I know. What really sucks about the situation is after the workers were done the they just threw the used cement bags on the side of the newly paved path.</div>
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Today Brandon and I went back to take some photos and pick up the old cement bags. It was kind of a useless gesture as there was still a bunch of other trash strewn about the place by who-knows-who?</div>
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I have always been frustrated by how Chinese workers mix their cement. They dump the dry cement mix into a pile on the ground, make a little pit on the top of the mound to mix in water, and work their way down till the cement is finished. But what is left over every single time is a hard concrete slab the size of original cement pile, leaving that patch of ground absolutely useless. Me and Brandon had to break one apart that was left in our backyard after some workers came and built us some walkways. </div>
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Brandon is not happy at all. Notice in the background that the trail just stops suddenly? Most of the trails didn't seem to start and stop with any purpose, they were just put there to be there, almost like the horse corral had a bunch of cement bags laying around and didn't know what else to do with them.</div>
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They also put up these beautiful new signs naming the different trails that tourists get to ride on. This one is named the 'Wild Flower Valley' 野花谷. Sounds beautiful doesn't it? But did anyone think about how beautiful it would to see a bunch of trash and cement bag along the trail? Probably not, and I am not surprised. These forest trails are covered in garbage, mostly thrown by the horse riding tourists. Cigarette packs, water and beer bottles, candy wrappers... But these tourists might get their cues from the locals who visit one of the many cemeteries in the foothills bringing with them paper money to burn for the dead (chinese tradition) Not only are the cemeteries absolutely littered with this sacrificial money, but every inch of trail before and after the cemetery is also covered with. If you were to spend just one day picking it up A.) there would still be plenty left on the ground B.) you would be filthy stinking rich in fake ghost money. Oddly, the fake notes are labeled as Hell Bank......<br />
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We picked up 15 bags, and counted 5 cement mixing spots. We are sure there are more cement bags that had just been blown away by the wind. Lots of the bags we did find we pulled from out of the trees. Now at each one of the 24 horse corrals around Lashi Lake (and we have been to all of them) is a sign from the local government listing rules and regulations, one of which is it is illegal to throw your garbage on the ground. As of last year in China it is also illegal to smoke in public indoor places like restaurants and hotels, <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2011/apr/30/world/la-fg-china-smoke-20110430">http://articles.latimes.com/2011/apr/30/world/la-fg-china-smoke-20110430 </a></div>
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but anyone living in China today knows what a hilarious joke that is. There is absolutely no enforcement. Like it says in that above article 'The costumer is God.' If they want to smoke inside they can smoke inside. When we interviewed the 24 horse corral owners (at least the ones who would answer our questions) they said it would be rude of them to require their clients NOT to litter on the trails they are visiting for the afternoon. And so making these laws are simply an act, feigning an attempt to keep the public healthy from second-hand smoke, same as making littering illegal. No politician actually cares about protecting the environment, but it looks like they do.</div>
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What can be done? After seeing the cement bags and other garbage yesterday I had one idea of simply posting sign along the trails (just below the new signs posted by the horse corrals) reminding their patrons that they are Guests to Lashi Lake and to the forest and that they need to treat it with respect and not treat it like a garbage can. Well... I mentioned this idea to the director of our Environmental Protection NGO, and I was quite surprised that he shot the idea down faster than one of the horse corral owners probably would have. Hell one the horse corral owner might have even been in favor of the sign, you know, to feign an attempt to do the right thing but not actually make any effort to enforce it.</div>
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Our director was certain most people would see the sign and simply ignore it, which unfortunately in most cases would probably be true, but it would work for some people, and isn't that enough reason to go through with this amazing easy and simple plan????? "Besides, we are not a environmental watch-dog, we are an environmental educational group" he told us. Brandon and I thought it made a good bit of sense to use two strategies at the same time to be more effective. (we are putting up the sign regardless of our negative nancy boss)</div>
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One the way back from cleaning up the trails we run into these villagers cutting down trees, most likely to burn as fuel. In 1998 China issued a nation-wide ban on all logging. They government issued this just after the flooding of the Yangtze River that killed 3,000 people and left 14 million homeless, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Yangtze_River_floods">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Yangtze_River_floods</a> The cause of the flooding was traced back to Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces where excessive logging had stripped hills of their forest cover causing water to runoff into the rivers instead of soaking into the soil. This causes the rivers down steam to have more water flowing through its valleys (flood) than if the water had been absorbed into the soil up river.<br />
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Because most people use the trees as fuel in their kitchens an alternative fuel had to be found. Luckily it was already in existence. Biogas. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biogas">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biogas</a> I can't sing enough praises about biogas. Its amazing! You use the poop you get after eating, to create gas, that you use to cook the food to create the poop thats create the gas that cooks the food that will............... you get the idea, it's a brilliant little system that provides a free, sustainable energy source. The government subsidized the construction of over 6,000,000 biogas digesters, mostly in Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces to be used as an alternative to cutting down tree to burn for fuel. But people don't like to use them, deforestation is easier than maintaining a biogas digester, which is incredibly easy to maintain if you know how to do it. Thats the other problem with solutions to problems within China. The government came in, build a bunch of digesters, then left without making sure people knew how to properly use them. So now days majority of the 6,000,000 biogas digesters in China go unused. We try to get people around Lashi Lake to start using their biogas digesters again, using the unimaginable amount of horse manure that paves each and every road around the lake. But it is more convenient to break the unenforced ban on logging, cut down the forest and wait for the Yangtze to flood again.<br />
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It gets harder and harder to give a shit when it seems like nobody else does.<br />
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If you are interested in learning about just how screwed the Chinese environment is/will become, I recommend reading this great/depressing book "When A Billion Chinese Jump" <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Yangtze_River_floods">http://site.whenabillionchinesejump.com/ </a><br />
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In all fairness one can't be too upset with the Chinese mindset to consumer culture and neglect to the environment, after all China has only been in sync with the world economy for about twenty years and is just following the model of mass consumption and environmental degradation that was perfected for half a century by us in the western hemisphere.<br />
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<br />brendanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837657160598843294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-807613932063067511.post-34978157812016680352012-05-11T12:51:00.001+08:002012-05-11T12:51:20.188+08:00FISHY!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">One of our neighbors brought us some more fish today! So Brandon and I, now experienced fish gutters got to work. This family ran into some misfortune shortly after we arrived in Yunnan, and part of their house burned down while no one was home. The community and our NGO have done all we can to help out and get them assistance. The fish are one way the can thank the community for their help.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixvhhvByMoBU9tNdo1fbohi51FDPzJ31Twvv1DB9bzdndxQdG8I4dr9s4VpGyY44nQzqM-Lv7KhxX7Y6zOmWPhfNGU5TweOxHd9TkDW19GpWG_r6pkZZ3rsvfHuG3jBQzbi9DIq7H1Qg/s1600/DSC01147.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixvhhvByMoBU9tNdo1fbohi51FDPzJ31Twvv1DB9bzdndxQdG8I4dr9s4VpGyY44nQzqM-Lv7KhxX7Y6zOmWPhfNGU5TweOxHd9TkDW19GpWG_r6pkZZ3rsvfHuG3jBQzbi9DIq7H1Qg/s320/DSC01147.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freshly caught fish.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freshly gutted fish.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brandon enjoying gutting fish a bit too much..</td></tr>
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<br />brendanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837657160598843294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-807613932063067511.post-11884795174225244322012-05-10T11:47:00.000+08:002012-05-10T11:47:04.365+08:00Going to the Farmers Market<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifvPDFEfJkRfltlmL7WcCR4eWi4gNknQOB0Z7n8f6npo3AAPyoKVpo0gAGHplMYJcrndrEC1DyQqes4AKRcKiwpacg5LTZZ9aoO4YcHnwihVn1WKN4W7m89Ik7vic0IAoa5FnPFe0QOg/s1600/DSC01132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwcD3tYH3uHZ7Wl77N5q-XWFtWpO2lCvre1QCB7wL4c4Bei-g-6v0kRpvZuwwUrURsGATwiFptrmZygUcwNKOU__2258f0CVYk4D0rQsxbG6TkISsi_AnyJkWqceSUdId9fzC17xfpDw/s1600/DSC01134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwcD3tYH3uHZ7Wl77N5q-XWFtWpO2lCvre1QCB7wL4c4Bei-g-6v0kRpvZuwwUrURsGATwiFptrmZygUcwNKOU__2258f0CVYk4D0rQsxbG6TkISsi_AnyJkWqceSUdId9fzC17xfpDw/s200/DSC01134.jpg" width="200" /></a><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifvPDFEfJkRfltlmL7WcCR4eWi4gNknQOB0Z7n8f6npo3AAPyoKVpo0gAGHplMYJcrndrEC1DyQqes4AKRcKiwpacg5LTZZ9aoO4YcHnwihVn1WKN4W7m89Ik7vic0IAoa5FnPFe0QOg/s200/DSC01132.jpg" width="150" /></div>
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Going to the farmers market is the best way to view the local culture and customs anywhere in the world. Each Thursday Brandon and myself go to our local market to buy our fruit, veggies and what ever else we might need, and we get a good look at the local Naxi ethnic minority. You can pretty much get what ever you might need while living on a farm. Tools to pesticides, meats to treats, shoes to hats. And something that Brandon and I noticed this morning at the market is that after three months the locals are starting to recognize us! Not that they didn't recognize us after our very first visit, we quite obviously stand out from everyone else, But people are saying hello to us and being friendly. Some of these folks are the ones whose fields we were working in planting corn a few weeks back.</div>
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THINGS TO BUY</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meat Market.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcyL2jejAy-Zn5vZXkC1VtiPGJ49-yi3wdn1D8sdTjPCyIQAipMJxWr8QoNLGTZJfI2xwh0Yi1ubUfDl1RxW6wA-nbO0na3vHtJ-wTPa-h1_CBgz_mUMQWX60_Y33kOJbZnxxBl-2uEg/s1600/DSC01114.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcyL2jejAy-Zn5vZXkC1VtiPGJ49-yi3wdn1D8sdTjPCyIQAipMJxWr8QoNLGTZJfI2xwh0Yi1ubUfDl1RxW6wA-nbO0na3vHtJ-wTPa-h1_CBgz_mUMQWX60_Y33kOJbZnxxBl-2uEg/s200/DSC01114.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doesn't that pig head look yummy?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heres where ye buy yer brooms and baskets.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTWLjwY2V57sWVqBWNMYE7iPV7EAcKik469c5C1ee7PJNtwLB5RwI5GXF1OMH71AbAGvghrUwTfDUPE24TTYw2-I-014RKxjzriaH5KCnUaI7RJqWVpCmU6tn7pLoZ9yWg1d1Pt6ZYZw/s1600/DSC01127.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTWLjwY2V57sWVqBWNMYE7iPV7EAcKik469c5C1ee7PJNtwLB5RwI5GXF1OMH71AbAGvghrUwTfDUPE24TTYw2-I-014RKxjzriaH5KCnUaI7RJqWVpCmU6tn7pLoZ9yWg1d1Pt6ZYZw/s200/DSC01127.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cookies and sweet breads.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikV5XRot4JbjqHnfUQzdYLFg81sI4Rc0RWMXGP90zPukRQYLlA0BR1M_q21ywNh8zF_b2rjanCXzQm2WyTz-bX32-yyo9e3dIhbIXm0dS5wKkWYhrQfYYgoGXlSCeOA3koQ0yp_8hEiw/s1600/DSC01124.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikV5XRot4JbjqHnfUQzdYLFg81sI4Rc0RWMXGP90zPukRQYLlA0BR1M_q21ywNh8zF_b2rjanCXzQm2WyTz-bX32-yyo9e3dIhbIXm0dS5wKkWYhrQfYYgoGXlSCeOA3koQ0yp_8hEiw/s200/DSC01124.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />...Not to mention random horns from assorted animals.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_CrcMW2SIzoA4rsmZdRtanmyg_WGrR5UWkXfZQWB3RhTKmtiMJ5ASywelaagnvmpUGvtdpsxNbm69ReOw92LsOly-fOzbBZfOCPIjAAPywz5mGISzmTMGgaHu0mNB_HdvItFC7KiWfg/s1600/DSC01123.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_CrcMW2SIzoA4rsmZdRtanmyg_WGrR5UWkXfZQWB3RhTKmtiMJ5ASywelaagnvmpUGvtdpsxNbm69ReOw92LsOly-fOzbBZfOCPIjAAPywz5mGISzmTMGgaHu0mNB_HdvItFC7KiWfg/s200/DSC01123.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Traditional Chinese Medicine. <br />Those are herbs and roots and fungi...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNdaMcSV64ywO2oc_TplthgAUNrYO7GUuI6Qn8R8K2pj61Cd1hUHROPqa7dY3DyRQoQ445th0X1GJkOT_6qWDtw9cr45GyUBIRqFDfDBHUGtNS75SMqb7XiOp6tnN0q-g5nvH60w1K0g/s1600/DSC01119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNdaMcSV64ywO2oc_TplthgAUNrYO7GUuI6Qn8R8K2pj61Cd1hUHROPqa7dY3DyRQoQ445th0X1GJkOT_6qWDtw9cr45GyUBIRqFDfDBHUGtNS75SMqb7XiOp6tnN0q-g5nvH60w1K0g/s200/DSC01119.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tools of all sorts. Household needs.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF0XhptJKqz6M6CQ_iMyra7yZMSJTJEQdvlv-mEciym99YhONurumdQrTj46N5ZTbOpBAtZWYfBZreCGJOIeExAewVvegBuT_qOcikfa2PvEhDAJu82_kRo8LWyt4_EU27Ik9B8_C8zQ/s200/DSC01120.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Water jugs, hooks and hangers....</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF0XhptJKqz6M6CQ_iMyra7yZMSJTJEQdvlv-mEciym99YhONurumdQrTj46N5ZTbOpBAtZWYfBZreCGJOIeExAewVvegBuT_qOcikfa2PvEhDAJu82_kRo8LWyt4_EU27Ik9B8_C8zQ/s1600/DSC01120.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifrh6hucvnJ71kdHiUsdVjPL7egfgTJXo4odsRY-ybDiym5HbcmGYI-BTgbOVpbQlR7JPdmm81ylbbhb53iuBApqbhR_J-W2xer0iYw56sFqBc1-mjg4bgp-k3LVFxnuqCeAgm6HkanA/s1600/DSC01130.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifrh6hucvnJ71kdHiUsdVjPL7egfgTJXo4odsRY-ybDiym5HbcmGYI-BTgbOVpbQlR7JPdmm81ylbbhb53iuBApqbhR_J-W2xer0iYw56sFqBc1-mjg4bgp-k3LVFxnuqCeAgm6HkanA/s1600/DSC01130.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivWXs-q8uaIRx4STtCqLYAVuJsa7SVpMwNB6GQcSfRA-FtPpC2NTRp4DNBEFo9pC_hE_ZTKL6ovEaHJbP_tDdBhJg5889toNgoPG0ys_z-hKoGnnNxWxShIAnbsyWUysQz77bjiy5v4g/s1600/DSC01121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivWXs-q8uaIRx4STtCqLYAVuJsa7SVpMwNB6GQcSfRA-FtPpC2NTRp4DNBEFo9pC_hE_ZTKL6ovEaHJbP_tDdBhJg5889toNgoPG0ys_z-hKoGnnNxWxShIAnbsyWUysQz77bjiy5v4g/s200/DSC01121.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ducks, chickens, pigs.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifrh6hucvnJ71kdHiUsdVjPL7egfgTJXo4odsRY-ybDiym5HbcmGYI-BTgbOVpbQlR7JPdmm81ylbbhb53iuBApqbhR_J-W2xer0iYw56sFqBc1-mjg4bgp-k3LVFxnuqCeAgm6HkanA/s1600/DSC01130.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifrh6hucvnJ71kdHiUsdVjPL7egfgTJXo4odsRY-ybDiym5HbcmGYI-BTgbOVpbQlR7JPdmm81ylbbhb53iuBApqbhR_J-W2xer0iYw56sFqBc1-mjg4bgp-k3LVFxnuqCeAgm6HkanA/s200/DSC01130.jpg" width="150" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Traditional Naxi clothing. Aprons, shawls, <br />the while thing in the center is a sort <br />of cape most women wear.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF0XhptJKqz6M6CQ_iMyra7yZMSJTJEQdvlv-mEciym99YhONurumdQrTj46N5ZTbOpBAtZWYfBZreCGJOIeExAewVvegBuT_qOcikfa2PvEhDAJu82_kRo8LWyt4_EU27Ik9B8_C8zQ/s1600/DSC01120.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2kKOc4xTTpQZWpfxM4NoSR9I_uyLj0MtjcRob07o2So3Dd4reVRSQ4rxmBfVxJEr4kdBDRSokJ0ZeVDdYQs1CP-dkCQn78uc8cZyeQUPwYdjyjVFMZ1EgR-e38jJ43ooDuSuWC1jwMg/s1600/DSC01116.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2kKOc4xTTpQZWpfxM4NoSR9I_uyLj0MtjcRob07o2So3Dd4reVRSQ4rxmBfVxJEr4kdBDRSokJ0ZeVDdYQs1CP-dkCQn78uc8cZyeQUPwYdjyjVFMZ1EgR-e38jJ43ooDuSuWC1jwMg/s200/DSC01116.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BANANAS und ORANGES</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZHjowetaA3NAI_9EuUokvwRGh5EpMU0wuuSNwLF8xDxjA_SQus24M4xNigyjpnQtVAT47E4Sc2euwr_qC79oC8tBsSxqFG4Sn7zjGmaCg7JtsZdW0hxrAMVLqOm14XCWP_CL0QmcTAQ/s1600/DSC01117.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZHjowetaA3NAI_9EuUokvwRGh5EpMU0wuuSNwLF8xDxjA_SQus24M4xNigyjpnQtVAT47E4Sc2euwr_qC79oC8tBsSxqFG4Sn7zjGmaCg7JtsZdW0hxrAMVLqOm14XCWP_CL0QmcTAQ/s200/DSC01117.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NOODLES!!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
THE NAXI PEOPLE AT THE MARKET</div>
Blue aprons, blue hats and blue anything is the signature style for the Naxi people. I fit right in with my blue sweatshirt.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQCHsstL6GNICvWcoEKdob9tB0WHyUl-Hc6Qa5gamu0D5XJmUley_ECUc0BjEtuFP5MhR33WsLvyIH2JJBCxFzZ7K4kOMwfDfzD4z7_keBOQaKnvgniC3ZIjlpjGRSkxDuVYsVm2m7vA/s1600/DSC01140.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQCHsstL6GNICvWcoEKdob9tB0WHyUl-Hc6Qa5gamu0D5XJmUley_ECUc0BjEtuFP5MhR33WsLvyIH2JJBCxFzZ7K4kOMwfDfzD4z7_keBOQaKnvgniC3ZIjlpjGRSkxDuVYsVm2m7vA/s200/DSC01140.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTn39vTtnxmDIC8DfLc9jKaHsKwa39udYzIwUYCuJR-9fX0ht2tYtXvGzKjbgb6nEoF4Otq2UmZQUCko3ukocSuEdbmWB1VU_W3jjH4j2hyd4HYMRYI1jeVmeDp5l5uu-OwXF3SXMzfQ/s1600/DSC01135.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTn39vTtnxmDIC8DfLc9jKaHsKwa39udYzIwUYCuJR-9fX0ht2tYtXvGzKjbgb6nEoF4Otq2UmZQUCko3ukocSuEdbmWB1VU_W3jjH4j2hyd4HYMRYI1jeVmeDp5l5uu-OwXF3SXMzfQ/s200/DSC01135.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT8v9WRjOtya8HQmP1oOalpA0GaCKSAUnUdNYPcPdWWlbrrdKNkdLyhd8KgD51VMs1oqt9XghGN-EwZhL91VukfYou3o7gTuFWs2ZEgL8tneCe5js__r1fdYGkHBlVqcMWTX6SUDhshQ/s1600/DSC01136.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT8v9WRjOtya8HQmP1oOalpA0GaCKSAUnUdNYPcPdWWlbrrdKNkdLyhd8KgD51VMs1oqt9XghGN-EwZhL91VukfYou3o7gTuFWs2ZEgL8tneCe5js__r1fdYGkHBlVqcMWTX6SUDhshQ/s200/DSC01136.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUlwNph4mn0W3VHQ8he0zJDq9RQTab3fccMpR0ORs0fCaU77MzjZHsaL7tuu0w6KBUjRM_rJ2QOqnkxLjtYk6SOw1P_lPLg44sBoEBhui1RflWZb0oSlmVrv06GmGWXH7dJfcB6qXF7w/s1600/DSC01131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUlwNph4mn0W3VHQ8he0zJDq9RQTab3fccMpR0ORs0fCaU77MzjZHsaL7tuu0w6KBUjRM_rJ2QOqnkxLjtYk6SOw1P_lPLg44sBoEBhui1RflWZb0oSlmVrv06GmGWXH7dJfcB6qXF7w/s200/DSC01131.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqroDtNC3C-83Sh9fEGGV-wo9yoLMsaZz5OOXSuBuV_6zTtQBRlZ_kqH4-mRiIifjEkcCKU23c-bDtsaQ8Cp7YHMhG9bVhBsU3zu8RuDgktO6zz-3jbu46gOdWPJFed-UHGnUytp4Thg/s1600/DSC01126.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqroDtNC3C-83Sh9fEGGV-wo9yoLMsaZz5OOXSuBuV_6zTtQBRlZ_kqH4-mRiIifjEkcCKU23c-bDtsaQ8Cp7YHMhG9bVhBsU3zu8RuDgktO6zz-3jbu46gOdWPJFed-UHGnUytp4Thg/s200/DSC01126.jpg" width="157" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLvNkWvzThnBGREJv2rF7okASzislJs7B7dNH7OGZlGULVZn2QJZb4r0R53bU6P2O1AQhNu6bMfifVwGJ4DQjU2TJIvPqV8Re3HwsPeJyw983e4-0IU5us7tYiuZOj8MUunGVH5jIkGg/s1600/DSC01122.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLvNkWvzThnBGREJv2rF7okASzislJs7B7dNH7OGZlGULVZn2QJZb4r0R53bU6P2O1AQhNu6bMfifVwGJ4DQjU2TJIvPqV8Re3HwsPeJyw983e4-0IU5us7tYiuZOj8MUunGVH5jIkGg/s200/DSC01122.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /></a></div>
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<br />brendanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837657160598843294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-807613932063067511.post-36446775834803245952012-05-08T14:23:00.001+08:002012-05-08T14:35:18.514+08:00Beijing Trip In Pictures<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwSVcfcTMO9hRo6oMsqmoI8qp6YmYWrzGLDKcEn06YR_hHdn6S1-auql2YZclnLwiztgSeUKsXgHVgLGwt30nz9PQbBoptGE2chu38F2MLOLiWIhQ_ORAKUc3MviUcB0Ewf06pDXjVkQ/s1600/DSC01014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwSVcfcTMO9hRo6oMsqmoI8qp6YmYWrzGLDKcEn06YR_hHdn6S1-auql2YZclnLwiztgSeUKsXgHVgLGwt30nz9PQbBoptGE2chu38F2MLOLiWIhQ_ORAKUc3MviUcB0Ewf06pDXjVkQ/s320/DSC01014.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My bicycle taken apart and ready to make the trip to Beijing with me. I have been to BJ before and know that it is very easy to get around if you have your own transportation, plus I knew I would be playing some bike polo with the Beijing team so I had to bring it along. It is easy to get around as the city is just a huge grid The only draw back would be the extremely poor air quality. According to the Air Quality Index healthy air is in the 0-50 range. The first few days I was in Beijing we had a few 350 days. After a day of biking in those condition your throat is sore and your head aches.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWmTYi7fAuggQ0JLKLQ3GnaJWJAEh5mKKWREwKSyz744pvMMg0jY5o775y2T1qTJHOicJ3r1QZGbKrJFaA6ovARSraPbZEi_PYrIF7ABedC8_AyOhGRy-zWZQDA0-937A_WeLm-kxjIw/s1600/DSC01016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWmTYi7fAuggQ0JLKLQ3GnaJWJAEh5mKKWREwKSyz744pvMMg0jY5o775y2T1qTJHOicJ3r1QZGbKrJFaA6ovARSraPbZEi_PYrIF7ABedC8_AyOhGRy-zWZQDA0-937A_WeLm-kxjIw/s320/DSC01016.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 12px;">Mission #1 of going to Beijing was to apply for a Russian Visa at the embassy. Here is the receipt for my visa. In the center is my name written in the Russian Cyrillic alphabet, </span></span><span style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 12px; text-align: left;">АЛЛЄН БРЄНДАН ДЖОН (Allen Brendan John) Then I purchased my train ticket for the Trans-Siberian Railroad. In June I will embark on a 7-day journey from Beijing to Moscow. I </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 12px;">anticipat</span></span><span style="text-align: left;">e discovering a new side of myself, one in which you can only discover after having sat a train non-stop for 7 days. This is the first step of this summers adventure in Europe. I will spend a few days in Moscow before going to a friends wedding in Bologna Italy, then I will bike where-ever through Europe killing time until the 4th World Bike Polo Championships in Geneva.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYllISt32k_Dzgb1st_9LrBhGm0mpooteWQxGgbp3dawT59Wfqc4mXFX-e2QAOJSO8LhHAvyl8go9tyv5Y1fgzS4GYU11pUS5LcGs8xuKmv8CbKu25aRVhfYVuYvxpKikrTpBcA6_pxg/s1600/DSC01061.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYllISt32k_Dzgb1st_9LrBhGm0mpooteWQxGgbp3dawT59Wfqc4mXFX-e2QAOJSO8LhHAvyl8go9tyv5Y1fgzS4GYU11pUS5LcGs8xuKmv8CbKu25aRVhfYVuYvxpKikrTpBcA6_pxg/s320/DSC01061.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is my third trip to Beijing. But each time I somehow missed out on going to the Great Wall of China. So on wednesday, when everyone I knew had to go back to work after the May 1st holiday I decided I would bike there and back. Luckily it was a gorgeous day with very little pollution and clear skies. I got some direction from a friend to a section of the wall with much less tourists, I think I was there with only 15 other people. It took 4 1/2 hours to bike about 75km through the mountains to get there. There is the wall snaking up the mountain behind me.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjo83XpL9HjPfyDBrKeLuTyfRs0yvZdbt_4pscN3slWnuCkhdHYbN0JPgf9aNGI-I1w-Q_vC4tL9QMOmLh9DecB0nZDTry2_L8YltWuhCih9Tgxr5YlPbvVY961iczcir0i3ZmTVADXQ/s1600/DSC01036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjo83XpL9HjPfyDBrKeLuTyfRs0yvZdbt_4pscN3slWnuCkhdHYbN0JPgf9aNGI-I1w-Q_vC4tL9QMOmLh9DecB0nZDTry2_L8YltWuhCih9Tgxr5YlPbvVY961iczcir0i3ZmTVADXQ/s320/DSC01036.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With the help of some other travelers I was able to hoist my bike atop the Great Wall of China to take this picture. You are not allowed to climb along this section of the wall, but I did not bike 4 1/2 hours Not to walk on the wall, so take that Chinese Govt.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRqvhDv695Kq8qeenQZb9Q8dhe84UZ81QU1QgEeHwTZgVC0rJw2dnMOmSLOB9XV0bBzRujePQbc_KqhMIKl_Nzvw4oa3zXt4egPwU-gAdpI7f3DxDoFfGnJ3ntqCDN1dNfXGRtaenQqA/s1600/DSC01067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRqvhDv695Kq8qeenQZb9Q8dhe84UZ81QU1QgEeHwTZgVC0rJw2dnMOmSLOB9XV0bBzRujePQbc_KqhMIKl_Nzvw4oa3zXt4egPwU-gAdpI7f3DxDoFfGnJ3ntqCDN1dNfXGRtaenQqA/s320/DSC01067.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Folks say you can see the Great Wall of China from the moon. WRONG! The equivalent would be like trying to see a single hair from two miles away. Even the first Chinese in space Yang Liwei said it was a big ole lie. Look at the wall, its the same color as the rocks it sits upon. How could you see that from space?!?!? So... if you or someone you know is helping to spread that lie, please do your part to set the facts straight. No matter how amazing a feat building the Great Wall is, it's still not that amazing.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpKDRAd0KpDrKLf_I6xhF-pxp3DmZBJgmi6UJuqrhlHKb4DjXU-woHXE5LbJ9iyuPh0fNaup62FouhNrreMEwKZcvrfxX9wgbDytb3fvwG4pcn1-V9tKmZlyX233oYR5D6Q0KUv5dWyw/s1600/DSC01068.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpKDRAd0KpDrKLf_I6xhF-pxp3DmZBJgmi6UJuqrhlHKb4DjXU-woHXE5LbJ9iyuPh0fNaup62FouhNrreMEwKZcvrfxX9wgbDytb3fvwG4pcn1-V9tKmZlyX233oYR5D6Q0KUv5dWyw/s320/DSC01068.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Probably one of reasons you can't walk on the wall is that it is falling apart like in this photo. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8qVdxVQAC7MTzpKhyD9MA9bl8rhxAE_tVpyJfNzQ0EnKluaanDLGhbOqtlq_-YoibQYLm-y7Po4Y5IfDR_cbvwaXaDnUzT16fuLEs4i5ElMMRWSFMgSGwgJ7y8oJYzNXVWUAzpgwMHg/s1600/DSC01082.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8qVdxVQAC7MTzpKhyD9MA9bl8rhxAE_tVpyJfNzQ0EnKluaanDLGhbOqtlq_-YoibQYLm-y7Po4Y5IfDR_cbvwaXaDnUzT16fuLEs4i5ElMMRWSFMgSGwgJ7y8oJYzNXVWUAzpgwMHg/s320/DSC01082.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At one end the wall breaks to go over this reservoir.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrCWsb8UFmNtzQM2Uep52WagjrOlAKi-gczLVSsbOwHG1nEPlU1WLFSuiTz9ZAe5VadHKNS08fkfZ47UkdcDSK_LDrLb0jjc4J63RAXsgoC6AdhXUSj2ovCm90xEjmtlrLZjYdsql6Ow/s1600/DSC01090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="115" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrCWsb8UFmNtzQM2Uep52WagjrOlAKi-gczLVSsbOwHG1nEPlU1WLFSuiTz9ZAe5VadHKNS08fkfZ47UkdcDSK_LDrLb0jjc4J63RAXsgoC6AdhXUSj2ovCm90xEjmtlrLZjYdsql6Ow/s320/DSC01090.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was one of my first views of the wall, probably still 45 minutes or so away from the wall. Test your eyes, the wall is stretching from one side of this photo to the other, can ye see it??? </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXbIXnMfRaIkQE9WS921_8K4zt-Kk_djNdXKo6y-oezXUcUKzzXI6L2bOM2BmYsh5VkftpDnz0yB-x8ke6I3fABQUUAZBl_8oJakPnOGgd_R_JWyxh8IDXPuKKU7LLj7K4y0pJTVIsqA/s1600/DSC01096.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXbIXnMfRaIkQE9WS921_8K4zt-Kk_djNdXKo6y-oezXUcUKzzXI6L2bOM2BmYsh5VkftpDnz0yB-x8ke6I3fABQUUAZBl_8oJakPnOGgd_R_JWyxh8IDXPuKKU7LLj7K4y0pJTVIsqA/s320/DSC01096.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flying to and from Beijing we stopped over in Wanzhou to re-fuel, and sitting next to the tarmac were these two awesome Chinese Yun-5 biplanes. It hard to see, but the markings on the side indicate it was part of the Chongqing Three Gorges Aviation Company, 重庆三峡通航。</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9H0x9XAJsKHYF2C9-JkDY6XFoIXnmBHzD7-Dtls-fK53weJfk2SAlq36i5jnQd4vJCDXdnAgwoqoTLI2Q7ugfwXqhuX364Yd2ucXw7JOd_eVMWkRLFIRskzC6UUkoYdhbgacm7H_3Tw/s1600/DSC01109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9H0x9XAJsKHYF2C9-JkDY6XFoIXnmBHzD7-Dtls-fK53weJfk2SAlq36i5jnQd4vJCDXdnAgwoqoTLI2Q7ugfwXqhuX364Yd2ucXw7JOd_eVMWkRLFIRskzC6UUkoYdhbgacm7H_3Tw/s320/DSC01109.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When I got back to Lashihai and the Green Education Center I found out that we got some new additions to our family. These are some of the fifteen new chicks we got for our coup. Also the Swallows that live in the rafters above our walkway hatched to eggs as well. So I left three chickens and two swallows, and came back to eighteen chickens and four swallows. Our piggies had also grow quite large in just under two weeks.</td></tr>
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<br />brendanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837657160598843294noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-807613932063067511.post-56173245317624230882012-04-20T22:46:00.000+08:002012-04-20T22:46:33.088+08:00Down On The FarmDuring my internship here in Yunnan I have been able to experience a truly different sort of lifestyle. I live in a tiny slow going village of about 38 households, I use squat toilets (which are actually awesome) then I use the gas from my poo-poo to cook my food (which is also awesome) We grow our own veggies and raise pigs and chickens. It's back to the basics and its great.<br />
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Well a few weeks ago, after a local village boy brought over a bag of fish to our house that he, his father and grandfather caught in the lake that morning, he taught us how to gut and clean the fish and in exchange we would come to his families field the next morning and lend a hand. It's corn planting season and getting the fields ready to plant is no small task. It takes a long time and a lot of people. In the good spirit of community many of the neighbors come to help out in each others fields in exchange for help when it comes time to prep their own field.<br />
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That first morning there was about 8-10 of us at any giving time. Brandon and myself spend most of the day standing next to a huge mound of horse manure mixed/composted with old corn stocks and pine needles.<br />
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I've mentioned in the past what a huge problem horse manure is in the area. The horse guide tourism includes some 4-5000 horses, thats a lot of manure, and most of it just sits on the road to dry up or winds up in the creeks and flows into the lake (in the last decade the lake has gone from quality level 2 down to level 3, about a decade ago was when the first horse corrals sprang up in the area... eh, a little math problem for y'all to think aboot) We try like hell to get people to use the horse manure in their Biogas Digesters (almost every household in the area has one, but very few people actually use it) But one way of dealing with at least some of the poo is using it as fertilizer in the fields.<br />
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... Oh yeah, So we stood next to this huge pile of poo and waited for the old ladies to walk over with large wicker baskets strapped to their backs, and we fill the basket and they'd haul it over the the fields and dump it out. I also did my share of spreading the manure equally throughout the field, and threw nitrogen fertilizer and lye over the manure before the ox-driven plough came and buried it all. I did get an amazingly fun 2 minutes of leading the ox through the fields, but I couldn't get the bugger to keep a straight line, so I was demoted to spreading poo again. Dang it.<br />
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Then we would spread plastic sheets over the rows to help retain soil moisture. We asked what they do with the plastic after harvesting the corn, and they said they would burn it like anything else <SIGH><br />
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That was the end of the first day. The next time we came to help a week after we had a Canadian CouchSurfing friend come along to help. He had spend months previously in South East Asia bumming around and also doing plenty of farming through WWOOF, World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. The night before we decided to camp on the top of a mountain and hike down in the morning just before an exhausting day of farming, so yeah, we were ready tired and our back hurt from the hard mountain top, Then it was time to start working...<br />
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We spend most of that day hauling water and pouring cups into the holes where corn kernels would be buried. Then hoeing up dirt and covering up the kernels. Pretty simple, but lots of bending and lifting, Murder on your lower back.<br />
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It was all very fulfilling work. The villagers were very happy to have the extra help, not to mention extremely surprised to have foreigners volunteers to get their hands dirty. The same way that living out here has changed my perspective on many things, it is nice to know that we might be changing the locals perspective on things as well, such as a Yankies willings to live in such simple conditions and work hard in a field (not what they see in the movies) Each day they would make us a delicious lunch and dinner, and give us beer and invite us to come back anytime to hang out. They were all very fantastic people.<br />
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Ends up other members of the extended family heard about the new volunteers so they were quick to "reserve" our labour for the next week when they were planning on tending their fields. Our boss eventually told the village we couldn't keep helping out because we had our intern work that needed to get done as well. But I am very happy to have done it, and I hope I get the chance again before I leave. In my Geography classes I have learned so damn much about farming without so much as picking up a hoe or seeing an ox. This put things in a totally different light.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7uxhVTrMuNNCW9xIBplhyphenhyphen6DK98MzRMchfNxBOtLxGQORsWWJS1r4sIcvS5mUBvYHuVeBqGdz-uSYqblBCOVvocOBZ6DqklpjJGYSy7wPNZGz18xe5-H-vEYBV6oqQrv8_lbUbkZqsuA/s1600/DSCN0952.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7uxhVTrMuNNCW9xIBplhyphenhyphen6DK98MzRMchfNxBOtLxGQORsWWJS1r4sIcvS5mUBvYHuVeBqGdz-uSYqblBCOVvocOBZ6DqklpjJGYSy7wPNZGz18xe5-H-vEYBV6oqQrv8_lbUbkZqsuA/s320/DSCN0952.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise on the top of Horse Saddle Mountain over looking Lijiang</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watering</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_vaJgn0F9kfkEnR9R0LqH0Yzyx2qlgTjPXLWFzddfJetI9u79XpdHYyPhaLFWnmrpCMlneFggD5QJXTVjhZ1trFsfxfbk4IHV95H8ttXLX4zLB_7bdWQ1_2IAKDEealE4Rk-bY7QRuw/s1600/DSCN0962.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_vaJgn0F9kfkEnR9R0LqH0Yzyx2qlgTjPXLWFzddfJetI9u79XpdHYyPhaLFWnmrpCMlneFggD5QJXTVjhZ1trFsfxfbk4IHV95H8ttXLX4zLB_7bdWQ1_2IAKDEealE4Rk-bY7QRuw/s320/DSCN0962.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking a break</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpW0I0A0anqy7gxFg_AiVSH71Pk-W4mat8f7VsPvArS-W0_I0ru6pwJ1NWjnFFJOaReZG_W4w83R073Hh6Hyy1GFujf_4H9ZfPyRh2vnNQGVh9_5UC-yYtCaXt1Hd7hgU6NE9slVGh2g/s1600/DSCN0967.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpW0I0A0anqy7gxFg_AiVSH71Pk-W4mat8f7VsPvArS-W0_I0ru6pwJ1NWjnFFJOaReZG_W4w83R073Hh6Hyy1GFujf_4H9ZfPyRh2vnNQGVh9_5UC-yYtCaXt1Hd7hgU6NE9slVGh2g/s320/DSCN0967.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking a nap after lunch</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgetyKUkFmbfdCyCSyPkLSPOj9aXhlV_lcwq7h5YzyHv0sZ4UIZO6MlSl5dUGdHFWM2NOlPWrlXNJyBZa9ZHhXUNWyfbXPwXBkWU027cfABXPeDcLAfgToSzo9-ej3MorE5iwuarEQCUQ/s1600/P1160139.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgetyKUkFmbfdCyCSyPkLSPOj9aXhlV_lcwq7h5YzyHv0sZ4UIZO6MlSl5dUGdHFWM2NOlPWrlXNJyBZa9ZHhXUNWyfbXPwXBkWU027cfABXPeDcLAfgToSzo9-ej3MorE5iwuarEQCUQ/s320/P1160139.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Chen Laoshi hauling the nitrogen over to the fields</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ebDcSNh7i09TGIowqcGQYO2pWRrWOe-_W7YZc93RhBYIB-ir7KVkN8xY5XmjWMHhYYcq8O6IFfPuyxb2yCstkHaGQZ9cK5CEH0_lb1ahW9GOAHxORcxm8yvs1-nUngqnSLM-dTULZw/s1600/P1160223.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ebDcSNh7i09TGIowqcGQYO2pWRrWOe-_W7YZc93RhBYIB-ir7KVkN8xY5XmjWMHhYYcq8O6IFfPuyxb2yCstkHaGQZ9cK5CEH0_lb1ahW9GOAHxORcxm8yvs1-nUngqnSLM-dTULZw/s320/P1160223.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>brendanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837657160598843294noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-807613932063067511.post-7691776788971551102012-04-06T18:14:00.000+08:002012-04-06T18:14:23.204+08:00An Average Day In Yunnan.Greetings everybody.<br />
<br />
Today I just want to share some of the things I do day to day here in Yunnan.<br />
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First off as part of my internship I am making a map of the Lashihai area. Right now we are focusing on the Horse Guide Tourism. We have traveld to the 24 different horse corrals around the lake to map out their location as well conduct a survey about waste management (horse poo-poo) It took a few days to make it to each corral, and luckily for us, that week was a gorgeous one to bike around the lake. It was also a great way to understand some of the locals views on environmental issues, how they feel the horse guide industry is affecting the Lashihai ecology, and their general trust and willingness to answer possibly sensitive question asked by two foreigners.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg23izYonuam0oa_RlcfHrC4oU42VyTh2OtHS7t14dsmi_lgpgfTY8OSa5cRKuCAyXJvkx0kAUpU8QkxZjA0ZTK8rIT-PEw9bzvSfrJfD4UxpKTlcQEViQivF_XNMdMYEiNg2255zEF7A/s1600/DSCN0791.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg23izYonuam0oa_RlcfHrC4oU42VyTh2OtHS7t14dsmi_lgpgfTY8OSa5cRKuCAyXJvkx0kAUpU8QkxZjA0ZTK8rIT-PEw9bzvSfrJfD4UxpKTlcQEViQivF_XNMdMYEiNg2255zEF7A/s200/DSCN0791.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the southern bank of Lashi lake.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYQrxvz79cdkIyT7cCyG5CuRvK-oSHb9QXRUAHGlzIbpSW9u0dmVIuwodKuRdwfaJ2kIIvzPlWPNBn-FpSqqbtLTIMSvdKdYQZSoyTUESny-a3q0_XKlI6p8sVEaWdqFRCocZBRTGi6Q/s1600/DSCN0777.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYQrxvz79cdkIyT7cCyG5CuRvK-oSHb9QXRUAHGlzIbpSW9u0dmVIuwodKuRdwfaJ2kIIvzPlWPNBn-FpSqqbtLTIMSvdKdYQZSoyTUESny-a3q0_XKlI6p8sVEaWdqFRCocZBRTGi6Q/s200/DSCN0777.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Horse corral worker taking my bike for a spin. Afterwards he<br />
declared it was no good. The saddle of my bike would only<br />
破蛋 "break your balls" whereas the saddle of one of his horses<br />
is like getting a massage...</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: left;">We often have visitors come take tours of the Green Education Center. Last week Brandon and I led tours for some Canadian and Italians visiting from Shanghai. Usually our boss will lead tours for Chinese speakers, but we'll chime in in Chinese in case he forgot anything. During the tour we explain about Lashihai's ecosystems, the use of Biogas (gas created by fermenting feces in an anaerobic digester then used to cook food) and sustainable living in rural China. </span><br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">We also invite local villagers to come by and see a demonstration of our efficient trash burning stove. It is unfortunate and counter-intuitive for Brandon and I to burn trash (not too mention terribly unsustainable), but the sad fact is, in a rural village like ours there is no other alternative to deal with your garbage. What makes it worse is trash burning pit used by most of our village is not very good. Its walls are low with on open top, so much of the trash gets blown out of the pit and lands in the stream directly next to it, and flows into the lake. On average only half of the trash gets burned properly. After people throw in the garbage and light a fire, they leave and don't make sure it all gets thoroughly burned. The half burned stuff is also kicked out by the wind. Lastly, EVERYTHING (plastic, batteries, light bulbs, pesticide bottle...) is burned, and so people too close the pit breath tons of terrible gases. Our new trash stove is enclosed with a chimney reaching fifteen feet into the air. Although all the terrible gases are still released into the air at least people aren't breathing it in. It also burns all the trash very thoroughly and in much less time, and so less wood is needed for fuel. Again it is a very sad reality for us that burning trash is the only way to deal with it, but at least we can try to do it as efficiently as possible with the least amount of impact to people and environment..... : /</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">While we are not working at the GEC we also volunteer once a week teaching English at the local middle school. The kids are great fun. It gives them a chance to get up out of their chairs and act silly for a bit while at the same time learning some English from native speakers instead of their teachers, who all speak English fairly well, but with thick Chinese accents. So we are the kiddos only pronunciation coaches. We also bring in the guitar and teach them songs. It’s a good break from the normal daily routine.</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Also with free time we do plenty of hiking in the local mountains, plenty of biking around the countryside and beyond, taking in the beautiful scenery, learning to relax and quite my mind, writing and playing music, filming bees, wood carving, studying Ancient Chinese and Daoism, meeting with CoushSurfers who travel through the Lijiang/Lashihai area, plenty of reading [Jack Kerouac is great while traveling] learning to cook Chinese food….</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Once a week we will make dumplings or baozi. I was surprised out how very easy it is to do and I am glad I am learning it now so I can take it with me back to the States and make delicious dumplings for folks when I return.</div><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">kneading dough</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQAHmdUoK_qyHOaPNzxlENnlEWOQAoWP8K6off09R7r32EUgdphQMrKxQkudzDuAVT6_mzqppQx6I6uju0ihDypJnAN1YWwPqe27dACAPNBX62YQiC-OZq8zIDMWWwTBeEV8EQYHlKwA/s1600/DSCN0761.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQAHmdUoK_qyHOaPNzxlENnlEWOQAoWP8K6off09R7r32EUgdphQMrKxQkudzDuAVT6_mzqppQx6I6uju0ihDypJnAN1YWwPqe27dACAPNBX62YQiC-OZq8zIDMWWwTBeEV8EQYHlKwA/s200/DSCN0761.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steaming Dumplings</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixVZLUUSDwQjZM7YGMvi13n_issTJZQB2lmSmlDq85pY42vFGxtswhABlnJQ8FrYQP3qJhz-D81Kn5MG9uPKICxcmkESwqOkrdpwl8CQ6MnvqaJH5gBpGMrGyJa39CB0SYxe-lqQziXQ/s1600/P1150827.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixVZLUUSDwQjZM7YGMvi13n_issTJZQB2lmSmlDq85pY42vFGxtswhABlnJQ8FrYQP3qJhz-D81Kn5MG9uPKICxcmkESwqOkrdpwl8CQ6MnvqaJH5gBpGMrGyJa39CB0SYxe-lqQziXQ/s200/P1150827.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">filming bee hive for Flying Pigeon video</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsz1GQDcvUZXAxYIY7AGa0gVV0nuGjPCfV2HDiYZpkcMNavxp1fvg658HS_yU1GLK3dt18gEp-o2ZOTBz7nFW2n-Miq65GVTwK2elYO3bRJKQ6BQbd_qU7N_B_-uL_RJSXpvTconStew/s1600/P1150843.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="display: inline !important; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsz1GQDcvUZXAxYIY7AGa0gVV0nuGjPCfV2HDiYZpkcMNavxp1fvg658HS_yU1GLK3dt18gEp-o2ZOTBz7nFW2n-Miq65GVTwK2elYO3bRJKQ6BQbd_qU7N_B_-uL_RJSXpvTconStew/s200/P1150843.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">teaching at the middle school<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">Today we had a nice surprise. A middle school student whose family is good friends with the GEC stopped by with a bag full of fish he, his father and grandfather caught this morning in the lake. He taught Brandon and I how to clean and gut the fish. It was the first time I’ve ever done it, and it feels good to have the new knowledge. It leads to another interesting aspect of life in rural China, we know exactly where all of our meat comes from. When we have pork its from the piggies that GEC</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">That's basically my life here in Lashihai, Yunnan, China. It is a simple yet fulfilling life, and one that gives me perspective and insight on the life I live in the States.</div><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">14 year old Muyi teaching me how to clean and gut fish.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiECE09Z1Lqb8Mlmemi8jnefWNU72__dr_j8DZL-FmpmnMPQVp3_VV_8C3rRCxPGzX9zldF4MUZRghfjT0Ex24a9jmXLmZ7OMEp42OzizU8sjh6FEoI7BXmQBCuGq_J4S0V_VqHt3X5LA/s1600/DSC00983.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiECE09Z1Lqb8Mlmemi8jnefWNU72__dr_j8DZL-FmpmnMPQVp3_VV_8C3rRCxPGzX9zldF4MUZRghfjT0Ex24a9jmXLmZ7OMEp42OzizU8sjh6FEoI7BXmQBCuGq_J4S0V_VqHt3X5LA/s200/DSC00983.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our three little pigs. Have no doubts about their fate.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>brendanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837657160598843294noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-807613932063067511.post-11113042481662233292012-03-31T18:34:00.001+08:002012-03-31T18:34:24.164+08:00Flying Pigeon Music VideoI've never talked about my music project Flying Pigeon on the blog before. Here is the first. Only because today I finished the first and only music video for Flying Pigeon.<br />
<br />
Since leaving the States last June I have not had many chances to play music. Which is a pity because if you know me at all you know that music is a huge part of my life, probably the huggest.<br />
<br />
Every once in a while I come across a guitar or piano that I can mess around on, but it was not until coming to Yunnan that I bought a cheap acoustic guitar. I brought all my recording equipment from the States in the hope thats I would find a way to keep rocking. I finally did.<br />
<br />
On top of that there is a bee hive within the Green Education Center which fascinates me. So I spent a few days taking some recordings of it, and today after recording the simple guitar tune, I put the two pieces together and came up with this music video. Enjoy.<br />
<br />
FLYING PIGEON The Bees of Lashihai.<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6J_PODZg8o&feature=youtu.be" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6J_PODZg8o&feature=youtu.be</a>brendanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837657160598843294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-807613932063067511.post-10301674664432599702012-03-26T16:46:00.000+08:002012-03-26T16:46:40.356+08:00Slowly and Silently Cycle On.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO-Gil35iZPbj3BJABLyT-_w83ZOg5naUktrPvxGTzcPtnafZERY5P22QdMSOSrmg_MjYc0FDZIFpuNChZUwi-1Hm4mtxZFTtTnfUKctzrQanYIjTOx7ZWFZnh-AQMDCdA38umcRKQuQ/s1600/DSCN0715.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="70" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO-Gil35iZPbj3BJABLyT-_w83ZOg5naUktrPvxGTzcPtnafZERY5P22QdMSOSrmg_MjYc0FDZIFpuNChZUwi-1Hm4mtxZFTtTnfUKctzrQanYIjTOx7ZWFZnh-AQMDCdA38umcRKQuQ/s400/DSCN0715.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Panoramic view of the First Bend.</td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Slowly and Silently Cycle On: Our Trip to the First Bend of the Yangtze River.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I started out by re-patching my front tire. The previous patch failed the night before. Then pulling off the back rack I used for our tent and sleeping bags while biking to Dali the weekend before. I even cut off my handle bar grips and replaced them with a new set. I wanted my bike to run smooth for the days adventure so I made sure the tires were inflated all the way, tightened the brakes, and cleaned the dirt off of the cog and chain. I was a ball of energy that morning and I needed to do something, I needed to go somewhere. I could have gone anywhere, Yulong Snow Mountain, Wenhai Lake. But I figured the day was as good as any to finally make it to the First Bend of the Yangtze River. It was an 80km there and back trip. Easily doable despite the huge mountains I would be passing through and despite that I was starting the trip at 1 in the afternoon. Brandon was still humming and hawing about whether or not he was going to go. I told him he had me eating a sandwich’s worth of time to suss it out, because after that, I’d be flying out the gate putting these two twitchy legs into motion. He ended up coming and I was glad he did.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Right as we got to the main road I was off. Within five minutes I had already put a good distance between Brandon and myself. I was not worried about us getting separated as there were only two roads that we would be riding the whole trip. I didn’t bring my iPod. I was stick to death of having to fiddle with the cord so that the right or left ear bud wouldn’t short out. Or if it were too loud I couldn’t hear the traffic well enough. I just wanted to listen to the sounds around me, be them honking cars or buzzing bees. Not that I was totally without music. Aware that I didn’t bring anything along my subconscious pulled through and produced the most perfect of tunes to plug right into my head. Bobby Ellis’s ‘Step Softly.’ I couldn’t have picked a sweeter soundtrack to ride to even if I had brought along my iPod. The piano and bass first lay out a slow, still, mysterious little intro and you’re not really sure what’s gonna come next. Then the drums kick in; DAT Boom Ba Boom! And the horns start singing a sad little melody. Each time I hear it, it brings up visions of a herd of elephants or caravan of camels trekking through the dessert in that never-ending search for water. The beat is a slow one, but its a rock-steady one, one that can put me in a trance so I can just keep moving moving moving and soon I forget that I’m cycling at all and I just notice the road moving beneath me and the trees passing by me. I was in a trance and I was moving.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Leaving Lashihai behind wasn’t any trouble. After wrapping around the south of the lake we started up the hills which led west out of the valley toward the First Bend two valleys over. I came across a beekeeping farm and stopped a moment to admire the 30 something hives and countless something bees that droned about above them. It was a good spot to sit a moment and let Brandon catch up. I started talking with the beekeeper, asking what kind of bees they were, when he harvests the honey, how does he do it? At the center we have our own bee box, but no one with the knowledge of taking the honey. He didn’t provide much more advice other than “Open the box and take the honey combs out.” I guess it was as simple as that, and I had just expected a long, convoluted explanation. The man had kept bees for 20 years, so I took relaxed approach as an absolute truth. It then struck me that the life of the beekeeper is a life I would easily choose for myself. No better way to observe the natural way of things.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We kept going on and soon found a small Tibetan Buddhist Monastery over looking the valley. It was more of a tourist trap then place of worship. One could get a picture taken with a hawk that was tethered up near by while wearing traditional clothing of the region. As well as pay for prayers for yourself and loved-ones. We stopped just long enough to eat a snack and take some photos. I’ve never had much interest in Buddhism, but the art and flags have always drawn me in. I tend to lift a flag or two whenever we visit a site such as this. Brandon pardoned away my thievery as the redistribution of Tibetan Buddhist culture to otherwise Tibetan cultureless places (your welcome Oakland.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4nWBjAmaA75YmbfjhZX_lf21k03DAkDsIBrjYTdSnIMqMpZCZRrPw1uRlQTUGV6izOoz-qaToN-NLZR5QAERNkAwq0WZz_yFC-G8-56PzLlGJoHBr63jj2Qu8p9k5xU7MCcQ9FavtyQ/s1600/DSCN0668.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4nWBjAmaA75YmbfjhZX_lf21k03DAkDsIBrjYTdSnIMqMpZCZRrPw1uRlQTUGV6izOoz-qaToN-NLZR5QAERNkAwq0WZz_yFC-G8-56PzLlGJoHBr63jj2Qu8p9k5xU7MCcQ9FavtyQ/s320/DSCN0668.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br />
</o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Now it was time to start flying down the hillside into the next valley. And fly we did. Some spots without traffic I got going so fast that when a 180<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Symbol;">°</span> turn approached I almost couldn’t slow down in time before entering the turn. With the speed and how hard I was leaning into each turn my back tire’d start skidding out from under me, but I was able to keep both wheels on the tarmac. At one curve I pulled off to the side of the road to wait for Brandon and get another view of the valley. We could see the Yangtze far down below. We weren’t able to see the First Bend. That was hidden behind a mountain range separating that valley and the next one. The thought of turning back was brought up then. It was getting late and the fact that with each minute of screaming downhill would come 20 minutes of panting uphill. It seemed daunghting. There was a moment of indecision.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">“I want to keep going.” I said with all seriousness after some moments of pondering. That morning I was spontaneously struck with a mission to do something that would push my body and remind me of the rewards of stress and struggle. “I want to keep going.” I repeated to make clear. I knew we had options of getting back up the hill that night. We could harden up and bike back, take a bus or taxi from the Bend, or even call Chan Laoshi and he would come rescue us. But I wasn’t going to Not go all the way just because of the hardships of getting back. I was on a mission. I relayed this to Brandon and he agreed to go on. “That’s what I like to Hear!!!” I was so full of joy and adventurous spirit that day he must have wanted to punch me. With that I pulled the flag I lifted from the monastery out from my backpack and tied it to my backpack. I wanted a blur of red and yellow streaking behind me as I flew down the rest of mountain.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Soon after we got to the second road of the two-road journey. A provincial highway that went north around a mountain range then twisted back south leading finally to the Bend. I became ecstatic as we got closer and closer. I could see signs for the Bend and I knew we’d be there within the hour. The roads kept descending lower and lower into the river valley. I was ripping past tourist buses and rigs in front of me. I couldn’t stop or slow down and I didn’t want to. I would catch a fast glimpse of faces within the bus as they saw me cutting through two-lane traffic down the hill and I felt sorry for those folks who couldn’t appreciate Travel as I could. I started to whoop and holler. I was standing up out of the saddle. I was already at such speed that I couldn’t pedal to go faster even if I wanted to. I was a ball of pure excitement. My legs weren’t spinning so I had no way of releasing it so I started singing as loud as I could, loud enough so people in their cars could hear me and understand what they were missing out on. My tra-la-la’s could be heard all the way at the First Bend, and if they couldn’t be heard, then the folks there missed out on some pure joyous inspiration.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As we veered south and started to get glimpses of the Yangtze, patches of clouds opened up and bright columns of light poured down and reflected off the rippling water. The hills were dotted with huts and small villages tucked between terrace upon terrace of rice and wheat fields ascending the hillside like great steps.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_dZhGbedaLIkcV12W7tVBPd32veURZ_BwFNQFmsGahyphenhyphendhlLkeXrBD14n8TaprgOFsHri3G8Yau3XjRUM0DQ9B0HIKrDJZ-Gzu8VmYbsN709WvY0jXwpcbx0wvZSywTP6p2_JkyxPghQ/s1600/DSCN0677.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_dZhGbedaLIkcV12W7tVBPd32veURZ_BwFNQFmsGahyphenhyphendhlLkeXrBD14n8TaprgOFsHri3G8Yau3XjRUM0DQ9B0HIKrDJZ-Gzu8VmYbsN709WvY0jXwpcbx0wvZSywTP6p2_JkyxPghQ/s320/DSCN0677.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We didn’t stop much to take a look at the view. There was no need. The whole valley and river were right there in front of our eyes. The snapping of pictures only interrupts views like this. The pictures you take can’t even compare to the reality. Each moment looking through a lens is one less moment of the gorgeous spectacle being burned into your memory. A patch a green forest sprang up from around a corner. I looked back toward Brandon, but I didn’t need to say a thing. He was already yelling out “Do you want to go down there?!?”</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJUdndS8YOVTOrTDfeMqjwK4PQUJetyH4RHS-jC8OBbsnm_kc0PmfCOqnJDaV5D98Am8ucYlhYO5UD-b0ocN1mXOi-kTnqHAK8LKg5cZCkOqiTd_Zil1FygHz9HssyOgtRn6ts78H6mw/s1600/DSCN0690.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJUdndS8YOVTOrTDfeMqjwK4PQUJetyH4RHS-jC8OBbsnm_kc0PmfCOqnJDaV5D98Am8ucYlhYO5UD-b0ocN1mXOi-kTnqHAK8LKg5cZCkOqiTd_Zil1FygHz9HssyOgtRn6ts78H6mw/s320/DSCN0690.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The first opening in the bushes we pushed our bikes down a short steep hill into this shaded forest on the bank of the river. We walked through the trees and started over the dried flood plain of the river. There were huge, deep cracks in the soil. At the waters edge were rock pebbles and of course trash. We had high hopes for a river in pristine condition, unaffected by the thousands of miles of industry and pollution the Yangtze flowed through before passing Shanghai and emptying its black waters the Pacific. But even this far into the lesser developed and unpopulated west the casual and irresponsible waste management habits of China were clear to see. “This is probably as clean as it gets.” We confirmed. But I was used to China by now and didn’t let it bother me. At the rivers edge my shoes and socks were quickly off, followed by the shirt and pants. I took one step toward the water and then the thought of biking 40 kilometers uphill in soggy undies flashed through my head. So I excused myself to Brandon and the underwear came off as well, and I ran giggling into the cold cold waters of the Yangtze. The water flowed one thousand miles off the Tibetan Plateau to greet me where I stood, then continued to flow three thousand more miles to the Pacific. The water was fast, and me not being the best swimmer, I was easily carried down the river until I managed to doggy paddle to the shallows where I could manage some backstrokes upstream. In 1966 Mao Zedong, then in his 70’s, swam about 15km, over an hour in the Yangtze. I lasted about 3 minutes of the freezing water and strong currents before I returned to shore and pants returned to my legs. But it felt good. I felt great and walked happily away wringing the last drops of the murky water from out of my beard. </div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOZJuyhmMzUhTAuSnjz05RcEsG4mOipnyVKUQVE0gl-RNfcyyf8IVBIG9k3Gxx57blYqGqVYfzMj0nTzNG9MD90fyJl0yXfCVNiG17vdYNdtTWHjLhszxUa7pZafVLwlrQB7j_9ytcAQ/s1600/DSCN0702.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOZJuyhmMzUhTAuSnjz05RcEsG4mOipnyVKUQVE0gl-RNfcyyf8IVBIG9k3Gxx57blYqGqVYfzMj0nTzNG9MD90fyJl0yXfCVNiG17vdYNdtTWHjLhszxUa7pZafVLwlrQB7j_9ytcAQ/s200/DSCN0702.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-QcW2RTL8LE9p-anPYCAAI79sHIwToGyCfn2fxBkqQ3_lLdxmdIbMNEqUir-J5mcETpcTR1ZAnbK8JZDSA8nx0ZaNFWJSN6PcB-8tEU5ltujoIv1-Ka36KzdAiwpM9ztn9b4wS4j5OA/s1600/DSCN0694.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-QcW2RTL8LE9p-anPYCAAI79sHIwToGyCfn2fxBkqQ3_lLdxmdIbMNEqUir-J5mcETpcTR1ZAnbK8JZDSA8nx0ZaNFWJSN6PcB-8tEU5ltujoIv1-Ka36KzdAiwpM9ztn9b4wS4j5OA/s200/DSCN0694.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">At the actual site where the river flowed south then took a 180<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Symbol;">°</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> turn to the north we ate a much needed lunch and talked about being back in the States, going to concerts and living the life we were used to. But no matter how home sick we were or impatient to get back to the life we were used to, it was obvious the experiences we’ve gone through on this side of the world would only changed us for the better, thus making going to concerts again and hanging with our friends in the same old places a bit richer than before.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp0bVXwpqhggjjnOLBQstQBI9gZNLxdC5CqNbxMQfRWuWxloxsTV2PnEujPC7axbIpuQrwp99EaUSqfW-qQi3wHHgb_G7w8x8KzbWxuSqnkVGd-ejN9HpWkkLlYeWk5qZjZXEEMHjY8A/s1600/DSCN0708.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp0bVXwpqhggjjnOLBQstQBI9gZNLxdC5CqNbxMQfRWuWxloxsTV2PnEujPC7axbIpuQrwp99EaUSqfW-qQi3wHHgb_G7w8x8KzbWxuSqnkVGd-ejN9HpWkkLlYeWk5qZjZXEEMHjY8A/s320/DSCN0708.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">It was already passed five in the evening and we had a long way to go so our dinner was brief and we were on the road heading back before we knew it. The trouble with a river is it flows at the absolute lowest elevation it possible can. Like the Tao, it settles in the places people avoid. Ergo, the climbing of hills started immediately, and quite literally did not cease for 40km until we descended back into Lashihai. Before we found a place to eat we thought of perhaps having to catch a bus home after a blind merchant on the side of the road told us it’d be impossible to make it back home that same evening. He under estimated my drive. I knew what I got myself into, and I knew what to do to get home. Right from the get-go I was pushing ahead. Brandon could handle himself and so I got into a rhythm and just kept moving moving moving. I was already 7km uphill from the river valley. I was all alone and already fairly exhausted from the climb. I pulled off to take a pee in the bushes. I had too much momentum to wait for Brandon to catch up and he was nowhere in sight. I called him to see how it was going at his end. “I’m fine.” he confirmed. “Just go on ahead. I’ll find a car back if I need to.” I knew he was wily and could easily take care of himself. I pulled my shades out from my shirt collar and whipped the sweat from my chest of off the lens and put them on. With Brandon’s blessing I’d go it alone. </span>So then I continued to do what I do best, slowly and silently cycle on.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1wwjB5W5cS28kREhjuAxVSsQNl-E1poXnfMAWySVvORqyMfjTCSmQj9DzY9T42k9TFH1Hn7kvgz9K1H82Np8Fs77-0_N3q9LbMCgpJAtyuT0Eosq8fdDXEH0Xkf1uM4Q_Wfr1gOuGIQ/s1600/DSCN0727.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1wwjB5W5cS28kREhjuAxVSsQNl-E1poXnfMAWySVvORqyMfjTCSmQj9DzY9T42k9TFH1Hn7kvgz9K1H82Np8Fs77-0_N3q9LbMCgpJAtyuT0Eosq8fdDXEH0Xkf1uM4Q_Wfr1gOuGIQ/s320/DSCN0727.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">There’s something odd about cycling on a mountain. I am often completely unaware of my surroundings. While racing down a mountain the scenery seems to pass by so quickly, almost too quickly for me to take in. While pushing up a mountain the only thing I can pay any attention to at all is my front tire slowing rotating as the kilometers take eternities to pass. The lively operatic arpeggios of my heart that I had belted out at the top of my lungs and the gushing winds that deafened my ears only hours earlier had been replaced with low grunts and long heavy breathes in tempo with the clack-clack of the bike’s crank arm, the constant squeal of the chain and the next to silent sound of the tires rubbing against the road.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">There is nothing to do except to keep pedaling. I didn’t bring enough snacks for fuel. The orange and energy bar I brought along I had already eaten on the way to the Bend, and we didn’t get anything more before we started heading back. All I had on me was 1 kuai RMB, about $0.16 USD. Even in China that’s not a lot to barter goods or services with. I had to get off the bike and start walking up one steep incline. While walking I just about finished all of my water. At this point I was praying for a slow rolling rig or tractor to pass by so I could piggyback up the hill, but no dice. After 15-20 minutes of shuffling along I was a bit more rested and hydrated. I was able to get back in the saddle and keep pushing. The sun was starting to dip behind the clouds above the mountains range to the west. Part of me didn’t worry too much about having to race the sun to get home. The way I calculated, so long as I was constantly raising in elevation that would offset the ever-setting sun, keeping me on a well-lit road. By then I had painfully made it back to the Tibetan monastery. It was deserted and the sunset was amazing. I stayed a while to re-gain my vigor.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik3IcDP2t-oIBc2L0HY8VrvRtUBlf9-45ERuUjhVmGyI34z03hgKo_K5ItIMaRJ7cItHBqYZw2t7E32uz7i-4bxC2eA0r5d4IMWEphSo2McK2tZfeoAPanKKsd-vzMC_-m14gZ-NBtcg/s1600/DSCN0737.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik3IcDP2t-oIBc2L0HY8VrvRtUBlf9-45ERuUjhVmGyI34z03hgKo_K5ItIMaRJ7cItHBqYZw2t7E32uz7i-4bxC2eA0r5d4IMWEphSo2McK2tZfeoAPanKKsd-vzMC_-m14gZ-NBtcg/s320/DSCN0737.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I knew I was closer than not to the top of the mountain. I could see the peak above me, but with so many switchbacks on the road I knew better than to claim success just yet. I could still be easily beaten. But as I soldiered onward and upward on the final stretch, providence sent forth a mighty rig of a truck rumbling up the hill in my wake. I heard it long before I saw it. I knew the timing had to be just right to find something to grip onto as the truck passed. It was still too far behind me to gauge and we were coming up to a flat spot. I knew that the driver would drop the gear and speed up right when he got the chance, which meant I might miss mine. As the truck pulled up next to me he was slowly pushing me to the side of the road. Worrying about not being driving off the road into a ditch, keeping in pace with a passing semi-truck and finding something to grip onto to is indeed worrying. And right as the truck hit the flat stretch of road and I was in line with the rear end of the truck I grasped the hinge of the back gate just as the driving put he motor in a lower gear and we jolted off together. Like a minnow in the shadow of a shark or an oxpecker on the back of a rhino I stuck to that truck and glided up the steep incline. This glorious ride lasted only 3 minutes. It would have been about 30 had I biked it. The truck was hauling sand, and each time the truck jerked while switching gears it would start cascading over my head and arm. I was caked in sand by the time we got to the top of the hill. But I didn’t mind. Dirt isn’t dirty I confirmed to myself, and besides I had made it. I was thrilled. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">And then, when I thought my joy and jubilation could not possibly be any greater, I was met at the top of mountain by the last thing I expected. A few hundred meters in front of the semi I noticed a colorful speck pulling a bicycle out from the back of a Jeep. Brandon. He later explained that he had also been busily biking away behind me until he decided; “That’s it!” got off his bike and started hitchhiking. He had stopped two cars that demanded money in exchange for a ride before a family greeted him on their way back to Lijiang who were happy to give him a lift for free. He planned on taking the ride all the way into Lashihai, until in the distance he noticed a colorful speck on a bicycle hugging the back of a semi-truck and said that a lift to the top was the hill was plenty and thanked the family for the assistance. It was a perfect and unlikely meeting. There was nothing more but easy roads ahead of us. The sun had just set and the sky was still blue and purple. It had only gotten dark during the final stretch. After 7 hours, 80 kilometers and over 1,000 meters of climbing we had made it. And we were home.</div><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">goodbye truck...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">... hello brandon.</td></tr>
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</div><!--EndFragment-->brendanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837657160598843294noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-807613932063067511.post-90619443950207253112012-03-07T23:13:00.001+08:002012-03-08T11:42:48.726+08:00Reminiscences Of Our Weekend<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj67yceRPLTx-HgkP5etlUPbNe47uACx5IGSfPaGlhrBgdR22U8wyEqCysp_YYCNnUOJf1DLy4fhNINNxdwp2MplkNDANjgtpBBjrTbPaeDvpx0A64kFHo2opdEt6OjQE0_YPYhz4Bq5w/s1600/Lijiang+Hostel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj67yceRPLTx-HgkP5etlUPbNe47uACx5IGSfPaGlhrBgdR22U8wyEqCysp_YYCNnUOJf1DLy4fhNINNxdwp2MplkNDANjgtpBBjrTbPaeDvpx0A64kFHo2opdEt6OjQE0_YPYhz4Bq5w/s400/Lijiang+Hostel.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><i>Reminiscence Of Our Weekend.</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Inspired by <i>On the Road</i>, Jack Kerouac.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p><br />
</o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p>Lashihai, Yunnan, China </o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">3/7/12<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">After a week of working hard in the backyard of the Green Education Center, digging up hills, burying trash mounds and moving piles of cement left behind by workers, Brandon and I decided we needed a bit more of a break. The only thing we could do other than our normal once a week trip to Lijiang was to stay the there overnight, make an evening out of it, try to find adventure, new friend as well as other things, and hanging out without worrying about having to make it over the hill into Lashihai in the middle of the night.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">It was Saturday and we started the day by going to a school for orphans to give a presentation on the importance of recycling, sorting garbage properly and the use of Bio-gas. The kids were great, and much more pleasant than the kids of the public middle school we went to two days later, the Monday when GEC was flooded with students from Yale University and Yali Middle School form Hunan. We were invited back anytime to spend time with the orphans who spent most the year within the gates of the school.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">After the presentation we drove further into town to purchase a cargo tricycle for GEC from a small trike dealer down an alley of fruit markets and mechanics. Before our director Chen Laoshi handed over any money I made sure the owner tightened the loose hubs as well as raise the saddle to fit Brandon and myself. After pedaling it down the alley and getting aquainted with the dual crank-lever and foot brake we were given the keys to the GEC compound and Chen Laoshi's blessing to deliver the new trike to Lashihai. We later found out that some previous interns had apparently been drinking one day and crashed GEC's previous electric driven cargo trike into a ditch, totaling it.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">It was the first time either of us had ridden a trike. It moved surprisingly swift for having one of us sitting in the cargo hold while the other swerved in and out of the cars along Changshui street heading out from Lijiang. We got some good looks from folks as they drove by, and we even tried calling out to people about a foreigner for sale for fifteen kuai ($2.50)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Chen Laoshi and ourselves figured we could get up and over the hill with one of us pedaling and the other pushing. It ended up being a pain no mater what which way, and so we just walked it to the top. Then, I was pleased as punch to get to ride it down the hill into Lashihai while Brandon gave us momentum sitting in the cargo hold. Only facing backwards so he could see the cars as they barreled down the hill after us. Just coasting down the hill at first with a shit eating grin on my face, I even started pedaling faster after a few vans zoomed by on out left. Still smiling I noticed the front wheel the dealer tightened before we left the shop wobbling away. Brandon looked over the railing and saw us swerving ever closer to the drop on the side of the road as I was leaning into all the curves down the slope. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Once getting it back to GEC I parked it right in front of the office to show off the new toy to the other staff once they got back. We got ready to ride our own bikes back to the city for a night of adventure. Just as we were started back up the hill, the other way this time, we were stopped for just a moment by Chen Laoshi, Liu Laoshi and Sinan who were driving back to GEC. They were used to tourists in the area, also used to bikers and interns, but for a second it seemed that after three weeks of our presence at GEC the sight of us still left them surprised and perplexed.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Rolling down the down the hill into Lijiang is so much more exciting. Lijiang is about 100 meters below Lahihai, and so long as there are no large trucks ahead blocking traffic you can get some great speed racing down into the valley. Passing cars on the right on the straights or cutting into the on coming lane to pass mini-buses on the wide left turns with a clear view of on coming up hill traffic. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Once winding through the final curves at the bottom of the hill into the valley we decided to take a road north to check out the Old Town in Shuhe. The road was brand new and huge. Three lanes each way, which was great for biking on as it was more or less abandoned by other traffic. The cars that were there were also free to take up two lanes, drive 70mph or even choose which side of the median they wanted to drive on. Although the road free from traffic there were plenty of workers. Men and women on the shoulders pouring cement, lining up curb blocks and finishing the median landscapes. Brand new bus stops were also being built. Each bus stop looked like a gate into a temple, which fit the scenery nicely because ahead of the long, wide, flat road was a clear view of the snow topped Yulongxue mountain. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The reason this brand new highway was still abandoned was that it didn't lead anywhere but the small town of Shuhe. Further up the road heading west back toward Lashihai was the second half of this road being built. It would slowly ascend up pillars to a tunnel that would lead into Lashihai and take them straight to Shangrila, the fabled land the from the Lost Horizon novel that later started a race for near by cities to officially changed their name as to attract more and more tourists each year, Han-ifying and degrading the pristine, undeveloped west of China.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">After finding nothing special about Shuhe Old Town we biking to it's larger twin, Lijiang Old Town, and headed to Prague Cafe, our new regular spot, and from the demographic of Lijiang's Old Town, 99% of which are tourists, it seemed like we were some of Prague Cafe's only regulars. They have great cheesecake, good food and ok coffee and beer, all for a lot more money than we'd be willing to spend in any other city we've lived in. But as we had no need to spend any money Monday through Friday at the GEC we didn't mind splurging. They also have a cute wait staff, a great selection of books and magazines and an atmosphere that makes it easy to loose hours sitting, talking, eating and drinking. Once I hit the 100-120 kuai mark ($20~) I know its time to go.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">In Lashihai we were only 90% sure about staying the night in Lijiang, but after Prague we were set on getting a hostel and staying the night. We knew of International Youth Hostel close by and decide we could go there first, drop off our bikes and head back out to meet some folks. Four-dorms were cheap, and we were able to lean and lock our bikes up behind the couch in the common room. But it was still just the two of us. We wanted to see if we could meet anyone at the hostel who was also planning on going out. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Brandon thought he heard English being spoken on the third floor so we went up to check it out. There was one guy standing outside of his door over looking the Old Town at night. Without hesitating a second I greeted him and inquired if he planned on going out at all that night. I usually would have been a bit more timid while approaching a stranger like that, but we had a mission that night, and after three weeks of no contact other than the GEC staff and each other we were desperate to interact with new people. It was no time to be timid. This guy was named Fernando and he was from Portugal. He seemed to be in his mid-thirties and spoke great English. He had just gotten back after a long day of traveling and was planning on getting up early in the next morning to go to Tiger Leaping Gorge north of Lashihai, and so he was not going to do anything other than sleeping that night. But we still stayed and chatted with him a while to pick up tips and tales from a fellow traveler. Ends up he was on his second leg of his second trip around the globe. This time he started off doing a loop around South America, up through the west coast of the US, flew back to his home a Lisbon for a fortnight or two and continued through Europe, Russia and into China before he heads into South-East Asia. When I asked him which was his favorite of all the places he had travelled and I didn't know what to expect. But I was surprised when he said it was the southern most tip of South America, Chile and Argentina. He described it as a nature reserve. During the day he could go about without seeing another soul, while at the same time seeing such an array of wildlife and plants the likes of which he'd never seen. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">As I see more and more the world I see how small it can really be. I can only imagine after going around the globe twice the world could seem as tiny and beautiful as a wee marble.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">We wished Fernando good luck and safe travels, then went down stairs to seek more company. In the common room at a table next to our bikes was another pair of travelers. To break the ice I asked them where they got they bought the beers they had on the table before them. We quickly followed their directions to the cooler in the hostel lobby, then returned with a few bottle of beers of our own and asked if we could join them. It was perfect. Here was a Japanese and a Frenchman trying to practice speaking English with one another, and we were two English speakers trying to speak with anyone. Both of them had been working/living/traveling through much of South-East Asia, but this was both their first time to China. We offered our expertise on the country based on our months of being here, and they told us tips and tales of Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. They had both been staying at this hostel for a few days and so after a few hours of chatting they knew we would soon be kicked out so the common room could close. It was decision time whether to call it a night or leave the hostel and brave one of the tourist bars on the tourist bar street that was lined with identical cookie-cutter tourist priced clubs that were filled with tourists.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Although Brandon and I have only been here three weeks, and we certainly were outsiders, we didn't like being clumped in with the other tourists. We lived here. At least we lived in Lashihai, which was now home to the ethnic Naxi people who were pushed out of Lijiang by the ever westward moving Han ethnic group and the tourism industry they brought with them. And its not enough that the Naxi were slowly pushed out from their ancient city, but now each day people from Lijiang who want to get away from the city for a day come to Lashihai to participate in yet another brand of tourism, horse guided tours, led by each able bodied Naxi male in a village. The horse manure has become a constant source of pollution on the streets and in the water of their own community, but they have no alternative ways to earn a living. One aspect of Brandon and my internship at the Green Education Center is to conduct a case study of the negative impact on the Lashihai eco-system and local culture by the tourism industry. Brandon and I are not tourists. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Tourists or not we went to the bar street anyway. But it was surprisingly empty. The streets along the way that were filled during the daytime had only shopkeepers closing down their stalls for the night. There were only two other tables with people within this huge club. We were quickly flanked by staff talking about the drink specials and trying to make new foreign friends. But we had no interest in being friends with them or by being hustled by them anymore. We already caved in and bought a bottle of whiskey and six soft drinks for 400 kuai ($60) and the six soft drinks weren't even Coke or something to mix with the whiskey, it was iced-tea!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Me and the Frenchman Pierre had an easy enough time pretending not to speak English or Chinese. Brandon spit out a few French phrases he learned from his mother when he was a boy. So finally the young and excited waiter turned to the Japanese, Ryouta, hoping to get some sort of response in Chinese, but was once again halted with another language barrier.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">After hours of playing Liar's Dice, a mixed Nanjing/France rules version, with each person taking a drink from the bottle as a penalty, we finally finished it. By that time it was just us four in the bar with two of the workers also sitting at our table waiting for us to finish so they could close and go home. It was almost 1:30am and that is when the hostel locked its doors. We walked through the ancient city of Lijiang back to the hostel and got there just two minutes after the closed the door. They workers inside were still awake and were obliged to let us in. Brandon's and my room was on the second floor and Pierre and Ryouta were on the first. Our goodbye was very short and emotionless. It just goes to show when traveling you can meet a multitude of people and become great companions very fast, but when it is time to go your separate ways, your relationship with each other can seems almost meaningless. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The next morning we woke up around 10am, which is sleeping in by our standards. Although we don't have to work on the weekends at GEC, we feel pretty useless while the other staff are awake making breakfast and cleaning Saturday and Sunday mornings. We lost our 10 kuai deposit on the room plus had to pay an extra two kuai for two beers we got the night before. We didn't have exact change at that time and they couldn't break an hundred kuai bill. Brandon found out the week before while trying to buy an ice cream with an hundred kuai bill that they would just give it to him for free.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">We left the hostel and headed to Prague Cafe again. My head hurt and my stomach was sore and I needed coffee and food in me before we rode back to Lashihai for a day of work making food and beds and cleaning up in preparation for the students from Yale University and the Yali middle school that were coming to GEC the next night.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</div>brendanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837657160598843294noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-807613932063067511.post-76800455841910816662012-02-29T14:04:00.000+08:002012-02-29T14:04:01.323+08:00Climbing Horse Saddle Mountain / 爬马鞍山<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Over the weekend staff members of The Green Education Center took advantage of the beautiful weather and took a hike to the local Horse Saddle Mountain 马鞍山。It is a gorgeous bit of scenery, and whats best is hardly anyone ever goes there. One reason that makes it so fun, it that there aren't really any hiking trails. We had to find our own way through the forest and to the peak.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Our Director Chen Yongsong lent me his GPS device, so I was able to do a bit of cartography along the way, recording our co-ordinates and landmarks along the way so it will be easier for future interns and GEC visitors to find their way to the peak.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRTMFxmE9b3Ut2J2Ba0bbxVQ3PCNMW_CJ2bAHy7HfV2-xtoSDI4UQaN8QyVngl0TuNj8attmaRxHJXkoTqUf6VuQafdg-1uQT1r-58syVpVPyIzVIUe0O3yAEOrxgFA-FBhyphenhyphenCbrj2SZQ/s1600/DSC00843.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRTMFxmE9b3Ut2J2Ba0bbxVQ3PCNMW_CJ2bAHy7HfV2-xtoSDI4UQaN8QyVngl0TuNj8attmaRxHJXkoTqUf6VuQafdg-1uQT1r-58syVpVPyIzVIUe0O3yAEOrxgFA-FBhyphenhyphenCbrj2SZQ/s400/DSC00843.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of Horse Saddle Mountain from outside GEC (looking east) The north peak to the left is 9,863ft <br />
and the south peak to the right is 9,930ft. GEC is at 8,092ft.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcQSWes_wkllL1hbwgx90iPWlRw25wGqltK5GtqkiK9HdqOwO2_MBLLDqQ-135cYwZRwP_BxGZxfhepY25gz8tLVh-IJBRXFSfXM8pGKwcPY_42iKRKG822pzBMP7PSsA_iynDDoPokA/s1600/DSCN0237.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcQSWes_wkllL1hbwgx90iPWlRw25wGqltK5GtqkiK9HdqOwO2_MBLLDqQ-135cYwZRwP_BxGZxfhepY25gz8tLVh-IJBRXFSfXM8pGKwcPY_42iKRKG822pzBMP7PSsA_iynDDoPokA/s400/DSCN0237.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chen Yongsong and myself walking through the foothills.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk9tjhnmAzcb5O65lG43p_9FTO7S0NskHxqtMmpqDMeOWJPVkVtvQT8GKRBVk9Jx_LoKvD4AWwDRO4xC9YytZ1R5h47BnI9ulX6TOGgn_ZKrRjyJRGItrRxfJktJM9k63kjNuV7Yo51g/s1600/DSCN0239.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk9tjhnmAzcb5O65lG43p_9FTO7S0NskHxqtMmpqDMeOWJPVkVtvQT8GKRBVk9Jx_LoKvD4AWwDRO4xC9YytZ1R5h47BnI9ulX6TOGgn_ZKrRjyJRGItrRxfJktJM9k63kjNuV7Yo51g/s400/DSCN0239.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another GEC volunteer Sinan on the left, and myself pause to record our co-ordinates and landmarks.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKrfXzYmP8zoE4i2CM9_58SVOuLM1ELCl1Yj9wwAFAnC0qxmYmxxCewC0AyjqJlA6MO28zQOAJZnIzX94iUXwILZKWErcfB9QuS7TrhJanSue6A2YV9VYowsPXYUJTprrvLRO2A6Erag/s1600/DSCN0246.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKrfXzYmP8zoE4i2CM9_58SVOuLM1ELCl1Yj9wwAFAnC0qxmYmxxCewC0AyjqJlA6MO28zQOAJZnIzX94iUXwILZKWErcfB9QuS7TrhJanSue6A2YV9VYowsPXYUJTprrvLRO2A6Erag/s400/DSCN0246.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Atop the southern peak facing east overlooking Lijiang City.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieNsCuoVzRVX8jYjaPBA12_D95ma-rEhwZm4aJuATS6kXlr4-xUhS4zLxLmwkNm_5WcOgo81BJ58GMZfsCyxayphd6uniQWIFBm3qxyZsKCWX2OKd6k9GO0rcLGtguVboJec_rwYd01w/s1600/DSCN0248.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieNsCuoVzRVX8jYjaPBA12_D95ma-rEhwZm4aJuATS6kXlr4-xUhS4zLxLmwkNm_5WcOgo81BJ58GMZfsCyxayphd6uniQWIFBm3qxyZsKCWX2OKd6k9GO0rcLGtguVboJec_rwYd01w/s400/DSCN0248.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Atop the southern peak facing west overlooking Lashihai. GEC is located at the bottom of the mountain in the middle of the picture.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqpMUqVw_DLfim-j6KOoY1XvFdaRVAUF2FcP-_SNa4A92ExnLf5krHP1uSvXuBQGx-PvrqpB54uL2jmmFTx_IcDT6O7iXqkRAduee_URxl65TEhzRzsz8Xeh37LYj0xCpM1n3NIbRLzQ/s1600/DSCN0254.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqpMUqVw_DLfim-j6KOoY1XvFdaRVAUF2FcP-_SNa4A92ExnLf5krHP1uSvXuBQGx-PvrqpB54uL2jmmFTx_IcDT6O7iXqkRAduee_URxl65TEhzRzsz8Xeh37LYj0xCpM1n3NIbRLzQ/s400/DSCN0254.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just before reaching the north peak. We were all carrying plastic bags around with us as to clean up some of the trash we found along the way. Although not many people make it all the way to the top, those who do still have a very relaxed attitude about throwing their garbage anywhere they please. We filled all 8 of our bags before making it back to GEC, and decided the rest of the trash would have to wait for the next time we hike with more volunteers to clean the rest up.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitKpmN69SVKKIcajZOoW6IylZrO4QLYAbYlOagjBxF-w4hj82RdVk8Dk9u6LOWjJ7dFH4PpgTgAlB348u-ef4dY34nFpwd3rU5KshK-XcidK_TmmgdXKlfpb26SibGqFZX7x3Acyvodw/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-02-29+at+12.33.35+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitKpmN69SVKKIcajZOoW6IylZrO4QLYAbYlOagjBxF-w4hj82RdVk8Dk9u6LOWjJ7dFH4PpgTgAlB348u-ef4dY34nFpwd3rU5KshK-XcidK_TmmgdXKlfpb26SibGqFZX7x3Acyvodw/s400/Screen+shot+2012-02-29+at+12.33.35+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That night I plugged all the co-ordinates into google maps and got a visual on our hiking route. The left most blue dot is GEC and the blue dot at the very bottom is the southern peak. On the left side of the picture you can see the east bank of Lashi Lake. On the right side of the picture are farmlands and the edge of Lijiang City.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span id="goog_746547753"></span><span id="goog_746547754"></span>brendanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837657160598843294noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-807613932063067511.post-32049181545461896752012-02-20T21:24:00.001+08:002012-02-20T21:33:21.069+08:00Journey To Yunnan; Kunming, Lashihai<div style="text-align: left;">Hello hello hello!!!</div><div style="text-align: left;">So I have been in Yunnan for about a week and it has already been action packed!!! Lots of hiking and biking, digging and building, and meetings with NGO directors and Vice-Village Chiefs!!!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZzf0QsgFFOMXOUmJQUbIBo-vineSkbRbR5_sA9ie52Fajk1usaAbulXXyzDiEAZjR2xPafvbkPs6qYXAy7wHvMt-RWsOzxaIElSGdZcEA2fhKRS1iE7HCUxDYsVQ42sJCl0v2A8xA_w/s1600/DSCN0029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZzf0QsgFFOMXOUmJQUbIBo-vineSkbRbR5_sA9ie52Fajk1usaAbulXXyzDiEAZjR2xPafvbkPs6qYXAy7wHvMt-RWsOzxaIElSGdZcEA2fhKRS1iE7HCUxDYsVQ42sJCl0v2A8xA_w/s200/DSCN0029.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sitting on the train to kuming</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Heres a recap</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: right;"></div><div style="text-align: right;"></div>So After the 41 hour train ride from Nanjing into Yunnan Province me and my class mate Brandon's first stop was Kunming. There we stayed with our friend Levi from Hungary that we met on CouchSurfing.org (i cannot sing enough praises about that website. i recommend it to anyone that wants to travel on the cheap) We spent one day walking around the beautiful downtown, managed to find our way to the top of one of the highest buildings in the city (Levi has only lived in Kunming about a month himself, but hes quite adventurous found his own way to the roof) That night we slept on</div><div style="text-align: left;">his roof to see the stars at night (I have not seen any stars while living</div><div style="text-align: left;">in Nanjing so it was a treat) His roommates were all fantastic folks</div><div style="text-align: left;">from Spain, France, Tibet and Israel. I also helped him make bike polo</div><div style="text-align: left;">mallets in the hope that he will start the first Kunming Bike Polo Team. </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisYjUxO7iUC5oFitPNf_pRTLFEOHy-4XsCcLKdoumIlokBvxBww5bS4u8jSlWEPB57kVdAL6PcgE5T708vk1rv5qL61WN-7AjFIjHSdxQi_KEifg1i_Q2FCwCDD2cnslUHrHspxchwLg/s1600/DSC00745.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisYjUxO7iUC5oFitPNf_pRTLFEOHy-4XsCcLKdoumIlokBvxBww5bS4u8jSlWEPB57kVdAL6PcgE5T708vk1rv5qL61WN-7AjFIjHSdxQi_KEifg1i_Q2FCwCDD2cnslUHrHspxchwLg/s200/DSC00745.jpg" width="200" /></a><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdjSvuB2s7wWMpF6TAmhqIzFRs63ZDIDxHxlWls7oeNeYjigFB9SPWtPrKBhr30I39BRTUH3PjFWFqO5p4zBdgMu3ulgjtt09NrUOjQwcdC3U6GAh-tf7ahDT-IZ5yOPMs6Vh_0wzbaw/s1600/DSCN0092.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdjSvuB2s7wWMpF6TAmhqIzFRs63ZDIDxHxlWls7oeNeYjigFB9SPWtPrKBhr30I39BRTUH3PjFWFqO5p4zBdgMu3ulgjtt09NrUOjQwcdC3U6GAh-tf7ahDT-IZ5yOPMs6Vh_0wzbaw/s200/DSCN0092.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>The next day we rode his janky janky bikes to Xi Shan Mountain. It looks over the city from the west. We were heading up the normal hiking trail till we noticed a lesser traveled path and headed that way. We found hidden buddhist shrines! Old cemeteries! And some of the greatest views from the top of mountain! Once we got to the peak of the mountain we walked through a stone forest that dotted the top. We were like mountain goats hopping around till we got to the highest peak looking over the city on Kunming. And I Sang For Joy!!!</div><div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw8SPaSnf6d8Wru3H0SpFWJZocBOMBL743Dzki1dKETnI-ci4mEgsJmbEOVWJjAi2ddcYaCKHqIK01nNqsee1PxBGKctjCLX5BNxLgIvyLOxIkhyAKZ-yyrbl_S6aGl6dONT0CklA05w/s1600/DSC00790.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw8SPaSnf6d8Wru3H0SpFWJZocBOMBL743Dzki1dKETnI-ci4mEgsJmbEOVWJjAi2ddcYaCKHqIK01nNqsee1PxBGKctjCLX5BNxLgIvyLOxIkhyAKZ-yyrbl_S6aGl6dONT0CklA05w/s200/DSC00790.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">outside of the green education center</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB8EXitoDlP40S2pOTvknKsO7dbc0yA0d0ELI1x-4ZvFPNpq03ZeLoblVVGLrj1qyFNCGHntAibFxPcsm41mnrPG1UrfdIWqsxWTJt_LjDPE4r2pRgfgI0pR2hCVCwbQwdt6YszP85-w/s1600/DSC00793.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB8EXitoDlP40S2pOTvknKsO7dbc0yA0d0ELI1x-4ZvFPNpq03ZeLoblVVGLrj1qyFNCGHntAibFxPcsm41mnrPG1UrfdIWqsxWTJt_LjDPE4r2pRgfgI0pR2hCVCwbQwdt6YszP85-w/s200/DSC00793.jpg" width="200" /></a></div></div><div>After saying good-bye to Levi and Kunming we got on a night train to Lijiang. We got there at 9am and we were met by are new director Mr. Chen Yongsong and he drove us about 8km west to our new home of Lashi. Its a small village of less than 40 homes on the bank of a huge lake. Theres probably about 20 villages all around the lake, mostly working in agriculture and horse guides for tourism. Are new home is a traditional Naxi</div><div>compound (Naxi are the indigenous peoples </div><div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizqaUCdsfE7Z7vxUNar_rXG_UlvcUt8YHrIg7A-znkEPBcxLtkeoXV10zDjrwltcWKMeEr2CzsRaUrHOHYKeI-Qi94pqEUN8B1xVcKwaLIm0Ou7xJWBtCXuW6jPribN5T26evOx5P7eA/s1600/DSC00794.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizqaUCdsfE7Z7vxUNar_rXG_UlvcUt8YHrIg7A-znkEPBcxLtkeoXV10zDjrwltcWKMeEr2CzsRaUrHOHYKeI-Qi94pqEUN8B1xVcKwaLIm0Ou7xJWBtCXuW6jPribN5T26evOx5P7eA/s200/DSC00794.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>of Yunnan) We live and work in the same place. It is called the Yunnan EcoNetwrok Green Education Center. It is a local NGO that spreads awareness of sustainable living within rural settings. It is pretty difficult to properly take care of garbage out here, most of it is just dumped on the side of the road, which is too bad because it is so beautiful out here piles of rubbish quickly ruin it. Lots of other trash is burnt in order to get rid of it. So we do what we can to get folks to sort their trash properly, recycle, dont throw trash in the streams... pretty simple, but unknown to many people out here. Other than that, the folks at the Green Education Center advocate a low carbon lifestyle. All of our hot water somes from solar water heaters on our roofs. We use biogas to cook our food. BIOGAS is methane created from fermented human and pig waste and composted organic material. Our outhouse sits on top of a large tank that has gas pipes that lead to our kitchen, it works amazingly! Despite how the food in cooked, it has all been delicious. Are meals are all included with our internship, and one of the volunteers is an amazing cook, and I have been eating the best I have ever eaten in a long time.</div><div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuOw3JkwpcclthbCxT7GdpAevd6CyiiRwJXjajk2DF-LdhAcTFH_ui0rXAinwQOdehNIgclOylNEcXS2p-wtZMLGQPEvEwg8_odU6rNiers-FCRTEAkUKSt1OztjCDyE4sxH2q_GilZA/s1600/DSC00784.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuOw3JkwpcclthbCxT7GdpAevd6CyiiRwJXjajk2DF-LdhAcTFH_ui0rXAinwQOdehNIgclOylNEcXS2p-wtZMLGQPEvEwg8_odU6rNiers-FCRTEAkUKSt1OztjCDyE4sxH2q_GilZA/s200/DSC00784.jpg" width="200" /></a></div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDC6fWWFL6TdK0-92TdlvZmE3NwFixNopWG9o-IwxkMdtMEVi6fkbXbivBcb9WxllvjagPJ4JUtZ208On7AU6hOK0E1V8mcNHyEEU9RTmReMnBoiCUgPZAXRg0ZDwnyGQG3n1BjUzaSg/s1600/DSCN0177.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDC6fWWFL6TdK0-92TdlvZmE3NwFixNopWG9o-IwxkMdtMEVi6fkbXbivBcb9WxllvjagPJ4JUtZ208On7AU6hOK0E1V8mcNHyEEU9RTmReMnBoiCUgPZAXRg0ZDwnyGQG3n1BjUzaSg/s200/DSCN0177.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
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We will be taking part in many projects over the next four months. One small project that started the first week was cleaning out part of our neighbors back yard and so we could use it as a hang out spot for visitors when the arrive. While most people were pulling weeds and such, Brandon and myself got to build a gate connecting the two yards. We decided to make a simple double door with a little bit of traditional Taiwanese design of random wood tied together. It was great to do a bit carpentry again, but it was pretty hard with the crappy selection of tools we had at our disposal and the selection of reclaimed wood. But after a few days we got it taken care of. Other than that we are getting ready to start mapping the local villages and potential environmental threats, I won't go in to them now, but it has to do with the 23 or so horse corrals around the lake and all the horse poo poo that makes its way to the water ways...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKMMWbavLyYlMTqZl8gd05OERzF7pI27T75jv_NQq0Ej7z-w_2bDr7-xZCoKPObGeaFvutXcJiiWXchShoDNwEsAZAPG3J5pUy9Z5F2Wls0AX9lB6WzAyTT7vujVJ8JQvkOvGXfwCOJQ/s1600/DSCN0112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKMMWbavLyYlMTqZl8gd05OERzF7pI27T75jv_NQq0Ej7z-w_2bDr7-xZCoKPObGeaFvutXcJiiWXchShoDNwEsAZAPG3J5pUy9Z5F2Wls0AX9lB6WzAyTT7vujVJ8JQvkOvGXfwCOJQ/s200/DSCN0112.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">tibetan shrine on the side of the road</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSchBAzmaeWGRxrwQ-zeWOpjmh01UjEUyJ8DzHqmT1BOvHfNIK7qc5rpGPFMv6C8maM1PllNhzC8-j84xPK8VQzAsux1trrviQ49kn9Cp1VPT5KCJVSLCMZzzpVmEyp-WPHTbOuZv9kw/s1600/DSC00809.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSchBAzmaeWGRxrwQ-zeWOpjmh01UjEUyJ8DzHqmT1BOvHfNIK7qc5rpGPFMv6C8maM1PllNhzC8-j84xPK8VQzAsux1trrviQ49kn9Cp1VPT5KCJVSLCMZzzpVmEyp-WPHTbOuZv9kw/s200/DSC00809.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
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</div>Lastly, yesterday we took our first bike tour around the lake. It took about 5 hours with stops, but we guessed it would be about 2 1/2 hours to bike continuously around the lake. It is very big, the roads are crap and there is no direct road around, we have to cut in and out of farmlands. Yunnan is on the eastern border on Tibet and you can see the influence everywhere. While biking around the lake we stopped at one Tibetan temple high up on the mountain side. It was the first time I had seen Tibetan monks. They were all wearing red robes, spinning the huge decorative copper cylinders and doing other Tibetan monk activities. We went all the way up the hill behind the main temple and found another temple that was being renovated. Inside was bright and colorful as all the walls had just been repainted. Other than gorgeous wall art there was just one enormous deity statue, and no one inside, it was amazing. While continuing through the villages we found some<br />
kids to play soccer with in the street, and a great Taiwanese restaurant. Good times.<br />
Thats all up to today. We are getting ready to start mapping in the next few days, we are starting to design a new chicken coop for our four chickens, and carving signs for the Education Centers exhibits to replace the old paper and color pencil signs made by the last interns. Hope all is well, I'll post more later as more things happen. Take Care and Safe Adventuring!!!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguMJxDSeMU81-pzxIRgfv5WgpLlWyqK-cYIVsGi5zlhpWl4n2SXoQVynRyGDyhJYonpwY93elWFGfw_Pud6JpIsbB3tcwbUcs1pppmH29gQey0qrbAOYaVS_zHJgBmWwCQQTrCA4cGdw/s1600/DSC00803.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguMJxDSeMU81-pzxIRgfv5WgpLlWyqK-cYIVsGi5zlhpWl4n2SXoQVynRyGDyhJYonpwY93elWFGfw_Pud6JpIsbB3tcwbUcs1pppmH29gQey0qrbAOYaVS_zHJgBmWwCQQTrCA4cGdw/s200/DSC00803.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">outside the tibetan temple</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglIog5FfK-Ww5gikeO2793XoZqrLIQa4M5QAo6Y1unEP8XqUKzvwCIep3Bdfvcox3PSJQf4hyphenhyphenBSHvrLy_ZHYaLVdguMM-KTh4ROWsf75r-lRZq9EZRbDlB-FnE26M1uC0WtU9pASBFkg/s1600/DSCN0162.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglIog5FfK-Ww5gikeO2793XoZqrLIQa4M5QAo6Y1unEP8XqUKzvwCIep3Bdfvcox3PSJQf4hyphenhyphenBSHvrLy_ZHYaLVdguMM-KTh4ROWsf75r-lRZq9EZRbDlB-FnE26M1uC0WtU9pASBFkg/s200/DSCN0162.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">playing footy with the kiddos outside a market</td></tr>
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<br />
</div>brendanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837657160598843294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-807613932063067511.post-45687337958033590162012-02-10T13:45:00.000+08:002012-02-10T13:45:48.100+08:00Last Night In Nanjing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Since I returned from Taiwan I have not had much to do other than get my belongings ready for travel to Yunnan as well as visit some of the sites in Nanjing I have yet to see. One of these was the famous Purple Mountain. So on Monday my friends Maggie, Kevin, Walter, Kleaver and myself all went on a hike. Because Saturday and Sunday were so clear and beautiful we figured Monday morning would be a perfect day to go to the peak of the mountain and look over the city, but of course it started raining late Sunday night, so our view was pretty bleak. But the forest on the mountain side were still gorgeous.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I am currently sitting in a cafe awaiting my friend Brandon to gather his stuff and we will meet at a friends house before departing on our 40+ hours train ride to Kunming, Yunnan Province. We arrive there 9am Sunday morning and get to hang out for a day and a half before taking another 8 hour train to Lijiang.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Last night was our final dinner with friends. We had planned on going to our favorite Turkish restaurant, but we got there to find it was closed, and is usually Never closed!!! Oh well, we had Indian instead.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One thing that made my last night in Nanjing so wonderful is that it snowed. Might not sound that great to some folks, but I have never seen it snow in my life. I have seen snow on the ground but never ever have I seen it fall from the sky, and it was just magical!!! As a kid i remember cutting out snow flakes from pieces of paper, but I never really appreciated that Each and Every snowflake is an actually 6 pointed star!!! It was Crazy!! I build wee snow men form the snow build up on the hoods and trunks of parked cars, I practices my Cricket pitch with snowballs!!! I was so happy.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">That is all for now. My next post will be from Lijiang, Yunnan, China!!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Take Care!!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Base of Purple Mountain</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiMe9rqOusFmGdt2XxmRm3-VniawriuHpTIR1T79l3xawag8QftY3NKIVSL_nb6o69ky57AdUL56EthSv8nvbC7XIlkZDL2DHt5QdsXuItQ80WVUPYjkuxDsXOZAhwd3Dc0Re4TaNd4g/s1600/DSC00657.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiMe9rqOusFmGdt2XxmRm3-VniawriuHpTIR1T79l3xawag8QftY3NKIVSL_nb6o69ky57AdUL56EthSv8nvbC7XIlkZDL2DHt5QdsXuItQ80WVUPYjkuxDsXOZAhwd3Dc0Re4TaNd4g/s320/DSC00657.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From left is Walter, Kevin, Maggie, Kleaver</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cleaning out Buddha's ears</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipfazNBRYi_P6xuS5Mo5QqsbPrTsyNAq0PhGaEi7BQOfvwyJ12EA8Uomruhh9SNN2_EMiUbaMWgwwWu1cS7WSEis4gUqUz6aIFqrjNe5xgoOQtNkjUMw1JC00CaDEhgNBxdmHspsjLAA/s1600/DSC00680.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipfazNBRYi_P6xuS5Mo5QqsbPrTsyNAq0PhGaEi7BQOfvwyJ12EA8Uomruhh9SNN2_EMiUbaMWgwwWu1cS7WSEis4gUqUz6aIFqrjNe5xgoOQtNkjUMw1JC00CaDEhgNBxdmHspsjLAA/s320/DSC00680.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Standing in the snow outside of a closed Istanbul Cafe.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwzJ4SpXsKgvrf8J1hk6hTitp0wRGgjjeMi090-ZCkg9CF4_GGLjzcBbMyCB5SghgJO9zP4wq39YmggsZqZy-iOhKaKXTUKSc5z9z0OJ8fwzAyRmEoTESVNX2EpMgHasawDtd7de5lhg/s1600/DSC00683.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwzJ4SpXsKgvrf8J1hk6hTitp0wRGgjjeMi090-ZCkg9CF4_GGLjzcBbMyCB5SghgJO9zP4wq39YmggsZqZy-iOhKaKXTUKSc5z9z0OJ8fwzAyRmEoTESVNX2EpMgHasawDtd7de5lhg/s320/DSC00683.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eating dinner in an open Taj Mahal.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlr4sJCBmMBw9q5xqu8AYByP1af-Xqw1bXcPHjHX1RojNq43Curw0yMpMFJOocvINWx964xXzLjSvOtpxYc558fd4PgDll6-p3yG5eRdmBwf_C7ji78_W9P5M1EMiuu5cw6E1q5n7Y5g/s1600/DSC00686.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlr4sJCBmMBw9q5xqu8AYByP1af-Xqw1bXcPHjHX1RojNq43Curw0yMpMFJOocvINWx964xXzLjSvOtpxYc558fd4PgDll6-p3yG5eRdmBwf_C7ji78_W9P5M1EMiuu5cw6E1q5n7Y5g/s320/DSC00686.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eden, Brandon, Eleanor.</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPdTjzZk3y4FKAfHYI6MmpvdXzL656a_WRklPINpf3lElxkH96CY9Y_d-SVrJUgwJacExRPJRJB3uKBd0sjT-Uq1mKyQVYvm3lPf504nicT1100up1jc5IQ7g7545Be53EEGKQ_AK2GA/s1600/DSC00696.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPdTjzZk3y4FKAfHYI6MmpvdXzL656a_WRklPINpf3lElxkH96CY9Y_d-SVrJUgwJacExRPJRJB3uKBd0sjT-Uq1mKyQVYvm3lPf504nicT1100up1jc5IQ7g7545Be53EEGKQ_AK2GA/s320/DSC00696.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiszZ4xJrt84-NQq2SOvg9h7e-0Nl80Rg2z0mpewd0sZd84M2gLWNiwJ81tDiMHn_9E0swoRGFybATft82RAYyiZfb_BAr4F5rVD-37585alx67ytmhhr7W8WxlzbKp55aWHjtE_dYRsA/s1600/DSC00698.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiszZ4xJrt84-NQq2SOvg9h7e-0Nl80Rg2z0mpewd0sZd84M2gLWNiwJ81tDiMHn_9E0swoRGFybATft82RAYyiZfb_BAr4F5rVD-37585alx67ytmhhr7W8WxlzbKp55aWHjtE_dYRsA/s320/DSC00698.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bilal and Ali</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv3rSq-s9iDnUDNClZc90mlcu-7jYCmiTzkiIqJ3hAx7Z2umNdOzuDt70_xW2LMg0pVMTVONSBqx_PbeRdbi6KFaIgbbfGn16WP_WW1v6FOe_6y_QNt59S_oy61PoU4dDNcSBgj47G4w/s1600/DSC00703.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv3rSq-s9iDnUDNClZc90mlcu-7jYCmiTzkiIqJ3hAx7Z2umNdOzuDt70_xW2LMg0pVMTVONSBqx_PbeRdbi6KFaIgbbfGn16WP_WW1v6FOe_6y_QNt59S_oy61PoU4dDNcSBgj47G4w/s320/DSC00703.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Erin and Bilal</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmJzYsRqRqaxX6F5sjSGE8E7Kk6L_7rmq6LFJFU3PfRQAX2yo6q4J6-80IVknuMtFgdoYJBxyjgLJUisvEcEseUQrqHg5itXr2hyphenhyphenv97VJwm-posZ-B2lP2ORzXcYhltJj2nZYmw0QMGw/s1600/DSC00704.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmJzYsRqRqaxX6F5sjSGE8E7Kk6L_7rmq6LFJFU3PfRQAX2yo6q4J6-80IVknuMtFgdoYJBxyjgLJUisvEcEseUQrqHg5itXr2hyphenhyphenv97VJwm-posZ-B2lP2ORzXcYhltJj2nZYmw0QMGw/s320/DSC00704.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Other Ali and Shiraz</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIDYQATAkDLQxXE8SLhIMzUtEooWbm8Qliq0Q4_JxdTxCeWWOKQaQy7UwcFnkNV3ZPUjDhVQNX_AXgnsoIM-ivjXjYRMs7aDB950thJFzbP-P3HrSu8LyihNUfIOkqcGAskFodu7z4hA/s1600/DSC00706.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIDYQATAkDLQxXE8SLhIMzUtEooWbm8Qliq0Q4_JxdTxCeWWOKQaQy7UwcFnkNV3ZPUjDhVQNX_AXgnsoIM-ivjXjYRMs7aDB950thJFzbP-P3HrSu8LyihNUfIOkqcGAskFodu7z4hA/s320/DSC00706.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYsYl99d3QCM1GV6tPSmNRquPgb1PDra7Iy5TpC9hkXSOhCAAfiElv0CBT6nrQLeH6uoEalYy_tKPmTBGhLvv4K-ypvNlWKsnGvQL6-K8WaRx1IzHkFjA6ZRqoXRUhJobSnm2XS-ANXQ/s1600/DSC00708.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYsYl99d3QCM1GV6tPSmNRquPgb1PDra7Iy5TpC9hkXSOhCAAfiElv0CBT6nrQLeH6uoEalYy_tKPmTBGhLvv4K-ypvNlWKsnGvQL6-K8WaRx1IzHkFjA6ZRqoXRUhJobSnm2XS-ANXQ/s320/DSC00708.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and crazy Baris from Turkey.</td></tr>
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</div><div><br />
</div>brendanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837657160598843294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-807613932063067511.post-42682926396621056042012-02-04T21:28:00.000+08:002012-02-04T21:28:45.475+08:00Mexican Food in China<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Mexican food in China is very hard to find, pretty much non-existant. If you do happen to find it, it is very expensive, or not even real Mexican food. One place called "Taco" is said to be Chinese Mexican Fusion Cuisine, which is just fried rice in a shell and called a taco. It is disappointing to say the least, especially when my Californian diet is nothing but Mexican food, and I have been stripped of that food staple for over eight months. It brings me much pain. BUT tonight my friends and I were determined to get our Mexican fix. It has taken a little while of searching, but we finally tracked down all the ingredients needed to make our own Mexican at home. HOORAY!!! Not only that, but at a foreign food import store where we got the refried beans and cheese (both items are very hard to find in China. A</span>vocados are also very hard to come by in China, but we managed to find them)<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> I also found a bottle of wine from Paso Robles, just an hour north of my hometown on the Central Coast of good ole' CA. The smile on my face will not be coming off any time soon. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtFFEmYw7jLtt1dOEfPm2QJKYhjdS98VbeBprbodaVsILGum_Vpm_kjLXqBBkC739wD2Tz1NBg5Tuw8JniajbjtINCTxLx3mY1osv8oNMwzQCvGhNdDl4ZZnMetgO4ii8q8REbS-UsIA/s1600/DSC00638.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtFFEmYw7jLtt1dOEfPm2QJKYhjdS98VbeBprbodaVsILGum_Vpm_kjLXqBBkC739wD2Tz1NBg5Tuw8JniajbjtINCTxLx3mY1osv8oNMwzQCvGhNdDl4ZZnMetgO4ii8q8REbS-UsIA/s320/DSC00638.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLChSAQSf-3eIcWCI4PRw6YezAzQjDRdHCnPiByyTQia1_msMLwh2oD6Ge_uNH1yyCbnPR_XqUjeYjB-9pZoX_6LEPWo9GmbH4ixhTa91C8spKbfd6RiTH-aUvqRIFNQ5CN0rbv-1uCg/s1600/DSC00639.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLChSAQSf-3eIcWCI4PRw6YezAzQjDRdHCnPiByyTQia1_msMLwh2oD6Ge_uNH1yyCbnPR_XqUjeYjB-9pZoX_6LEPWo9GmbH4ixhTa91C8spKbfd6RiTH-aUvqRIFNQ5CN0rbv-1uCg/s320/DSC00639.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU5qVB16XWp6TsenXGFOAZkXFz44dCXSMuk0guZoYgye8_tlUsQhGL2IBx7L2oBg7KtXWp-f5__2_Ww-xr4c_tSN5ZUCVBhzBP9DPEoE1XASVq2HgjOM1JlJuGnjr6CsBQXJlfiZTGrQ/s1600/DSC00641.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU5qVB16XWp6TsenXGFOAZkXFz44dCXSMuk0guZoYgye8_tlUsQhGL2IBx7L2oBg7KtXWp-f5__2_Ww-xr4c_tSN5ZUCVBhzBP9DPEoE1XASVq2HgjOM1JlJuGnjr6CsBQXJlfiZTGrQ/s320/DSC00641.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>brendanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837657160598843294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-807613932063067511.post-18369149888067054412012-02-01T18:05:00.000+08:002012-02-01T18:05:34.998+08:00Photos of Nanjing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Greetings Everyone,</div>Happy New Year!!!<br />
新年愉快,万事如意!!!<br />
<br />
My semester at Nanjing University finally came to an end a little over three weeks ago. Final examinations included two weeks of writing essays and giving presentations about Geography, Media, and Life all in Chinese. I was very happy when it was all over. I spent my vacation back in Taibei, Taiwan hanging out with all my old class mates from the summer semester as well as the Taibei bike polo squad GloryC. I'll write more about Taiwan in a post later this week. I spent the last few weeks before winter vacation taking lots of photos around town to give folks an idea of what the city is like. Here they are;<br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b> THE CITY</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJD4W2EoeSk8o4Xxid0TMTu5vz-RNf7xipoOi9eqW0si3bCpWnWK7O6yMJifZ8loS9eA1msu6VM4Ytpb2iIzxVbmfzXSl7nCvlhoICq9MnpP1qTMvAwLzywQhSIr2EppX0SxlJ7kfVw/s1600/10600004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJD4W2EoeSk8o4Xxid0TMTu5vz-RNf7xipoOi9eqW0si3bCpWnWK7O6yMJifZ8loS9eA1msu6VM4Ytpb2iIzxVbmfzXSl7nCvlhoICq9MnpP1qTMvAwLzywQhSIr2EppX0SxlJ7kfVw/s200/10600004.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view out of my back window. On the roof tops are <br />
solar powered water heaters. Lots of cold showers<br />
on those days without sun.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTLcVnjehhDfajlP5hVxHy-Z513Zh0iGbR-siRz2q29XVIWfIqMyyIjMnWhcZWWOYKOABzjSvg8mDx0-Zvfc_aCAjs-xLJgzWZ7HEHQF2g_a3cS5bkVaFrXwQHwYD7isy4IlW96bvqNA/s1600/10600001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTLcVnjehhDfajlP5hVxHy-Z513Zh0iGbR-siRz2q29XVIWfIqMyyIjMnWhcZWWOYKOABzjSvg8mDx0-Zvfc_aCAjs-xLJgzWZ7HEHQF2g_a3cS5bkVaFrXwQHwYD7isy4IlW96bvqNA/s200/10600001.jpg" width="132" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everyone makes home-made sausage in the winter. This is my neighbor's hanging out side my front door.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjIhzWcAo8-zwFJz9q8GRBxxIWv58IwLbTgWPKXdRsUbrkuZjtuLd0C2HOEcYsYU40IRXfL4pz0eao8v-FO_-Vqxk7HmtRHC4rBksZgw_kfChTRdtDkgAuUnVmB0ZjJ29DH1AW-2BAXQ/s1600/11780008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjIhzWcAo8-zwFJz9q8GRBxxIWv58IwLbTgWPKXdRsUbrkuZjtuLd0C2HOEcYsYU40IRXfL4pz0eao8v-FO_-Vqxk7HmtRHC4rBksZgw_kfChTRdtDkgAuUnVmB0ZjJ29DH1AW-2BAXQ/s200/11780008.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nanjing City Wall (Ming Dynasty 1368a.d.) Bricks were<br />
provided by citizens as a tax. Each brick had the name and <br />
address of the person that donated it just incase the brick did not <br />
meet the standards that person could be found and punished.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxFCb3jYdZ2BU07KUE91BRROSkdkbmKbRLz5hYB-RrEQbjLOA2IdcRT4tgKmB6-Rx8xADDq07yCfRl5zupdAm3Nfcuyy1Pe7jOi5QI3lfySxG06Au2-o2T8ytgqApgcf-48yNkL3isHw/s1600/11780007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxFCb3jYdZ2BU07KUE91BRROSkdkbmKbRLz5hYB-RrEQbjLOA2IdcRT4tgKmB6-Rx8xADDq07yCfRl5zupdAm3Nfcuyy1Pe7jOi5QI3lfySxG06Au2-o2T8ytgqApgcf-48yNkL3isHw/s200/11780007.jpg" width="132" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nanjing City Wall</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgx9alOkSYR_JZLfYO1ruu3O2PqbJFRgoJqiVrs8i9yGYKRYgOG1VRUl_eFZMFnExra1my2BfzKtj3GAlJ5iOx1xYhlAjTobY9XdQ_kOb6W7wiKevkwCgYuNBM7cnwu-CLGZQYO9JTrA/s1600/11780005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgx9alOkSYR_JZLfYO1ruu3O2PqbJFRgoJqiVrs8i9yGYKRYgOG1VRUl_eFZMFnExra1my2BfzKtj3GAlJ5iOx1xYhlAjTobY9XdQ_kOb6W7wiKevkwCgYuNBM7cnwu-CLGZQYO9JTrA/s200/11780005.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Xuanhu Men. Eastern gate into Nnajing.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgguNkfVgSfKGwLT4XFzsvO4_WWpcluFiJLlW7FKIGHHGq22YyxHV0vQhTs-KO_WB3-6KmW6GqLEPHdEQ4nW7lDR_z9JQUjbvw9v84c_8McvCTJr36CmyukFtuWuHdCLjvmNQ2baTUoNQ/s1600/11780003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgguNkfVgSfKGwLT4XFzsvO4_WWpcluFiJLlW7FKIGHHGq22YyxHV0vQhTs-KO_WB3-6KmW6GqLEPHdEQ4nW7lDR_z9JQUjbvw9v84c_8McvCTJr36CmyukFtuWuHdCLjvmNQ2baTUoNQ/s200/11780003.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Xuanhu Lake, directly outside of the Eastern gate.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZYWgWanQZJB7qHkhk7hmeW5aNl91-S1xVkTVf1RA0G6ySeBs27T6qJb3_9lBslWpuNDyL86lA2ZpYGluxeweF5_k8QnM3TlfNnOxLIt1rh9ELukeEiajupB2pwwDK-e3WXmCmSYPsLw/s1600/10600010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZYWgWanQZJB7qHkhk7hmeW5aNl91-S1xVkTVf1RA0G6ySeBs27T6qJb3_9lBslWpuNDyL86lA2ZpYGluxeweF5_k8QnM3TlfNnOxLIt1rh9ELukeEiajupB2pwwDK-e3WXmCmSYPsLw/s200/10600010.jpg" width="132" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bike Polo at Nanjing University.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPVc4Yg-6FXImr-Zc0Ggnt1j-b-xnuX8ovFYhdf0SS0EPTETPGVPaLayR9FptZq4KgtFx6tYbnVWSrnlr50Vy_rTmSp9KYLCT7oeIbHJjic4YP2aG3Ew88erVZE4py9iSjaLkT2M5C0w/s1600/10600012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPVc4Yg-6FXImr-Zc0Ggnt1j-b-xnuX8ovFYhdf0SS0EPTETPGVPaLayR9FptZq4KgtFx6tYbnVWSrnlr50Vy_rTmSp9KYLCT7oeIbHJjic4YP2aG3Ew88erVZE4py9iSjaLkT2M5C0w/s200/10600012.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fruit shop behind Nanjing University.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaCqrxGVBOTNlwZq5wyKAnVEfhFMYGr1D1bNhiZCt5fvCln64liQqYkDOYD70xNMXFjC8Gwck8DuNhagEG6YiK3A3i3PHbV23gE5DTLNJwAmD2ZfdNnMMxezsbLLj_z8L4yJEbn2jreQ/s1600/11780002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaCqrxGVBOTNlwZq5wyKAnVEfhFMYGr1D1bNhiZCt5fvCln64liQqYkDOYD70xNMXFjC8Gwck8DuNhagEG6YiK3A3i3PHbV23gE5DTLNJwAmD2ZfdNnMMxezsbLLj_z8L4yJEbn2jreQ/s200/11780002.jpg" width="132" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outside an old Hotel.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSCr_1iqco_iXMmJdZtpRqEDIGxoAFznLP-XHxnI8KrRErg42p38KJwOaH19liTiVsNfulF0PvmTSLsHDdiKmKud92tXVwI9tW_YZAam1ELDUkjqbpp9rYLyOOw4ft0hq8MPVZODP_mQ/s1600/11780009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSCr_1iqco_iXMmJdZtpRqEDIGxoAFznLP-XHxnI8KrRErg42p38KJwOaH19liTiVsNfulF0PvmTSLsHDdiKmKud92tXVwI9tW_YZAam1ELDUkjqbpp9rYLyOOw4ft0hq8MPVZODP_mQ/s200/11780009.jpg" width="132" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Metro 地铁</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz3on9uPVasCwZPzvdOh3xBTEIDRAqBZU-opWxgyjkza1bjgZFB7RuCJlji1m2fj9Axsn8nVjqJyLduhQrp7Aa9Zo27CUacDag-t33pPt-Qp28NRVhad6CNhCvjMdN0QLHN5z8sOf0Sw/s1600/11780012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz3on9uPVasCwZPzvdOh3xBTEIDRAqBZU-opWxgyjkza1bjgZFB7RuCJlji1m2fj9Axsn8nVjqJyLduhQrp7Aa9Zo27CUacDag-t33pPt-Qp28NRVhad6CNhCvjMdN0QLHN5z8sOf0Sw/s200/11780012.jpg" width="132" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shanghai street.</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9G5nUztchPXTRP1UFtoWR3VTFOf-5_01bPk8c367o-dRXUxZRmLFDSOQL3IU8a0W0zsJlCC02zgE7HRryGvJGZ7uA_foN4fR0Djo-pEnJLJDzVErC3A86Hzbx6Xkw1zTbVKg9vGc4_w/s1600/11780017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9G5nUztchPXTRP1UFtoWR3VTFOf-5_01bPk8c367o-dRXUxZRmLFDSOQL3IU8a0W0zsJlCC02zgE7HRryGvJGZ7uA_foN4fR0Djo-pEnJLJDzVErC3A86Hzbx6Xkw1zTbVKg9vGc4_w/s200/11780017.jpg" width="132" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Small pavilion on Nanjing University Campus.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhftLTeEOWOU9WvvP5Z-lAZ3sIKODG-5pZUoT9PIXgA1Rn6AXsuo5IRvOuzxUtv16gpVgyO6VQ59uJPiR7NLACr5ieQS_Ee_IWbxnFRE83RJ2L9Ae1zIRFa4Svi2qHUk7Fv6FuQIKxDHg/s1600/11780019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhftLTeEOWOU9WvvP5Z-lAZ3sIKODG-5pZUoT9PIXgA1Rn6AXsuo5IRvOuzxUtv16gpVgyO6VQ59uJPiR7NLACr5ieQS_Ee_IWbxnFRE83RJ2L9Ae1zIRFa4Svi2qHUk7Fv6FuQIKxDHg/s200/11780019.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big cauldron on Nanjing University campus.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKtGqTgbw5KTyXwjGJo7sh8HkwyI5m6pe0DraNGaL9_NmpKT9nqYMGy81yLstoA2C2y6f4RCJyMgBjGhRdputp-IwnDBG4qj9qOiQo1u_ky8P6hZDbM5EFkkGtX1mpFHzz1hPieNHErA/s1600/11780028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKtGqTgbw5KTyXwjGJo7sh8HkwyI5m6pe0DraNGaL9_NmpKT9nqYMGy81yLstoA2C2y6f4RCJyMgBjGhRdputp-IwnDBG4qj9qOiQo1u_ky8P6hZDbM5EFkkGtX1mpFHzz1hPieNHErA/s200/11780028.jpg" width="132" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Community bulletin board behind campus.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4GZ67-5bJXCVfzSKOfglEPxB-ovisDtBa9ZBbDHwFVqLDFjClqvqdOR-fj7G831xWe7XnK7Xu21ctLGh63EvYwyzRQ0ALurcpKKbOS5S8KO4BP_knbwLKt7C-gWyY9guZy1MtgeCQAg/s1600/11780033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4GZ67-5bJXCVfzSKOfglEPxB-ovisDtBa9ZBbDHwFVqLDFjClqvqdOR-fj7G831xWe7XnK7Xu21ctLGh63EvYwyzRQ0ALurcpKKbOS5S8KO4BP_knbwLKt7C-gWyY9guZy1MtgeCQAg/s200/11780033.jpg" width="132" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Each morning all over the city old men would line up<br />
cage after cage of birds for sale.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>PEOPLE</b></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP26EDRCC5JL3lH6MhQE1f7Hme4RFN4u7VOqWsITGHvAvXNX2edqP9aCJVBlJZOOJjRkAXo-m4j_hEVCcAxGUAUkIgYjDPwWHR4u1yv8RaneBdXOlxnxy44ATf4GCkF8TsR0doWXG1IQ/s1600/10600013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP26EDRCC5JL3lH6MhQE1f7Hme4RFN4u7VOqWsITGHvAvXNX2edqP9aCJVBlJZOOJjRkAXo-m4j_hEVCcAxGUAUkIgYjDPwWHR4u1yv8RaneBdXOlxnxy44ATf4GCkF8TsR0doWXG1IQ/s200/10600013.jpg" width="132" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My roommate Jude on the Right, then three <br />
teachers Dong Laoshi, Zhang Laoshi, and <br />
Jin Laoshi (Ivy). On Nanjing University campus.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL-Uj7VxjFUpSJEW-0_4oL_TvFK5ie7iJ2_Ik-QfMs-pzSm5M1VhhDFFWV6Q1zYoOK_-wOoR3kkirYIW5j-3EOXOKpwwWnPgeV_fKyE_DT_fRXytTjUxg5pYrSqYweDy5ntr8vTMHr4g/s1600/10600020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL-Uj7VxjFUpSJEW-0_4oL_TvFK5ie7iJ2_Ik-QfMs-pzSm5M1VhhDFFWV6Q1zYoOK_-wOoR3kkirYIW5j-3EOXOKpwwWnPgeV_fKyE_DT_fRXytTjUxg5pYrSqYweDy5ntr8vTMHr4g/s200/10600020.jpg" width="132" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zhang Wenbo on the Left, he was student aid in the office.<br />
My friend Brandon Yeh on the Right will be moving with<br />
me to Yunnan in February.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrMqZs0hTtirz94K1X8BR6RSaqSZGvMkX6WszTVuHGMyuAku9N1q6jIvpHjuvM6N8gIs5yCXJFp5xxGgD_tsZjnoVtqjmO1rjXZBkiJs-_uZsOY7fvnWsibD5BC4UG-ddbgQJIdkRptg/s1600/10600023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrMqZs0hTtirz94K1X8BR6RSaqSZGvMkX6WszTVuHGMyuAku9N1q6jIvpHjuvM6N8gIs5yCXJFp5xxGgD_tsZjnoVtqjmO1rjXZBkiJs-_uZsOY7fvnWsibD5BC4UG-ddbgQJIdkRptg/s200/10600023.jpg" width="132" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Road side bike repaire shop. Next door is a road side plant shop.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNcqtIi1GFCbCTyX-qpBHZlHrEEe5c6CdJV8gPbtsOFbwrtIOoO6io4jTczGJ6L4JlKBEOzCO_j0yFS2LGRKVF2JO8_abxeK9ee9S6LL6tydn-6gn5gzdi3WhKgzH4Y2GgBVM3xvQITw/s1600/11780010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNcqtIi1GFCbCTyX-qpBHZlHrEEe5c6CdJV8gPbtsOFbwrtIOoO6io4jTczGJ6L4JlKBEOzCO_j0yFS2LGRKVF2JO8_abxeK9ee9S6LL6tydn-6gn5gzdi3WhKgzH4Y2GgBVM3xvQITw/s200/11780010.jpg" width="132" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxx_McGIBOk04CBzWF9e_QNRIFbSA9FlYwFFT_OZsINuqjSLp74M8JCDXsLk5Bqb1k2H5_oPQh4YH35IiKN7HCzGmO8sjh6t8YzVh2zYxQfRcYHukopHjo5SBNCC0Gv5yvG3tO8XI3Ug/s1600/11780011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxx_McGIBOk04CBzWF9e_QNRIFbSA9FlYwFFT_OZsINuqjSLp74M8JCDXsLk5Bqb1k2H5_oPQh4YH35IiKN7HCzGmO8sjh6t8YzVh2zYxQfRcYHukopHjo5SBNCC0Gv5yvG3tO8XI3Ug/s200/11780011.jpg" width="132" /></a></div><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUk9dp9TyoX3YLSi4Sidkh-t9pjkBmQaM5OVa0AjB5FSQjOvDoL7q3MgZvByWyDrilq7aaUhNteHj06Hb9hz-htjyjmV87Ff7gFLNfHmyXCThwSM7eh-R4mSvKwhIdUNl37zq35ZsD-g/s1600/11780016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUk9dp9TyoX3YLSi4Sidkh-t9pjkBmQaM5OVa0AjB5FSQjOvDoL7q3MgZvByWyDrilq7aaUhNteHj06Hb9hz-htjyjmV87Ff7gFLNfHmyXCThwSM7eh-R4mSvKwhIdUNl37zq35ZsD-g/s200/11780016.jpg" width="132" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOeyv7XxQ0sNC2Lapnnv7CLptpWVs2q_vmd-7EScdWdyWtkYtSRJziXPAROdlxWYQj9U9RkOqhofCctqVMtGrqBSuQfFPM0kYcTMYuT0EzVEdZmINED4LNMjL2yY1pzWXGJBPIbApuWA/s1600/bowling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOeyv7XxQ0sNC2Lapnnv7CLptpWVs2q_vmd-7EScdWdyWtkYtSRJziXPAROdlxWYQj9U9RkOqhofCctqVMtGrqBSuQfFPM0kYcTMYuT0EzVEdZmINED4LNMjL2yY1pzWXGJBPIbApuWA/s200/bowling.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nathan, Zhang Wenbo, Me at the bowling alley.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1rg7Sg-nv0fl0WIJUlQ9xuzxpDMioYv9zpiEhCKT-hDslviXN37Gr8ujZbQ8S0A73qEluc0aTp71MkAU_XU42WPO09Cist__lfJ1dCJEwItVEZ3s1JMMM-DaBjcWaywxz30ShaiEp8g/s1600/11780018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1rg7Sg-nv0fl0WIJUlQ9xuzxpDMioYv9zpiEhCKT-hDslviXN37Gr8ujZbQ8S0A73qEluc0aTp71MkAU_XU42WPO09Cist__lfJ1dCJEwItVEZ3s1JMMM-DaBjcWaywxz30ShaiEp8g/s200/11780018.jpg" width="132" /></a><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf1IchTpeN4f5MvX160KnIaTmvJ56c81FZoBqdLIWdDY1vTZIaWtL40ryhtLLETgnUjKqeZx4qcIqVOLLFJCtrNK_Dn2UNVNXftwe0_BKkGd9LbJ44wXXSBxITpDZfny4TOREUUnuWeg/s1600/Thankgiving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf1IchTpeN4f5MvX160KnIaTmvJ56c81FZoBqdLIWdDY1vTZIaWtL40ryhtLLETgnUjKqeZx4qcIqVOLLFJCtrNK_Dn2UNVNXftwe0_BKkGd9LbJ44wXXSBxITpDZfny4TOREUUnuWeg/s200/Thankgiving.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, Darius, Viv, Vera, Amy. All of the students from <br />
San Francisco State University studying at Nanjing University<br />
this semester. This is at our Thanksgiving dinner.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs57j2oPJcUtL5hw8FL3GLG4p_PulTzOxqEJQK4Xf7VL0Oor2m2xP6FEUWWUF0UmJ1LJCaQHvJR4nasj9BV7FJM-6ddWsDVJsQg5IPkzfSsWHZ0qHAdZ9lt7df5i2wL6NH8EMIdqH2Tg/s1600/final+dinner+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs57j2oPJcUtL5hw8FL3GLG4p_PulTzOxqEJQK4Xf7VL0Oor2m2xP6FEUWWUF0UmJ1LJCaQHvJR4nasj9BV7FJM-6ddWsDVJsQg5IPkzfSsWHZ0qHAdZ9lt7df5i2wL6NH8EMIdqH2Tg/s200/final+dinner+2.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Viv and Jude<br />
<br />
<br />
<b> </b><br />
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</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>ZIFENG TOWER.</b> Zifeng Tower is the 7th tallest building in the World and the second tallest in mainland China. It was a great landmark while exploring the city.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyzjiihyu9DE9tJpex2oxGa-cXFCQYdKtk04kqaqUeVLd95yiwHN_8tUEsAeIR5sWLjc1Vk0SP0GLo7H-aHI0tl8tvhn1qI0huz4VwRjUIrfHOebSFIsFG9zdKe3rSsMAjy8Pju7XrxQ/s1600/10600005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyzjiihyu9DE9tJpex2oxGa-cXFCQYdKtk04kqaqUeVLd95yiwHN_8tUEsAeIR5sWLjc1Vk0SP0GLo7H-aHI0tl8tvhn1qI0huz4VwRjUIrfHOebSFIsFG9zdKe3rSsMAjy8Pju7XrxQ/s320/10600005.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking West out my back window.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDxVf6etA1Dd38qZWkpTCkabiEQCLxgwwvx_wOR2VHDVNuq9RTz-K59dEbybi9IjMFvZWMcNz7BMgykxxk4jp2Mx6CW4bU2gylinZeo-EoI5H4eIc2VJGRoMA3sEMcjTImCGGlaNnG1A/s1600/11780004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDxVf6etA1Dd38qZWkpTCkabiEQCLxgwwvx_wOR2VHDVNuq9RTz-K59dEbybi9IjMFvZWMcNz7BMgykxxk4jp2Mx6CW4bU2gylinZeo-EoI5H4eIc2VJGRoMA3sEMcjTImCGGlaNnG1A/s320/11780004.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking South over Xuanhu Lake.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRj5x7emw2s3rEBKcl4Pb3Bf7sMZ-ICDbfy2EKdMe0GKXBtOAWcUeTtzD2Kq_ZnNvPZhvP3RB3lsNWNXJ9_UzppYBSnMgR_iv5RuGTrlPJHJgcGHK6ZwB6vtkLsUj749YzP8A9ql9f7A/s1600/11780021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRj5x7emw2s3rEBKcl4Pb3Bf7sMZ-ICDbfy2EKdMe0GKXBtOAWcUeTtzD2Kq_ZnNvPZhvP3RB3lsNWNXJ9_UzppYBSnMgR_iv5RuGTrlPJHJgcGHK6ZwB6vtkLsUj749YzP8A9ql9f7A/s320/11780021.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking North from Nanjing University.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvxlxzB3_C_S2OorwqbdmeA_pWD52QiEgW9RBm5Z7DkUTxkjJX-E8rUD2qaEUd6g4frq_tfpVVOsW4yYrkfGoiBGDQBX4KctehFOPNRbWdditui2SYVih2eoysPfSfY9k6HykDhFUsDA/s1600/11780034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvxlxzB3_C_S2OorwqbdmeA_pWD52QiEgW9RBm5Z7DkUTxkjJX-E8rUD2qaEUd6g4frq_tfpVVOsW4yYrkfGoiBGDQBX4KctehFOPNRbWdditui2SYVih2eoysPfSfY9k6HykDhFUsDA/s320/11780034.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking West down my street.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>brendanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837657160598843294noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-807613932063067511.post-16356114672608417322011-11-18T10:50:00.000+08:002011-11-18T10:50:14.508+08:00Bike Trip To Jiangxin Zhou<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Greeting Everybody!!!<br />
<br />
So I spent most of Saturday afternoon biking around an island on the Yangze River called Jiangxin Zhou 江心洲, it literally means the island in the heart of the river. Going to Jiangxin Zhou is a great way to separate oneself from the noise and commotion of Nanjing City. The first time I visited was about 5 weeks ago, some classmates and I visited a local art student friend of ours. She told us she moved to the island to set herself in a very calm atmosphere so she could complete her art works in peace.<br />
<br />
I was surprised to find exactly how big the Jiangxin Zhou is. It took me about 1 1/2 hours to bike around the entire island, I did top a few times to take photos and patch flat tires. For the most part it was uninterrupted biking, something that is very uncommon in this hectic concrete jungle called Nanjing.<br />
<br />
The island its self is very beautiful. All the streets are lined with trees and the scenery is made up of colorful farmlands and fishing boats on the coast. In the center of the island are the small city centers. Below are all the wonderful pictures and a great map.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisK-5mvo7fJjNwKroYbAygcZVwz4sDEq2fcdOxOKwR8RqvE-IKGcZOFC4rM604MwAwXayaCyt9GbDoNt8KO8mLWmVrKqHpNmmY9HrtA4iKh7HsYGVs32s0cLWIJhI0PST6cPKuoVqqcQ/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-11-18+at+10.21.26+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisK-5mvo7fJjNwKroYbAygcZVwz4sDEq2fcdOxOKwR8RqvE-IKGcZOFC4rM604MwAwXayaCyt9GbDoNt8KO8mLWmVrKqHpNmmY9HrtA4iKh7HsYGVs32s0cLWIJhI0PST6cPKuoVqqcQ/s640/Screen+shot+2011-11-18+at+10.21.26+AM.png" width="449" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I think in the back of my head the main reason for taking this small biking adventure was just to make a map of it :) Black dotted line was the route I rode, red number correspond to the photo!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9MoY6K9LOCgngy9XXecTB-ArS5HvtQbxKasaHFbMTVM4PgpESKI2pkSd2HpQsf98F3Y0UvwWKZZsvuY9i-6ov0HT-8h9rqMFtnoyWvP3t24FSjLE9dzoj11aUhiue9qof3cIeaG6AHA/s1600/DSC00576.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9MoY6K9LOCgngy9XXecTB-ArS5HvtQbxKasaHFbMTVM4PgpESKI2pkSd2HpQsf98F3Y0UvwWKZZsvuY9i-6ov0HT-8h9rqMFtnoyWvP3t24FSjLE9dzoj11aUhiue9qof3cIeaG6AHA/s320/DSC00576.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1. On the bridge heading to Jiangxin Zhou 江心洲。</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjycg-MMKH-saDFi3d7jRk8P-GBmDq1UZdwUcYCsVxD7p-1L-CwizcK_MlOUDnZ7paNAlCbYss-dXAicX8da3wzABnfvUUKIssF8Atnyhx2ZxxAW3rKG08gelFzryKx3XRoTac4kaU-Qg/s1600/DSC00582.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjycg-MMKH-saDFi3d7jRk8P-GBmDq1UZdwUcYCsVxD7p-1L-CwizcK_MlOUDnZ7paNAlCbYss-dXAicX8da3wzABnfvUUKIssF8Atnyhx2ZxxAW3rKG08gelFzryKx3XRoTac4kaU-Qg/s320/DSC00582.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2. Trees line all the streets.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia-5tORtjYPxKUEipi00v91c4zsb_DJD6zbj2s5U7LFXkBkPw2Q8kXsNT8igyoSnZx6Ph3_c8RpwfAeHTX3ycCpJbt0_eWWyW_UhWZU-eONxEV3aKL1ABPa5C9GstEjXGXh5hnIpTHYw/s1600/DSC00584.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia-5tORtjYPxKUEipi00v91c4zsb_DJD6zbj2s5U7LFXkBkPw2Q8kXsNT8igyoSnZx6Ph3_c8RpwfAeHTX3ycCpJbt0_eWWyW_UhWZU-eONxEV3aKL1ABPa5C9GstEjXGXh5hnIpTHYw/s320/DSC00584.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3. Small crops dot the landscape.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW1RrkpJYJMvJoBwj6SuOypUDLlkpVvqA7L6bv8SMSf3t6lug8svV92CiexKeQG1fqB5De2wqZ2Jk2eO5J4tGrx8yVeh2ouKA1JKTp4imAPfiEssqy5Tc4G6qgXGrCUs_lWuSGt6hBPQ/s1600/DSC00587.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW1RrkpJYJMvJoBwj6SuOypUDLlkpVvqA7L6bv8SMSf3t6lug8svV92CiexKeQG1fqB5De2wqZ2Jk2eO5J4tGrx8yVeh2ouKA1JKTp4imAPfiEssqy5Tc4G6qgXGrCUs_lWuSGt6hBPQ/s320/DSC00587.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4. Over looking a small orchard. In the back round is a reminder how close to the City these islanders are.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBcNQVJwCHb4MWVQC5L4wXg1m8Hmz6GH0Puzx8I5W93bHt25hSrPlc9VGbsmjco7ecNWn_Rk9MCH49qaMNIyJo4jLSTn1hEvkVUedL7H3Um31aBiFpOjC33Lu3esVtjnYRy1jwf5_vJg/s1600/DSC00589.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBcNQVJwCHb4MWVQC5L4wXg1m8Hmz6GH0Puzx8I5W93bHt25hSrPlc9VGbsmjco7ecNWn_Rk9MCH49qaMNIyJo4jLSTn1hEvkVUedL7H3Um31aBiFpOjC33Lu3esVtjnYRy1jwf5_vJg/s320/DSC00589.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">5. Heading south along the western coast.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjPsYyW6Iu3_Yu_fy_owe9PLIMNgoFpxg-vS6g9ZGauRLRu1QIiZR4WHsvOz2JEV5RI2ZRwQgMPMNnkDiJAIGh3RHaBtdg4gYQCqqpuVvuSkpq8LB18RtJSKascbuqzQYQo77cRjha9g/s1600/DSC00591.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjPsYyW6Iu3_Yu_fy_owe9PLIMNgoFpxg-vS6g9ZGauRLRu1QIiZR4WHsvOz2JEV5RI2ZRwQgMPMNnkDiJAIGh3RHaBtdg4gYQCqqpuVvuSkpq8LB18RtJSKascbuqzQYQo77cRjha9g/s320/DSC00591.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">6. An abandoned tree-fort looking house.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnuuta7ncK_maU73r1U6vmJmg6wiCKOKEv3jf7jfT394gtVSrGLhZzfMObbR9HqSkZ0nTAIr6I4SAi9UMyn_7wgtxnALY4ThR0m5KFCyY0aVkBqZBRBrV-DkAvg94AHarmJkbtO7ysGA/s1600/DSC00593.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnuuta7ncK_maU73r1U6vmJmg6wiCKOKEv3jf7jfT394gtVSrGLhZzfMObbR9HqSkZ0nTAIr6I4SAi9UMyn_7wgtxnALY4ThR0m5KFCyY0aVkBqZBRBrV-DkAvg94AHarmJkbtO7ysGA/s320/DSC00593.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">7.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Q_YRMiGNA61rSZAj85kRf5I3qM-nxuKk3NoJs1nVmiTEUCk8E_0cdgDb86G4aN-obkQC70OlH8BwNTuqiuf4-YYpSwTbPgOl9F8aqeMOkqrimYjFZ9NMSb0wdO23fwnumhZiNxag7w/s1600/DSC00599.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Q_YRMiGNA61rSZAj85kRf5I3qM-nxuKk3NoJs1nVmiTEUCk8E_0cdgDb86G4aN-obkQC70OlH8BwNTuqiuf4-YYpSwTbPgOl9F8aqeMOkqrimYjFZ9NMSb0wdO23fwnumhZiNxag7w/s320/DSC00599.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">8. The main dock on the western coast of the island.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbI3_1T7h76ZYupwkQEWm52owB2OGqMN6so9W2xIXG1d5iBi6dTeLJ-ztD4zp86Vl-PGxwzzyZbEHqn6tl1p09ZMp4ZhifU73f442iVbCW7JzyE_40YpfcZIKxdQE4KAXFzha_jNZqvw/s1600/DSC00600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbI3_1T7h76ZYupwkQEWm52owB2OGqMN6so9W2xIXG1d5iBi6dTeLJ-ztD4zp86Vl-PGxwzzyZbEHqn6tl1p09ZMp4ZhifU73f442iVbCW7JzyE_40YpfcZIKxdQE4KAXFzha_jNZqvw/s320/DSC00600.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">9. I'm not sure what the are harvesting in this aquatic farm, but those are all Sprite bottles floating in the water.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJGVDkWmhrIPP03X00HfGbZ1m_eD1DzT2DG8tCF0GDDWAdGuMuAiMwbn60IL8JewiaFENfMsxgYFmo3KXrFPg2QhdDX-z1Vmh5DxC8M6X_lnbHYBPBBxZANA5idJIOFpPbrHdkh8aJEA/s1600/DSC00601.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJGVDkWmhrIPP03X00HfGbZ1m_eD1DzT2DG8tCF0GDDWAdGuMuAiMwbn60IL8JewiaFENfMsxgYFmo3KXrFPg2QhdDX-z1Vmh5DxC8M6X_lnbHYBPBBxZANA5idJIOFpPbrHdkh8aJEA/s320/DSC00601.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">10. Shipyard, or a ship graveyard. These two behemoths were being taken apart.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiGdFlma4VAoh2tFEBwoINoV_1ZDk_TOgwAhxkDXGHw4wJ4dHiMBn_SeV-1uE2KZ2L-MkDTMS0uCRpVYUi4kcdggxYM-iDpYVxkNXZEYXWzzZsDOSP_yz494Q0dE4v4cuQLBLcE15YTg/s1600/DSC00604.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiGdFlma4VAoh2tFEBwoINoV_1ZDk_TOgwAhxkDXGHw4wJ4dHiMBn_SeV-1uE2KZ2L-MkDTMS0uCRpVYUi4kcdggxYM-iDpYVxkNXZEYXWzzZsDOSP_yz494Q0dE4v4cuQLBLcE15YTg/s320/DSC00604.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">11. Over looking more crops.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1btzUWVg6OpM-vYz3QNeeOWWuGA6WESiLuyKxQ7f2tYmZCYUSq8iG1pQ_leT2DpPjK1gI0DHuk8ITM48yUN033NgAm1eag_6hJgnBPdWTXTbvFiACwXh4dBr6QCwaoYDu1JgszKYNpg/s1600/DSC00609.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1btzUWVg6OpM-vYz3QNeeOWWuGA6WESiLuyKxQ7f2tYmZCYUSq8iG1pQ_leT2DpPjK1gI0DHuk8ITM48yUN033NgAm1eag_6hJgnBPdWTXTbvFiACwXh4dBr6QCwaoYDu1JgszKYNpg/s320/DSC00609.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">12. A lovely little beach on the south end of the island.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPTbfWD3N8zX0yExH4cEf-KQI0DDksn3iqv24D-aUx_YUJE9nAhHJoQm8v_VWySpvo_BQPgxTwqTqNzO3IfVQy4UBffs_KJcbScv9a48yCbXDWzGVoRa9ZhF_J64jYgoKaMSSnTeXEjw/s1600/DSC00612.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPTbfWD3N8zX0yExH4cEf-KQI0DDksn3iqv24D-aUx_YUJE9nAhHJoQm8v_VWySpvo_BQPgxTwqTqNzO3IfVQy4UBffs_KJcbScv9a48yCbXDWzGVoRa9ZhF_J64jYgoKaMSSnTeXEjw/s320/DSC00612.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">13. A temple on the southern tip of the island</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxgJDSELpJ-q2GwWmaC2fPg0mujD5I7y5HAMTChvq_sd28wgx5LMi1_k8dEgDyy1z3GTm9Ketf7S2StveUn4HHWhoDUx8B6xBWpH7S7uuHb5K29HAvyjlGNKZZxkw4FpfYSgNQUY5kUg/s1600/DSC00631.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxgJDSELpJ-q2GwWmaC2fPg0mujD5I7y5HAMTChvq_sd28wgx5LMi1_k8dEgDyy1z3GTm9Ketf7S2StveUn4HHWhoDUx8B6xBWpH7S7uuHb5K29HAvyjlGNKZZxkw4FpfYSgNQUY5kUg/s320/DSC00631.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">14. The Southern tip of Jiangxin Zhou.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqI2SuMQEkDXe4I_u4QHSLpaUvMSm7EYane8ugZUEUwxWMlan2CE4FTSpv0XCzxhThk918Iw78uDAKPkndtUQypCiGsrkYMUu6oK6JJgrTNswRuE_Rw9Evzlx19rycYF8x43tiQ1u4Vw/s1600/DSC00619.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqI2SuMQEkDXe4I_u4QHSLpaUvMSm7EYane8ugZUEUwxWMlan2CE4FTSpv0XCzxhThk918Iw78uDAKPkndtUQypCiGsrkYMUu6oK6JJgrTNswRuE_Rw9Evzlx19rycYF8x43tiQ1u4Vw/s320/DSC00619.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">15. Looking east, in the back round is the mainland. This looks like a floating dock for a small fishing operation.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>brendanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837657160598843294noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-807613932063067511.post-35806522731283210022011-11-07T10:25:00.000+08:002011-11-07T10:25:56.946+08:00Running, Halloween and No More Soccer :(Hey everybody!<br />
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So the last few weeks have been filled up with Mid-terms and field trips. Two weekends ago all the flagship students took a trip to a local farming community named Changshu. We were there to do research on a variety of topics, Agriculture, Industry, Manufacturing... My group did our presentation on Agriculture and I got to use my knowledge to compare farming practices within China and the United States. The top two groups got a 50 dollar gift certificate to a local book store, and our group was one of the winners, HOORAY!<br />
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Last weekend I decided to join an 8 kilometer (5 mile) running race around Xuanwu Lake. The lake is beautiful, it is just outside of the city walls which you can sort of see in the back round of the pictures. The walls were build during the Ming Dynasty, about 600 years ago, but it is still in great condition. A class mate told me that at that time the Emperor didn't have much money, so as a "tax" each citizen had to submit a single brick to be added to the wall. The brick had to have your name and where you were from written on it so if it wasn't up to standard with the other bricks they would be fined. I'm not sure how true that is, but it sounds interesting. Anyway, I finished the race in just over 40 minutes, 8 minute-miles or 5 minute kilometers. Finished about 18th out of 100, not too shabby.<br />
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That night after the race I went to Shanghai for the first time! Some friend and I went out there for Halloween. I got to ride on Chinas High Speed Train! We made to Shanghai in about an hour and a half. We were only in Shanghai one day, which was much too short of a time. but we got to stay at our friend house in the Frech Concession, it is very beautiful out there, little rivers and canals everywhere, the architecture is very European. I can't wait to go back.<br />
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Finally on Wednesday we made it to the last Soccer match of the season. Out favorite team, Jiangsu Shuntian versus a city called Nanchang. It was a great match. Jiangsu won 1-0. We were very surprised because the match was on a wednesday afternoon, so we thought that very little people would be at the stadium, but it might as well have been a Saturday Night match, because the Stadium was jam-packed with fans going crazy for the last time. Jiangsu ended up finishing 4th place overall in the the league.<br />
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Other than that, students are starting to search for Spring internships. I pretty sure that one class-mate Brandon and myself will be going to Yunnan province together in February and working for an Environmental Education Program. We haven't worked out all the details yet, so I am not positive what our job will be, but they did mention the need for some of their hiking trails to be mapped, so it looks like I get to use my Cartography skills in China!!!<br />
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Thats all for now. Hope all is well. Talk to y'all later.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNkbpZlQAdabTb8OIrldCXx8LJRcNkpIE02c3-FPe3l6bFAnsSw1eR-nWjaogaLWpQ0OniaVYB7rb1170jrr2mKTYfEdxt_X6P3ZUCDqMcIPrW-0sAK0WmyXlyROW-nLZBMrKXDIddKw/s1600/Halloween.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNkbpZlQAdabTb8OIrldCXx8LJRcNkpIE02c3-FPe3l6bFAnsSw1eR-nWjaogaLWpQ0OniaVYB7rb1170jrr2mKTYfEdxt_X6P3ZUCDqMcIPrW-0sAK0WmyXlyROW-nLZBMrKXDIddKw/s320/Halloween.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Halloween in Shanghai. My friend Erin decided to go as Me. Her costume included stealing one of my hats behind my back, buying a blue jacket to match mine, dumping flour in her hair to match my gray hairs, then using a sharpie to draw my tattoos and her body. Way To Go Erin!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3goySpitOqWa0T_icltW8UDIPylkNzurF4b5XJX3VU8X9r8-f0Kjnk9g1XpUpVd6IGf10yUpcBLSLbwAL6p7NMwGe4ESscYjdxskcv12sKhyphenhyphen-629jG4N4YDzavtlqhfBQHAxqYKAnEA/s1600/nongcun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3goySpitOqWa0T_icltW8UDIPylkNzurF4b5XJX3VU8X9r8-f0Kjnk9g1XpUpVd6IGf10yUpcBLSLbwAL6p7NMwGe4ESscYjdxskcv12sKhyphenhyphen-629jG4N4YDzavtlqhfBQHAxqYKAnEA/s320/nongcun.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the farming village in Changshu. Dennis and I are sitting on the bench feeding fake chickens while Jonathan has a conversation with a fake old woman.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAY5YPXGhDmUQbl9jDOVHaQCtPYkvP5PfMG_QpEHEQFjIYjhmsUUNm2XUtIzG1SFysbiwoctD2u-yM4ALzx47Q9x4Qkbt8x2hU-tAclOQoLnXyiizmAOW1nUGX-XZn2kCk75szyUb9ow/s1600/RACE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAY5YPXGhDmUQbl9jDOVHaQCtPYkvP5PfMG_QpEHEQFjIYjhmsUUNm2XUtIzG1SFysbiwoctD2u-yM4ALzx47Q9x4Qkbt8x2hU-tAclOQoLnXyiizmAOW1nUGX-XZn2kCk75szyUb9ow/s320/RACE.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just after finishing the race. My class-mate Nathan is holding his cute baby Jane, standing beside them is his wife Emily, then two more class-mates Jason and Josef.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7g1L_c5aJP1HJLDvXpXB8qHqBFFFTGqsOICHbv8c3zPEh3PkmNf-0C3gZfgVBq5bml3RJR11w5gaFvB0eNFa0pxRut7jBsUZ4UR5num0pAznQgxMn3RfrhNtgHWV71AFgoYJtqD5Ong/s1600/RACE+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7g1L_c5aJP1HJLDvXpXB8qHqBFFFTGqsOICHbv8c3zPEh3PkmNf-0C3gZfgVBq5bml3RJR11w5gaFvB0eNFa0pxRut7jBsUZ4UR5num0pAznQgxMn3RfrhNtgHWV71AFgoYJtqD5Ong/s320/RACE+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the back round you can just make out the three arches of the Eastern Gate of Nanjing's city wall</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlYTA7syFZxFxeUWtaBO7TcCA-uSwT6Maxw79iVS81_Z55fvfcOyZtDClEjghlGzwTIiLEIgnwWsRd0QAjTTm_MOYE7EPaA0-8-w94mpblLeE1cGCppsS-pHB6utfJsTqjrFWnOfc3DA/s1600/soccer+match.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlYTA7syFZxFxeUWtaBO7TcCA-uSwT6Maxw79iVS81_Z55fvfcOyZtDClEjghlGzwTIiLEIgnwWsRd0QAjTTm_MOYE7EPaA0-8-w94mpblLeE1cGCppsS-pHB6utfJsTqjrFWnOfc3DA/s320/soccer+match.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The last Jiangsu Shuntian soccer match.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>brendanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837657160598843294noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-807613932063067511.post-75760403233460209602011-10-16T17:11:00.000+08:002011-10-16T17:11:35.209+08:00Chess, Soccer and Cycling in NanjingI know I start most of my emails and blogs with this, But Oh Geez have I been flippin busy!!!!!<br />
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Each week I have 14 hours of class, 5 hours of tutoring, plenty of homework, and this week I will also start volunteering in the community (I must log 15 hours community service by the end of the semester) In the past one student volunteered at a bike shop by campus, so I will be going there tomorrow and inquiring about some work opportunities.<br />
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In my spare time my friend Brandon and I have picked up playing Chinese Chess called Xiangqi 象棋. It is a lot like International Chess, but at the same time very different. The strategy involved is very different because the pieces in Chinese and International Chess behave in different ways and have different abilities. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiangqi<br />
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You will see small crowds of old men on a street corner all arguing and debating over the match being played out in front of them. It is standard for a spectator to shout out, or make a motion on the game board about the move they think the player should make, some spectators go as far as to move the chess piece himself. Once I was also standing around watching a game, and the men started talking to me and I mentioned that since arriving I had started to study xiangqi, and so they insisted that I played a match with one of them. It was sort of awkward as I had one man standing behind me making just about every move for me, or at least giving me plenty of advice once I seemed lost about what to do next. BUT, toward the end of the match, like a ray of sunshine through the clouds I spotted check-mate in three moves. I started ignoring all the advice that was coming from all directions (a foreigner play chess with the old men on the street is unheard of so by the end of the match a rather large crowd gathered to watch)<br />
Many started cursing my for ignoring their advice but they soon found out why, and I think most everyone was dumb founded that I had ended winning my first real game of chess, although I did have a great deal of assistance for most of the match. I went on to play two more games, with a lot less help from the crowd, and getting my butt whipped both times. Well it was still fun, and great practice for when I return to play next week.<br />
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Nanjing is the capital city of Jiangsu Province. And luckily for me Jiangsu has a Provincial Soccer Team located in Nanjing called Jiangsu Sainty. Me and a bunch of other exchange students have joined Sainty's largest Supporter Club. And we have been to all of the Home games, sitting with the Chinese fans, learning all of the songs and chants in Chinese, and just having a great time in general. Unfortunetly there are only two more games for this season, and we have to miss the match on Oct. 22nd because we will be on a field trip to the agricultural villages of Jiangsu to do research and reports about China's Agricultural Community.<br />
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A few weeks ago I sent out an email telling about my plan to spend the Chinese National Independence Day (week) biking to a neighboring city and going to the Strawberry Music Festival. Well I did just that, and it was an amazingly good time. Biking to Zhenjiang was a 75mile ordeal in which I got about 10 miles worth of lost, and two flat tires and strained muscle in my shin, making it very painful to walk around for the past week and a half. But their is something oddly satisfying about biking 80 miles just because you have the whole day waste doing it. But in Zhenjiang I also got incrdibly lost, and could not find where the Music Fest was happening. Ends up it was happening on an Island on the Yangze River, and so I could bike there and had to take a taxi there instead. It was a 20$ cab ride, but after wandering around Zhenjiang for 4-5 hours trying to find a way to the island, I thought it was well worth it.<br />
At the music fest was four stages of great music. I got to the The Go! Team, The Whip, great Chinese and Mongolian Traditional music, and there was an Electric Music stage that we ended up at each night to dance the night away before retiring to the Tent City that had manifested in the back corner of the Festival grounds. There we gathered with other music fans, and talked and had some beers (I was unknowingly challenged to a drinking contest by a Chinese soldier on vacation. I think it was a tie, but it was fun) So after four days of camping and listening to music, we all went home. I decided to break my bike down and take the bus back to Nanjing, as my leg was still on a lot of pain and biking 80 miles home would have been suicide.<br />
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Lastly, I happy to say that I have found a roommate named Ji Jiangdong (or Jude) and that he will be officially moving in sometime next week, but until then we are still doing hours of tutoring.<br />
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I know this was an awful to throw into one blog post, but I will do my best in the future to post more often with less content.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSlCrSPKAyZBGc56q41quAdx4WiiQeuaBP0E8o_ggpT6PbYHJp5vdSCNMRiwlLkquiZBikwKQfzPYw39lgjo2ZP2J0KVq0mN4_dcxOZ1JIh1ZNclgmu59xyzwxF6Rhomcz6Ro6cRiMIw/s1600/chinesechess.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSlCrSPKAyZBGc56q41quAdx4WiiQeuaBP0E8o_ggpT6PbYHJp5vdSCNMRiwlLkquiZBikwKQfzPYw39lgjo2ZP2J0KVq0mN4_dcxOZ1JIh1ZNclgmu59xyzwxF6Rhomcz6Ro6cRiMIw/s320/chinesechess.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chinese Chess</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGmCfvl2Daaf9rrQBytkaY3ZqVT8U7Yu-5YC0Qcb3xR9v1RqSHxZVPgycl1fRe9CPCYcerApDk8aRFhyphenhyphenp7sv-IvjqeufLYXo-QTD-tOlZaIMSZMcrEj1b9jTG52qIfzkJaV1BAHkNnKA/s1600/Cooking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGmCfvl2Daaf9rrQBytkaY3ZqVT8U7Yu-5YC0Qcb3xR9v1RqSHxZVPgycl1fRe9CPCYcerApDk8aRFhyphenhyphenp7sv-IvjqeufLYXo-QTD-tOlZaIMSZMcrEj1b9jTG52qIfzkJaV1BAHkNnKA/s320/Cooking.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wednesday Night is Family Style Cooking Night. I'm Making Curry. My friends Brandon is there watching me cook.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFmLn_qzLOAX4CwABC8N8-cYVxvUTkN2SeDCkgH6Z6yEQLGCWJ9g7NozegNcx3c6IPs0umBs_uDsvRPFlk_PxqVOtKJ41Q3TncBOOZd_j4AKaHOjS6zsBWSFlwdWM0WeyO6GP3XurZog/s1600/Sainty+Match.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFmLn_qzLOAX4CwABC8N8-cYVxvUTkN2SeDCkgH6Z6yEQLGCWJ9g7NozegNcx3c6IPs0umBs_uDsvRPFlk_PxqVOtKJ41Q3TncBOOZd_j4AKaHOjS6zsBWSFlwdWM0WeyO6GP3XurZog/s320/Sainty+Match.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The foreigner section of the Sainty Supporters Club</td></tr>
</tbody></table>brendanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837657160598843294noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-807613932063067511.post-5637164780123040712011-09-20T15:05:00.000+08:002011-09-20T15:05:28.476+08:00Starting ClassesGreetings Everybody!!!<br />
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Like usual I have been incredibly busy over the past few weeks. Mainly because most our of courses have begun, and trust me, our schedule is full.<br />
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Two weeks ago our Chinese classes had already started. Each class is two hours long. Monday and Friday I have advanced writing, and on Wednesday I have two sessions on the study of Chinese Media, the first session focusing on the history of Media in China, and the second session on modern interpretations of Chinese media within China and abroad. Also, Tuesday nights we have a course to prepare students for the HSK exam (its the SAT equivalent for Chinese Language) And once I find a roommate, which will hopefully be soon, he and I will have to complete 5 hours of one on one tutoring each week.<br />
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Apart from the Chinese courses, each student has direct enrollment classes for their major. So far I have sat in on three university classes, 'Permi-Glacial Landforms' I prob won't take that one again, it was taught in English and too advanced for the credits to transfer back to SF State, The other two are 'Geomorphology' 地貌学 and 'Remote Sensing' 遥感地学。 These two classes are taught in Chinese, and I am the only foreigner in either class. It will be very difficult, but both instructors luckily relay on Power-Point Presentations to give lectures and so I can get a copy of the lesson after each class and review it at my own pace so I don;t miss out on important details.<br />
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That's school so far.<br />
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I must admit, although Nanjing is a great city, I think most of my sense of wondering and culture shock was spent while in Taiwan. Nanjing seems like 'just another city.' I feel also because I am here for a much longing time, I'll have more opportunities to explore, but I feel a lot more grounded, and so more intent on studying then going out. I suppose in stead of guessing how I will spend my time here, I should let it play out and then reflect on it after the fact... Then I can tell you lovely people all about it.<br />
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Hope all is well. If anyone is doing any traveling remember to make pit stop in Nanjing and say hello.brendanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837657160598843294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-807613932063067511.post-62378599927653144312011-09-04T12:39:00.000+08:002011-09-04T12:39:02.459+08:00An Oaklander In Nanjing<br />
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Greetings everyone. It has been a while since I have had time to write anything, but after getting settled in Nanjing this past week I have found some time to go to a coffee shop and use the internet.<div><br />
</div><div>Since August 13th after I moved out of my Taipei apartment I have not had a steady place to lay my head down. since then I have slept;</div><div>-in a bus terminal, on a bus</div><div>-Friend Soso's floor in Kending</div><div>-hotels for a few days while on cycling tour</div><div>-friend Morice's house in Yilan</div><div>-my friend John's concrete floor for two days</div><div>-my friends Brendan's couch for 5 days,</div><div>-my friend Dennis's spare room for 5 days</div><div><br />
</div><div>FINALLY I have my very own place that I will be living in till the end of January 2012. I have already slept there two nights, and I am slowly getting it filled with the little things a new apartment needs, as well as clearing out all the old crap that was left behind. It is very curious the amount of things you can leave behind when you move out, and no one seems to mind. So I have closets full of old bedding and cloths and shelves of random knick-knacks. BUT I have also found a type-writer, and old Pentax camera and a unopened French-press Coffee set. so it's not all garbage I suppose, and also I guess I dont have to worry about making sure the apartment is spic n span when I move out.</div><div><br />
</div><div>My first week in Nanjing has been busy, lots of running around with real-estate agents looking at apartments. It was the fourth day when I found one, not a lot of land lords are willing to rent an apartment out for just 5 months without raising the rent through the roof. I have already spend two full days on campus going to orientation meetings and taking placement tests. So far I have made plenty of other foreign student friends, as well as a few locals. I am not lucky enough for there to be a Bike Polo team in Nanjing as well, because that was truely a great way to make 15 local friends really quickly. So next week when school really starts to get going I'll be going to Student Center on campus to try to join some student organizations to meet some new folks. ALSO this week I will get to meet some potential roommates to live with me. Our roommates will also be our tutors. The school matches up each student with a few candidates based on their major (they said it was very difficult to find me some Geography student candidates, but they found two for me) And so this week I will meet with them and see how we get on together and I'll choose one who I feel will be a good roommate....</div><div><br />
</div><div>For those who don't remember, this is all apart of a program called The Language Flagship, a program that aims to get more American's out into the world speakings languages other than English to help strengthen America's role in the International Community. I will be taking Chinese language classes as well as Geography classes that will transfer over to my B.A. at San Francisco State University. Chinese classes start tomorrow, but starting next week I will be "sitting in" listening to the GEOG classes and seeing which ones I like, and I have till the end of September to actually register for classes. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Ok that's all for now. Get back to y'all as soon as some more interesting things happen.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLFUEtY9T5w5yDnLpoXvxNGfgPCzfRJtblgsBjp233xTehuV2X8PeHlpd-tQkSrM-3uYz2EFaNI3N54PaV4TtZ9-mHeLNtCmDVWtGt4Hxeiv_LnfDKq8Elx_wvzh0vzrVY9LjcMib5fQ/s1600/DSC00532.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLFUEtY9T5w5yDnLpoXvxNGfgPCzfRJtblgsBjp233xTehuV2X8PeHlpd-tQkSrM-3uYz2EFaNI3N54PaV4TtZ9-mHeLNtCmDVWtGt4Hxeiv_LnfDKq8Elx_wvzh0vzrVY9LjcMib5fQ/s320/DSC00532.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bed room</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRlHb3nKMeilO8pyFUr8JlszSfGn9l7iG5FBhtzOAMlL5pdsOOD5ZKHD2tEpKhuceHUWqOm3fTTTwPCfrIImtegeKmcpjKudUWtmY7SBpJaWArp4S1i-Z0J4g7gyvwqB7oEDb5zIYYqQ/s1600/DSC00533.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRlHb3nKMeilO8pyFUr8JlszSfGn9l7iG5FBhtzOAMlL5pdsOOD5ZKHD2tEpKhuceHUWqOm3fTTTwPCfrIImtegeKmcpjKudUWtmY7SBpJaWArp4S1i-Z0J4g7gyvwqB7oEDb5zIYYqQ/s320/DSC00533.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">living room</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitoHJLJSyuydCfr6NTjr51B0eBGFNr36KQvdWzOHaceSoy5dS-MDg4M4Qb_dr-ldyRZSgTDc5q-1P5RW58vDvtHfos0PGAvl8_Z0MJ0DuwYfkGqhDxbWqmWDibe0A41f0vADxOTMzepw/s1600/DSC00535.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitoHJLJSyuydCfr6NTjr51B0eBGFNr36KQvdWzOHaceSoy5dS-MDg4M4Qb_dr-ldyRZSgTDc5q-1P5RW58vDvtHfos0PGAvl8_Z0MJ0DuwYfkGqhDxbWqmWDibe0A41f0vADxOTMzepw/s320/DSC00535.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">roommates room</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvzQOoGwHo3q6sBGosWacm07RtRhGKGpWSuW2QZ2IRFgyQD-U7jcZ_ufFi4glvqf4qIy6w7kHaD1ohHOmGUlkVA4P_psWKjWWJw-YG4jmZIP5aVWlw1qW4T1lhhTy07Mx0TxLIqKudVA/s1600/DSC00536.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvzQOoGwHo3q6sBGosWacm07RtRhGKGpWSuW2QZ2IRFgyQD-U7jcZ_ufFi4glvqf4qIy6w7kHaD1ohHOmGUlkVA4P_psWKjWWJw-YG4jmZIP5aVWlw1qW4T1lhhTy07Mx0TxLIqKudVA/s320/DSC00536.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a view of my strreet</td></tr>
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</div>brendanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837657160598843294noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-807613932063067511.post-44543128534839359202011-08-24T11:28:00.000+08:002011-08-24T11:28:17.034+08:00The Past Few Weeks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Greeting Family, Friends und Geographers,</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I know it has been even longer since my last post but Oh Geez have I been buzy.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">(pictures below)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">August 12th was our last day of school, we had to take exit exams and give final presentations. The exit exam was the exact same as the entrance exam, but this time I didn't have such a confused look on my face the whole time, so I guess I know that my Chinese has improved a lot over this summer. The day after final I had to move out of my apartment and get ready for my Taiwan-wide adventure.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">My brother Morgan showed up a few days before finals. He and I traveled south to Tainan for the Taiwan Bike Polo Championships. Our team was morgan, myself, and our friend Jay. We took third place. Another Taipei team took 2nd, and a team from Gaoxiong took 1st. After the tournament we got a ride to the beach town of Kending on the very southern tip of the island and stayed there a night visiting the night market.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Then our real biking adventure started. The first day from Kending to Taidong was about 100 miles of riding. Mind you our bikes are fully loaded with all of our gear, clothes, food and water. Day 2, was Taidong to Hualien, 125 miles!!! This was a hard bit of riding, and my poor polo bike looked like it wasn't gonna make it. I rolled in Hualien with 6 broken spokes on the back wheel. The next day we got a replacement, luckily from a Giant brand road bike shop, but the owner just happen to have a replacement in the back room. That night we planned on going through Taroko Gorge before getting on the train to the next city, but we realized that the gorge was so large, just passing through it would not be worth it. So we decided to stay an extra day and bike the entire gorge the next day, and it was well worth it. Taroko is the Grand Canyon of Taiwan.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">We had to take a train from Hualien to Yilan because the road is just too mountainous to bike. In Yilan we me tup with my friend Morice who had helped me out with a place to stay last month when I biked from Taipei to Yilan solo. By this time in the trip we were both terribly exhausted, so we went to bed early and got ready for the last leg of the trip, Yilan back to Taipei. Morice was a great host as usual and made us Egg Pancakes for breakfast, then we headed out to Jiaoxi for some hot springs and then Toucheng to see the beautiful beaches of the Northeast coast. But by this time it was getting pretty late in the day, and so we decided to just take the train back to Taipei.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">But once we got back to Taipei we still had a bit of adventuring to do, because we were homeless. I had already moved out of my place before we started the cycling tour, and so we had to do a bit more couch surfing at friends houses while I worked out a new place for us to live. But in the end it was all sorted out. I now am living in a friends empty apartment before he moves into it at the end of the month. It is a nice penthouse on the 13th floor in the middle of Taipei, great views. In exchange I water the plants and make sure the place doesn't burn down, done and done.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Sunday I move to Nanjing People's Republic of China, which will be another great adventure. Part of me is keen to see a new city, part of me is hesitant to want to go back to Communist China after living in the very free and open society of Taiwan, but I'll manage. BUT for that reason, I am not sure if this website is allowed in China, I won't know till I get there (for example, Facebook and Google are forbidden for people to use) So if for whatever reason I can no longer use blogger.com I'll let people know via email (brendanoakland@gmail.com) which blog site I have moved to, and I'll keep posting about China adventures.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I'll miss you Taiwan!!! Can't wait to come back.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Cheers.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPtJk54HTKBO-KoOePjt0hiXd_K_Jf5h7tmZ-UQRt6NOXgL0a-SdbGdWy_-fy_Ml-Teg4gSUOAJyYsibHxGwymk55yuvQQpBOFIAXvM-iXTezQv3Ls9P749z2EVTA-200BcIDLKMGU4g/s1600/DSC00432.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPtJk54HTKBO-KoOePjt0hiXd_K_Jf5h7tmZ-UQRt6NOXgL0a-SdbGdWy_-fy_Ml-Teg4gSUOAJyYsibHxGwymk55yuvQQpBOFIAXvM-iXTezQv3Ls9P749z2EVTA-200BcIDLKMGU4g/s320/DSC00432.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kending</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSOI9iYDnWFkwLa02vOevBs7RkKKOorplxoo59LrEOkM5espRuVHSBx1kRyFjgvLpYEitBtciAfvcR2G107fTwNDuad3OHwY0FC71vhJT0go7upBxLqzN2g6863bVNdbKofVTznSoCEw/s1600/DSC00438.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSOI9iYDnWFkwLa02vOevBs7RkKKOorplxoo59LrEOkM5espRuVHSBx1kRyFjgvLpYEitBtciAfvcR2G107fTwNDuad3OHwY0FC71vhJT0go7upBxLqzN2g6863bVNdbKofVTznSoCEw/s320/DSC00438.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kending to Taidong</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIw_UMNHf8cPCfdwLtpZiaCflKtZ4I4PwS5uWtSFVSM4ysgMHiFrBUfvsJbZqBOAfENCNSszwQVNrBrdAZXRwVEtCr1qcvhL8fsobulqqGCuMNDeJB5tMOSXHikyUniOcfD2w6s73zNg/s1600/DSC00439.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIw_UMNHf8cPCfdwLtpZiaCflKtZ4I4PwS5uWtSFVSM4ysgMHiFrBUfvsJbZqBOAfENCNSszwQVNrBrdAZXRwVEtCr1qcvhL8fsobulqqGCuMNDeJB5tMOSXHikyUniOcfD2w6s73zNg/s320/DSC00439.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxyT1TMzks7LE2cNi7pg1cusmcSJBgJuPr_fVA68uLJPJcpArjOHGq6xR5cAXphEw3KmFXdcIJM1AYxBcs16zIO6BMH0_8QRR-m8The3V9F6UZbPZbWvnnYa_JpxtuW-1FCgSaAo2k-Q/s1600/DSC00440.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxyT1TMzks7LE2cNi7pg1cusmcSJBgJuPr_fVA68uLJPJcpArjOHGq6xR5cAXphEw3KmFXdcIJM1AYxBcs16zIO6BMH0_8QRR-m8The3V9F6UZbPZbWvnnYa_JpxtuW-1FCgSaAo2k-Q/s320/DSC00440.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This Father and Son were doing the same trip as us, and we bumped into them periodically for two days.</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOI40qSzq6Z1wdkiQcxNKCuD2NWqPTdtZCwFGuYGCRyODPxMkDy9CE2r4TeRQALpOBL7QHOYEWEUctuS5XekFFggiZawsv8KnawKdgZwhA3q4m_a3H8OEK_7tUd0F4HsuyRSBhagKgdg/s1600/DSC00442.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOI40qSzq6Z1wdkiQcxNKCuD2NWqPTdtZCwFGuYGCRyODPxMkDy9CE2r4TeRQALpOBL7QHOYEWEUctuS5XekFFggiZawsv8KnawKdgZwhA3q4m_a3H8OEK_7tUd0F4HsuyRSBhagKgdg/s320/DSC00442.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijqbmIQDdDNB3jARt-5d9Qz9yhTQqQzPq9MZhkPdD71_0SNY80yaxMzP9ApCaVW7vj01F3Tn5MeyHhD8nUS_APCJOvGIjxnvbNaAHs5sZEmfVRwHz3dnG1Hdz2fCmN-8XGPFggayhI4Q/s1600/DSC00444.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijqbmIQDdDNB3jARt-5d9Qz9yhTQqQzPq9MZhkPdD71_0SNY80yaxMzP9ApCaVW7vj01F3Tn5MeyHhD8nUS_APCJOvGIjxnvbNaAHs5sZEmfVRwHz3dnG1Hdz2fCmN-8XGPFggayhI4Q/s320/DSC00444.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2FK5QhJ4PlgjBKm1eSbOwRkeGf6CfuYQ_uzh6Tb0qSAXuIjs1_njqHZ89lMe3ncS7gYSJSJ1g5PY6_NH1jknBLH7r_7-3UVDl4H8QEac3fosq3jyUACtNKPWxRDXdZ7huXCf_WddDog/s1600/DSC00447.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2FK5QhJ4PlgjBKm1eSbOwRkeGf6CfuYQ_uzh6Tb0qSAXuIjs1_njqHZ89lMe3ncS7gYSJSJ1g5PY6_NH1jknBLH7r_7-3UVDl4H8QEac3fosq3jyUACtNKPWxRDXdZ7huXCf_WddDog/s320/DSC00447.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aboriginal art in the high mountains leading to Taidong.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Rhxpp4i88VEKJ2V7HMNT7j4SCrbaVVpryn-mWZACHvtus6qMN9wv-Xdxyp0_y1sRm_nJxX3hZC-aBAt83WoWyBm5MoylQJcbsCRb540KfcrJERMSQHJiZ2zXqlYYoQvFHDyFIXoPjw/s1600/DSC00454.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Rhxpp4i88VEKJ2V7HMNT7j4SCrbaVVpryn-mWZACHvtus6qMN9wv-Xdxyp0_y1sRm_nJxX3hZC-aBAt83WoWyBm5MoylQJcbsCRb540KfcrJERMSQHJiZ2zXqlYYoQvFHDyFIXoPjw/s320/DSC00454.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">County line, from Kending into Hualien county.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbsPm_eazi_FAui0yqb097e9eYrvTd8vtSIsg8NtBuRttasgJTXlFtp-1dppxaacoXeNaUttPlGM3SB2j2SKX8Ol0ts-iXPzKM6IX29C9Zmket_rdALliek4OGdff7A_XpncCkAEHvlg/s1600/DSC00455.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbsPm_eazi_FAui0yqb097e9eYrvTd8vtSIsg8NtBuRttasgJTXlFtp-1dppxaacoXeNaUttPlGM3SB2j2SKX8Ol0ts-iXPzKM6IX29C9Zmket_rdALliek4OGdff7A_XpncCkAEHvlg/s320/DSC00455.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The heat is brutal, head cover is very important.</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-nQ6m-I-xdUBSQJp-uGnM_gFhxTojoXEIXawSweFarq3uVra7SoXhTLV7ydgrW2ronHb4Je9KGmIF5ZPiRMGSegMdcdyiWNUovHOuktkW30zbpgPuVxku8LPsDrjG1H0fFy5xNIEGFw/s1600/DSC00464.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-nQ6m-I-xdUBSQJp-uGnM_gFhxTojoXEIXawSweFarq3uVra7SoXhTLV7ydgrW2ronHb4Je9KGmIF5ZPiRMGSegMdcdyiWNUovHOuktkW30zbpgPuVxku8LPsDrjG1H0fFy5xNIEGFw/s320/DSC00464.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEite-g8wo1hGPUM6TTryhh1rdwIdElxV8Y2_LErOO87BIn4GqcLUGzPbxTL29-iU0AmaWPOC_4etwlUGV9XzACWlJBJiwgVFU0dgPgbtHZEGGHiYpCpwx85aKWQCqVFYXCJjQ02C7dSiA/s1600/DSC00475.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEite-g8wo1hGPUM6TTryhh1rdwIdElxV8Y2_LErOO87BIn4GqcLUGzPbxTL29-iU0AmaWPOC_4etwlUGV9XzACWlJBJiwgVFU0dgPgbtHZEGGHiYpCpwx85aKWQCqVFYXCJjQ02C7dSiA/s320/DSC00475.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvtzr2PJWDpGRncwFCzJ3nEs24JSea5UbQhoGzEg7ifrl0nGxVy46G2iHzE5M-XKx5OR4dgY58SzMGIHXDl78irApFDYbd0LGEXPnNpcgrnb4xBKcxaQewfe6YsiTsRO4HIjVQwy_5Vw/s1600/DSC00478.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvtzr2PJWDpGRncwFCzJ3nEs24JSea5UbQhoGzEg7ifrl0nGxVy46G2iHzE5M-XKx5OR4dgY58SzMGIHXDl78irApFDYbd0LGEXPnNpcgrnb4xBKcxaQewfe6YsiTsRO4HIjVQwy_5Vw/s320/DSC00478.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Tropic of Cancer Marker"</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0s_ClwRgX89GoyaxPH1GAtyNlVlTGjKO09EPHz5tyCuRLywZjvUWC1yRN8KndARo3yX3HrfDLXb4DPgWRP_osL9DA-iB1Lb_4GwxgHKUgalGwNNdFGhHHqfCJd7AoA22GT-y0a0alEA/s1600/DSC00480.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0s_ClwRgX89GoyaxPH1GAtyNlVlTGjKO09EPHz5tyCuRLywZjvUWC1yRN8KndARo3yX3HrfDLXb4DPgWRP_osL9DA-iB1Lb_4GwxgHKUgalGwNNdFGhHHqfCJd7AoA22GT-y0a0alEA/s320/DSC00480.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Actual Tropic of Cancer Marker</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfLpe6yV7zaHjL9heAg6wJuyHW1SPhrgqG0xxYdmhKi74ruUtChykHkSzVwEZhyphenhyphenLTOrkyJ3qHc-wRQRnCpq6LHGKtjJjTJRbap-8ghoBMzO29gsNq8oZDLsrE_uIToZTbtmAW8PDNVZQ/s1600/DSC00482.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfLpe6yV7zaHjL9heAg6wJuyHW1SPhrgqG0xxYdmhKi74ruUtChykHkSzVwEZhyphenhyphenLTOrkyJ3qHc-wRQRnCpq6LHGKtjJjTJRbap-8ghoBMzO29gsNq8oZDLsrE_uIToZTbtmAW8PDNVZQ/s320/DSC00482.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morgan showing his disgust with the southern side of the Tropic of Cancer (seemly the hotter of the two sides)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv4o-iLGiTetatIIIrJbeDAjZyNFurn19aYXjA1UZGY76brgicDHIospGtts7tXAUpoIXG_0G55ezu6OeaDQuSY2vXCGGT6-T0P_-z2IaZ_Qxh4F4GnWdXcepd-VCfaZtCxCTKn5tDaw/s1600/DSC00484.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv4o-iLGiTetatIIIrJbeDAjZyNFurn19aYXjA1UZGY76brgicDHIospGtts7tXAUpoIXG_0G55ezu6OeaDQuSY2vXCGGT6-T0P_-z2IaZ_Qxh4F4GnWdXcepd-VCfaZtCxCTKn5tDaw/s320/DSC00484.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifOC4U8Fx7DZJOcp_j-8p7PXjaNuFUEPMoZNZdNK8tcGB_pf80OehYC59SLpgqE1G1ItxSiAYALACTrFd1tj7tgREm357a1vG7LcxE0OzG7S5p6fOt3B8M2OJKt1DUutZ0HG9fHKjicQ/s1600/DSC00488.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifOC4U8Fx7DZJOcp_j-8p7PXjaNuFUEPMoZNZdNK8tcGB_pf80OehYC59SLpgqE1G1ItxSiAYALACTrFd1tj7tgREm357a1vG7LcxE0OzG7S5p6fOt3B8M2OJKt1DUutZ0HG9fHKjicQ/s320/DSC00488.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All police station have tools and air and water for cyclists. Cycling is very popular in Taiwan.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuag_oROOL4zfkt6DQQfmLTftetIRmodz3VChPU2kEYvj7nCpa42dJvgYnmz_rPYDnIo11jhztNsLNoXRdqLG8gRe9pNvHqyGnaddXaCIOTG3QnochxKF4tlMsYIFalo-PiRXnIRx85A/s1600/DSC00489.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuag_oROOL4zfkt6DQQfmLTftetIRmodz3VChPU2kEYvj7nCpa42dJvgYnmz_rPYDnIo11jhztNsLNoXRdqLG8gRe9pNvHqyGnaddXaCIOTG3QnochxKF4tlMsYIFalo-PiRXnIRx85A/s320/DSC00489.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjwi9uVU_Ckug2pia37-NHN2aqjwXJONUpgkMwHS4vmz1DQtNuimBmCbEmFhZmZx3KhA6biSg2lb8YwanmxYsDUzhFjKBvbBs6ued6dj7Y5U8qoHPcxNfHNAMgnqZtOxqwFDFv-3NQ5g/s1600/DSC00493.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjwi9uVU_Ckug2pia37-NHN2aqjwXJONUpgkMwHS4vmz1DQtNuimBmCbEmFhZmZx3KhA6biSg2lb8YwanmxYsDUzhFjKBvbBs6ued6dj7Y5U8qoHPcxNfHNAMgnqZtOxqwFDFv-3NQ5g/s320/DSC00493.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Champion Cyclist. Luckily he happened to have one of his own wheels in the back of his shop that I bought from him so I could continue the tour.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0cv1UVQvsWPp6HPJUNQlCkzkvXLdDxqYDGsEwLHwrEEAs9vKJ_0oVBPDT85lbKVazL-nzrKtDnpBFOaLKTzBgXXp90oot3FdIQs4rI1xGM45yQolPsDdQW-n29q1EYaM-eW_ZAfCKdw/s1600/DSC00497.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0cv1UVQvsWPp6HPJUNQlCkzkvXLdDxqYDGsEwLHwrEEAs9vKJ_0oVBPDT85lbKVazL-nzrKtDnpBFOaLKTzBgXXp90oot3FdIQs4rI1xGM45yQolPsDdQW-n29q1EYaM-eW_ZAfCKdw/s320/DSC00497.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taroko Gorge</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Fi1A-J2JNIgt7eQXDcQwAHxp4EjVARZc4lwr-VVDPYQx1AvG7Es8NNy6XwfVcS5U5c8xykcJrhOtT62H5joZhYrvE6d0TLSx_Yytq75LGQPEuk1R1ScwPeDhKsMnl8FaIdBmbPwmzQ/s1600/DSC00499.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Fi1A-J2JNIgt7eQXDcQwAHxp4EjVARZc4lwr-VVDPYQx1AvG7Es8NNy6XwfVcS5U5c8xykcJrhOtT62H5joZhYrvE6d0TLSx_Yytq75LGQPEuk1R1ScwPeDhKsMnl8FaIdBmbPwmzQ/s320/DSC00499.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFjcM9gJ2lmxEUK8AvqWGhuYuO51_nXzCR8u3rbZ3NP1CZi4KZB6q7lJAAHvfU8VM42A-JsK4x9ZvBGCNj7u9QgfRyfrfkLLnU3qS9EXNYzFLtG-eCoZ0NCmo12JTUCqbF1kOliEnK_Q/s1600/DSC00501.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFjcM9gJ2lmxEUK8AvqWGhuYuO51_nXzCR8u3rbZ3NP1CZi4KZB6q7lJAAHvfU8VM42A-JsK4x9ZvBGCNj7u9QgfRyfrfkLLnU3qS9EXNYzFLtG-eCoZ0NCmo12JTUCqbF1kOliEnK_Q/s320/DSC00501.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBnFz3B_1YD7K-nePITk267TcsgaBsK_mQLai6GLqTzEr5Vda-1NRXTDaPJWuM5d_RIvnjXPljpCXl7q4mF8oqpU_ERc-5e_8nR-bdFRKIS7SaJ1tIVdgJh5t31PiW7obdGe20LB_Y0A/s1600/DSC00508.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBnFz3B_1YD7K-nePITk267TcsgaBsK_mQLai6GLqTzEr5Vda-1NRXTDaPJWuM5d_RIvnjXPljpCXl7q4mF8oqpU_ERc-5e_8nR-bdFRKIS7SaJ1tIVdgJh5t31PiW7obdGe20LB_Y0A/s320/DSC00508.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFXK-t6EdptRnuvgDZB-w4gVvZ4N_Wuy4NejhnZBOp1sEyspEyNoz1_AvXJu5nyN30LEUDTVIIYmvo6-BYERtnuglykyBuaf-Kn5Lv1O5wVKlWb72ZNRM72M8YKNNdyMiNowF-QMCgfA/s1600/DSC00510.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFXK-t6EdptRnuvgDZB-w4gVvZ4N_Wuy4NejhnZBOp1sEyspEyNoz1_AvXJu5nyN30LEUDTVIIYmvo6-BYERtnuglykyBuaf-Kn5Lv1O5wVKlWb72ZNRM72M8YKNNdyMiNowF-QMCgfA/s320/DSC00510.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taroko Map</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRGSIK0-kPb-OojLpUbe68IEoPGtzYLq84nqXuNWQyH8zmhrDLfuKmW31Mv72qVQqy3npXebORLiY9bSc02T9Eshw5fEevqekjo_1mzaCroDJbgfs2JCUT-UiMxVFigq7UCWoum6qXug/s1600/DSC00511.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRGSIK0-kPb-OojLpUbe68IEoPGtzYLq84nqXuNWQyH8zmhrDLfuKmW31Mv72qVQqy3npXebORLiY9bSc02T9Eshw5fEevqekjo_1mzaCroDJbgfs2JCUT-UiMxVFigq7UCWoum6qXug/s320/DSC00511.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taroko Map<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4jxwaDrpBeUsZ87GrZUFYF9n9wuFP64uuZ_2HGcEzvkHg6UXBUlcaV_SOmeZH5rnn0m69M_R19XYmlfRQW_YP5YfSu62fATu_TNxD6BBXsPEHO-kPLx1wn4a_eIZJV1s2sbv_ei9Nig/s1600/DSC00512.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4jxwaDrpBeUsZ87GrZUFYF9n9wuFP64uuZ_2HGcEzvkHg6UXBUlcaV_SOmeZH5rnn0m69M_R19XYmlfRQW_YP5YfSu62fATu_TNxD6BBXsPEHO-kPLx1wn4a_eIZJV1s2sbv_ei9Nig/s320/DSC00512.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQZOPjhAkT4Gu8AonSasPONesH1UhZrt4rrVsQmJUkKiL3mBsgAzDbRCmVRTO4LanpOlgoAT_b8PDo30kRW1AEI1b7cGXeKMa7NkoJgu0k_iNXXeHWPkcswb6o_JuQIC_ZyeZJwutGFg/s1600/DSC00514.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQZOPjhAkT4Gu8AonSasPONesH1UhZrt4rrVsQmJUkKiL3mBsgAzDbRCmVRTO4LanpOlgoAT_b8PDo30kRW1AEI1b7cGXeKMa7NkoJgu0k_iNXXeHWPkcswb6o_JuQIC_ZyeZJwutGFg/s320/DSC00514.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFc62ug6SJofYhouXZCzi7y7Y81gk-ZuJn5RWiqCy2iEWByZDaeYGORz9UJEScVL2-LiiVWKubwXwirqiW6Tv3tJUvw0U90reZHAzvL80EYFWjHyKflwAblZ42Ax8H_0pPMdJ2LNgMaw/s1600/DSC00517.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFc62ug6SJofYhouXZCzi7y7Y81gk-ZuJn5RWiqCy2iEWByZDaeYGORz9UJEScVL2-LiiVWKubwXwirqiW6Tv3tJUvw0U90reZHAzvL80EYFWjHyKflwAblZ42Ax8H_0pPMdJ2LNgMaw/s320/DSC00517.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOPQJjPKV2IlT0aFdLCNbzWsdssa-83C0DN1iTiJVX-zNpPGAAnMR3K7HTKXc3Gqy6a-_krUWUIwjLJQ-cNY9CeJjSFxiHp5jRSAlI-dTQOw6cgfJi_FW0x9uAqd8-0-M9UPn1744NiQ/s1600/DSC00520.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOPQJjPKV2IlT0aFdLCNbzWsdssa-83C0DN1iTiJVX-zNpPGAAnMR3K7HTKXc3Gqy6a-_krUWUIwjLJQ-cNY9CeJjSFxiHp5jRSAlI-dTQOw6cgfJi_FW0x9uAqd8-0-M9UPn1744NiQ/s320/DSC00520.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morice outside his home in Yilan. Thanks Morice!!!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbUgqtoOpc7zZ4T77OzNWpoVTEtt8oE1Ow2AI9GcVEuRYTTK5WqEBlCiGFmtVOcgIhwtPNznYr8MJGcrRHOECXQOiv9uTjQpAWPA75oGcnhRqPAnNY3WKOTNJ0XoiXB8IKsBmZnxWDSQ/s1600/DSC00521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbUgqtoOpc7zZ4T77OzNWpoVTEtt8oE1Ow2AI9GcVEuRYTTK5WqEBlCiGFmtVOcgIhwtPNznYr8MJGcrRHOECXQOiv9uTjQpAWPA75oGcnhRqPAnNY3WKOTNJ0XoiXB8IKsBmZnxWDSQ/s320/DSC00521.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Final day, outside the hot springs in Jiaoxi.</td></tr>
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brendanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837657160598843294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-807613932063067511.post-15614218267416843142011-08-02T16:15:00.000+08:002011-08-02T16:15:13.387+08:00The last few weeksHey everybody!<br />
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I know it's been a a little over a week since the last post, but I've been a) a bit busy with school, only 1 1/2 weeks left and finals are coming fast, b) a bit under the weather, not to mention getting tooth aches, so taking care of that problem in a foreign country will be an experience, and c) lazy. I think that last post took it out of me for a little bit.<br />
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But not long after returning home from my biking adventure to Yilan I started getting more involved with the website Couchsurfing.com. If anyone is planning on making a trip to Anywhere and wants to save a few bucks on lodging while at the same time meeting some wonderfully hospitable people that can show you around the place, use this website.<br />
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I met other people who were on there way to Taipei for a visit. A girl named Ellyse who was from Singapore originally, but now works out of Shanghai as a courier, was on her way to Taipei for a delivery. She had been here many times in the past and seen everything to be seen within Taipei city, so she wants to get out more into the suburbs and old villages. We decided to go to a place called Yingge. Famous for texiles and ceramics. We took the train out and saw a few museums and parks before heading back to Taipei to head to Raohe night market for dinner (raohe is one of the many night markets in taipei i had not yet been to)<br />
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So that was all last Tuesday. Just over this past weekend I participated in my very first Alley Cat Race outside of the US of A. It was very exciting, because Taipei can be a very fun/dangerous place to ride a bike, especially when racing. So obviously I had to take a more conservative approach to "racing" Plus I didn't know the city layout nearly well enough, I ended up getting lost from my group of friends after the very first checkpoint and ended up tagging along with some locals that seemed to know which direction to go. In the end I finished the race 13th out of about 100, so pretty not bad if you ask me.<br />
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Lastly, ole 博登 (<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Bódēng</span>, thats my name in chinese) gets to finally have a date with a local girl tonight (a friendly date) as well as finally see the last Harry Potter flick. It's funny the girl Lynn and I were in the same boat, we both have been wanting to see it, but not alone, and none of our friends wanted to join us, so this worked up perfectly. Another reason couchsurfing is great, I met lynn that night at Raohe night market, because she met Ellyse and I there for dinner, as she was letting Ellyse stay on her couch that night while she was in town.... You see it all works out in the end.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taipei City scape painted inside a bowl.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjupQhTt9BWe0QyrRKzzmsxPWVbMbTup3oPGkLp7NyJQd5l8ni1cmy8YwDhJsmsKc2uOkhiz0TC7y8SbFDT29BLH9h44-a0l0gCwN3sVPTpU6fADUoY0xSD4trDxylpiHpWXp7-XuOQkA/s1600/DSC00392.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjupQhTt9BWe0QyrRKzzmsxPWVbMbTup3oPGkLp7NyJQd5l8ni1cmy8YwDhJsmsKc2uOkhiz0TC7y8SbFDT29BLH9h44-a0l0gCwN3sVPTpU6fADUoY0xSD4trDxylpiHpWXp7-XuOQkA/s320/DSC00392.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The weird blob on the right side is actually about 3 stories tall, but it was closed so we couldn't go inside and see the view from the top. The plates were all much much taller than I.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCJNk8J2xA1llw6gwDSRdfvlBo3FZ7Wy7THJkO8u8o3N0gtftOtpNX8GNKHN2_exkkK11Z9gBYRBxkSc_WMNQS0EbNHHLHmz2zpxdA-cGv2IN_8uipY7muPhofiAhOZfB2x_XLPGfz-Q/s1600/DSC00416.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCJNk8J2xA1llw6gwDSRdfvlBo3FZ7Wy7THJkO8u8o3N0gtftOtpNX8GNKHN2_exkkK11Z9gBYRBxkSc_WMNQS0EbNHHLHmz2zpxdA-cGv2IN_8uipY7muPhofiAhOZfB2x_XLPGfz-Q/s320/DSC00416.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My good buddy A-Feng, and behind him, holding his bike down is Xiao You, just before the race starts.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjInhRH5gPTKhlji91tPeUKj9MxsRnGXIaBQ-ZT2V6KUoeLL8RU7YU3jRyvxoJ6Wf6HQExBwrl6ztQJk6mLukVV8UXlX9YnpTn9oum9fuxBTQXRu_-arUbDPM4YpunCcGSY1WSzuYUq0A/s1600/DSC00420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjInhRH5gPTKhlji91tPeUKj9MxsRnGXIaBQ-ZT2V6KUoeLL8RU7YU3jRyvxoJ6Wf6HQExBwrl6ztQJk6mLukVV8UXlX9YnpTn9oum9fuxBTQXRu_-arUbDPM4YpunCcGSY1WSzuYUq0A/s320/DSC00420.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Discussing race strategies.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8kE1wzCS8hLQbcuZVuglIGYP5qqArPqeIT-_vNYBXGd24EL6fWumOtYNTnYkAhHjCglu9x9pjWchqvcod_Yw3IkoamhnJV5Y5gHT6lSfLF6IBp9kBmw8aZYURiIa1b4pixlPRNCH6xA/s1600/DSC00418.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8kE1wzCS8hLQbcuZVuglIGYP5qqArPqeIT-_vNYBXGd24EL6fWumOtYNTnYkAhHjCglu9x9pjWchqvcod_Yw3IkoamhnJV5Y5gHT6lSfLF6IBp9kBmw8aZYURiIa1b4pixlPRNCH6xA/s320/DSC00418.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Listening to the instructions......</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNRXrvj84fcdB9zn1TIsn_cLfXdIz9HgupUDP9LMbxbacZddiXlQLm-zvwu9bHuFWmDolc2SpUmq2D-MMtqJ1CImB-I4xPb2jx6XOhYXpmKrfIs06nF-L9pPU3SQOMkfuBEfdGB61Ycg/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-08-02+at+3.10.47+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNRXrvj84fcdB9zn1TIsn_cLfXdIz9HgupUDP9LMbxbacZddiXlQLm-zvwu9bHuFWmDolc2SpUmq2D-MMtqJ1CImB-I4xPb2jx6XOhYXpmKrfIs06nF-L9pPU3SQOMkfuBEfdGB61Ycg/s320/Screen+shot+2011-08-02+at+3.10.47+PM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">... And GO!!!!</td></tr>
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brendanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837657160598843294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-807613932063067511.post-6272586123128654152011-07-25T13:03:00.002+08:002011-07-25T13:07:59.753+08:00Bike Tour: Taipei to Yilan 單車旅遊:台北到宜蘭 My trip this weekend was a complete success! It actually turned out better than I had planned. In a nut shell, on Friday I got the urge to take a very long bike ride over the weekend. So on Saturday morning I biked to Yilan City, it was about 50 miles of riding through the Mountain Roads (hwy 9) and took about 6 hours. I stayed the night in Yilan at a new friends house, then on Sunday I followed the Ocean Road (hwy 2) home, which was about 75 miles and took about 7 hours. I saw many great sites, Finally got to hang out at the beach, first time since getting to Taiwan... Met some great people, ate great food.<br />
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Details Below<br />
(pictures are at the very bottom of the page)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2c5xYXJUJ1o2Ln_iAfNF6YqN0A3bdU2PO0qz1soawJStOXzfpkOH8xTc-c_Jp6-bEbD1ZN_0nW6m_AMFmijr6mS2dc8yG8YwvNx30TVMLm0FRhJYYeoR_k570gCLtAQa_a96CS9xEyQ/s1600/Bike+Tour+Taipei+to+Yilan.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2c5xYXJUJ1o2Ln_iAfNF6YqN0A3bdU2PO0qz1soawJStOXzfpkOH8xTc-c_Jp6-bEbD1ZN_0nW6m_AMFmijr6mS2dc8yG8YwvNx30TVMLm0FRhJYYeoR_k570gCLtAQa_a96CS9xEyQ/s320/Bike+Tour+Taipei+to+Yilan.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cartography by Brendan Allen (Me!!!) I love making maps.</td></tr>
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At first I thought of biking up to the Feicui Reservoir and researching the dam (cause i'm a nerd like that) It supplies the water for Taipei City. But that ride was not nearly long enough. So I looked to the East coast of Taiwan and thought that Yilan City was a better destination. I could make a whole weekend of of it. So I did some fast research Friday night about how to actually bike there, which I figured out by looking at other peoples blogs who had made the trip in the past. Made key adjustments to my polo bike to make it more suitable for a long tour (change the gear ratio, add a front brake) And then, find a place to stay in Yilan, which I used the greatest travelers website ever, Coushsurfing.com, found a guy who lived in Yilan who had no problem helping out weary travelers by lending his couch to sleep on, not to mention show me around the town while I was there.<br />
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Day 1:<br />
I left my house right at 8am, I was on schedule for once! At about 8:40am I made it to Xiandian MRT (Metro Train) it was the last check point in Taipei City before hitting the mountains. Now the road to Yilan is a lot like the humps of a Bactrian Camel. Right outside of Taipei was about<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>1 1/2 hours of straight climbing, then you descend in a valley, climb back out of it, then descend in Yilan. The first break I got in the first climb was a great coffee place dedicated to cyclists, it was called (picture 1-3) 卡普咖啡 "Curve Coffee" as it was located in a big switchback to lead into the valley. The women that ran the place greeted me with "pa hao?" 爬好?(hows the climbing?) There a bunch of other cyclists there, and as I rested there I saw a few others that I had pasted during my climb. They had free water and a bike pump for the riders, and delicious lemonade which was perfect the the incredibly hot weather. Descending into the valley was beautiful! Much of the trail followed the Feicui Reservoir, and I could see lots of farmlands (pictures 4-6) I also passed through some of the small townships in the interior like Pinglin 坪林 (picture 7) Climbing back out of the valley was terribly painful. I was very tired and sore already and I knew I still had about 2 hours ahead of me. I had a small scare as I started the climb. I was flagged down outside of a police station and asked to come in side and register, I didn't really know why, and I did't quite understand his explanation. I think the just want to keep track on cyclists in case something happens. They wanted me to fill out a form and then they would place a registration sticker on my bike so other police could identify me. But I didn't have my passport, and didn't remember the passport number, so they said I couldn't register. At first I thought this meant they weren't going to let me continue on, but after asking they told me to carry on my merry way, I'd just be a un-registered rider. Fine with me, I had a mountain to climb registered or not. It took about 1 1/2 to climb the second mountain. As I got closer to the top a strong head wind came, which biking up a hill into the wind is a very aggravating thing, but I couldn't have been happier. I knew that wind was blowing off of the Mighty Pacific, which meant I was getting close. Coming down off the hill was great! It was very steep on so the finally section was switchback after switchback, and I was flying down them. The only problem was the other cars, going down a hill at 30mph is scary when a car passes you, but it was good and bad that they seemed to come in chains about 10 cars, then I was alone for about 2 minutes. The amazing ride down the hill was about 15 mintues. Great views of Yilan and Jiaoxi.<br />
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When I decided to do this on Friday night, I didn't really know what I was going to do when I got there. I didn't know what there was to do, but I did know that Jiaoxi was famous for its natural hot springs 自然溫泉. And so that was the first thing I did when I got into town. There are hot springs everywhere that you can go to, I wasn't sure which was good or bad, so I just choose one at random at it was Awesome! Very traditional style, men and women were separated, no clothing was allowed, had to shower before and after. Inside was all wood and stone, it was beautiful. The pool itself was all wood, the ceiling went up 2-3 stories of just wooden rafters, and the walls were open to the outside toward the top. The hot spring pool (42-43 C/ 107 F) took up most of the floor, and in the corner was a stone resting pool, (about 70 F) It was suggested that you only stay in the hot pool about 10 minutes then go into the resting pool or sit by the side for 5 minutes before going back in. I seriously cannot think of a more perfect way to relax after beating up my body for 6 hours. After the hot spring, in the courtyard outside where people giving massages, so I had to get one of those too. It was usually 300 kuai (about 10 bucks) for 20 minutes, but because I was a foreigner the women felt she had to give me a discount as a way to thank me for coming to her stand, and because she though I was so handsome, so she charged me 200 kuai.<br />
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After the massage it was already 4pm and time to leave Jiaoxi and actually make it Yilan. When I got there I was casually biking around looking at the city (picture 8-11), getting some food, then getting incredibly lost trying to find an ocean side bike trail (I wasn't even close to finding it) By this time my friend Morice that I met on that most remarkably useful of website Couchsurfer.com had gotten off of work and was ready to meet up. Well I had no idea where I was, my map wasn't doing me much good, so I found a bus transfer station and told him I was there and he came got me. We first went back to his place so I could drop off my bike (I was very happy to finally get out of the saddle) and I took a shower, then we headed out to the night market for food!!! We had 鐵板燒 where they cook all the food in front of you on a huge steel table, thats what 鐵板 basically means. It was great eating a big, real meal after eating mostly nuts and dried fruit all day. We also had bbq pork skewers, delicious. Then we were walking around the downtown, as he was running an errand, we went to the mall and had some dessert, sweet shaved ice with beans and fruit, also delicious! Finally I was getting very tired and needed to rest up, so we got some beers and small snacks and went back to his place and drank and chatted. Morice was incredibly helpful and gracious. This was not the first time he had hosted a weary traveler. Ends up I was the fourth person he had helped out like this. He was telling me about others that had stayed at his house. One kid from Hong Kong walked all the way Taiwan! Thats amazing. I was surprised and fortunate that Morice had responded to my Couch Request so soon, I had only hit him up online 24 hours in advance, it it hadn't been for him I would had stayed on the beach, because all the hostels were full for the weekend. Once again just goes to show how amazingly generous and accommodating the Taiwanese people are. Well Thank You Very Much Morice!<br />
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Day 2:<br />
Woke up at about 7am, Morice had to go to work so I had to hit the road again. We were discussing what I was going to do that day. He told me some beaches I could go to in the north and my out of town. He also suggested taking the Ocean Road back to Taipei. I was just planning on taking the Mountain Road back, and I was not looking forward to anymore climbing. Well the Ocean Road is all Flat! Sure its 25 miles long, but that extra 25 miles only came out to be 1 extra hour, not to mention not having to endure all that strain on my body biking up hills on a single speed bike wearing a backpack. North of Yilan, north of Jiaoxi I found Toucheng 頭城, which is the Pismo Beach of Taiwan. There I visited Wai'ao Beach. (picture 12-14) Black sand beaches! It was beautiful. The first beach trip I've had in the 6 weeks I've lived in Taiwan. There in the ocean I took a bath, sorta washed the sweaty cycling clothes still wet from the day before and tried to swim around. But a life guard stopped me after a few minutes and told me I could only wade in knee deep water. The waters on the East coast are very rough and unpredictable. Huge waves come from nowhere and sweep people out to sea. Well theres only so much wading I can do, so I decided to continue on, I knew I had a much longer trail to ride that day (though I predicted a 9 hour trip that only took 7). The coast of Taiwan is gorgeous.<br />
It is all cliffs to the left and endless Pacific to the right (pictures 15-18). If I looked really hard I could almost see Oakland. This ride was pretty uneventful. I stopped ofter just to take small breaks, I mainly just took in the scenery as I rode. Two great milestones were when I finally made the big turn left and started heading west along the north coast of the island, and then when I hit Jilung City 基鋒市 (picture 19) and started heading inland towards Taipei. Jilung was the final port town on coast and I remained me a lot of Oakland Ports.<br />
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During the last 2-3 hours of riding is when I was getting delirious, singing and talking to myself. Cursing the road, and Taipei for being so far away from where I was at that moment. I was pretty sun baked, though I'm not sun burned today, yesterday I was looking like a lobster. This trip was an amazing adventure, and exactly what I hope to have more of within the next few weeks in Taiwan. Our last day of Class is Friday August 12th. Sunday the 14th I am going to a southern city Gaoxiong to play in a Bike Polo tournament, and from there I plan to bike along the whole east coast back to Taipei. It will probably take about 7 days at a slow pace. So I felt this weekend was great practice for my week tour 5 weeks from now. Who Wants To Join Me!?!?!<br />
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(sorry the pictures are all wonky. this website makes it VERY hard to organize them in an orderly manner. that or i'm a technological idiot who can't figure it out. the jury is still out to lunch.)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSYzCK0MNMeekalVT26i-gWxGuMOJBorf7PPgZsE5tBZv9s_Sl8P1ow7EUtjcagHGyq7Ky1fIYzo6VkJjysnNoZJ_jNK3HVXautuKjueKBE7mr-Cif20zAySusMZtXWlC4N7VFphLDEw/s200/DSC00312.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSqUt0l7l6NjtVx_LjVk-DtjU343a4SqUt01b2DU4uoXw9k5pOMu5pcHnYy6ij_V4lmpuB5XyHnrWA28GLWg4_S_XcYYUIrF4AtqZlMhwxV8Euo0Qz3dQEs83iszKlNr4S3L1ZyVEaSg/s1600/DSC00316.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSqUt0l7l6NjtVx_LjVk-DtjU343a4SqUt01b2DU4uoXw9k5pOMu5pcHnYy6ij_V4lmpuB5XyHnrWA28GLWg4_S_XcYYUIrF4AtqZlMhwxV8Euo0Qz3dQEs83iszKlNr4S3L1ZyVEaSg/s200/DSC00316.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHv1kW-YcigbVwj6SbHYN7hn-V3MSBW9j7QCJrSjQHYSdlkR_jiY-izztSHgt-2KBBSRh5ZaUMfGPN4QRP-guKpBcJB2O0FCrJXbVZzTuQvyCMYaZWJKOXtrYVotJ0z-gl7wxunCBk1w/s1600/DSC00318.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHv1kW-YcigbVwj6SbHYN7hn-V3MSBW9j7QCJrSjQHYSdlkR_jiY-izztSHgt-2KBBSRh5ZaUMfGPN4QRP-guKpBcJB2O0FCrJXbVZzTuQvyCMYaZWJKOXtrYVotJ0z-gl7wxunCBk1w/s200/DSC00318.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRIwF32iCs9rSshvjJkLqs8G8m_-1N3ufm61YxDMpxnw14ZXw6d6SkRPAZZYoevv2GubHr0jezNZJY6K2Hh8GfEj4cQopO5aGFmPfEWuTyHMRpWLWqmknOgpx9hlAANjqAs4sO7j5NRw/s200/DSC00319.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">5</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdn_YbFlc9LIkScKeKxzQjkvav75pCwdi4Yp8dF7J0Jkr8PT888ybGGNbSkfD2Ies6MY8SUlDuBOsIl2TxU3yKuS9nFWHZYbD5DZspVeKS23aWao0yDSS7IOi0IqqDFk96rU2ZE4KiOQ/s1600/DSC00323.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdn_YbFlc9LIkScKeKxzQjkvav75pCwdi4Yp8dF7J0Jkr8PT888ybGGNbSkfD2Ies6MY8SUlDuBOsIl2TxU3yKuS9nFWHZYbD5DZspVeKS23aWao0yDSS7IOi0IqqDFk96rU2ZE4KiOQ/s200/DSC00323.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">6</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRIwF32iCs9rSshvjJkLqs8G8m_-1N3ufm61YxDMpxnw14ZXw6d6SkRPAZZYoevv2GubHr0jezNZJY6K2Hh8GfEj4cQopO5aGFmPfEWuTyHMRpWLWqmknOgpx9hlAANjqAs4sO7j5NRw/s1600/DSC00319.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixPAy4an64M9jPoo1VMO0MM9AZrzK984KuQxo68ZXn0LWT8IGzYegTv766GJleeHzmxvoLU8cVcw1ZqCAqdGLf6u0V6PRWKZpA-xS8mXlusSqZ9nPUWqB-t1iq3Ov2f-e6MxiQv_MdtA/s200/DSC00324.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">7</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIkDncaO5rfSsx-Iw6kV5KsDTSAQi-7BCt2W7Z07ROdK7eSXUoYhYTy0_MM1Ss0Tv6eyThaIkp9-kjBndfX7mjFIAuqTBSBx-9fL_au4xeNPILWZ6E-eh7CMvNEb-YvyiezSgSCGIgdQ/s1600/DSC00331.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIkDncaO5rfSsx-Iw6kV5KsDTSAQi-7BCt2W7Z07ROdK7eSXUoYhYTy0_MM1Ss0Tv6eyThaIkp9-kjBndfX7mjFIAuqTBSBx-9fL_au4xeNPILWZ6E-eh7CMvNEb-YvyiezSgSCGIgdQ/s200/DSC00331.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">8</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0g3qjLHVhd7oc1QjnWLEC2u-yst2sEyuHT3pcUj1HyCSy9qcGlQlNGFjBAg7Q8r1-z0Ijl4UEA64JYLu557t7YwDON4OQ4XQfhVGKHeBfPD6xAdDBdB2KJz9g1oeoyECwAye89SC3gg/s1600/DSC00336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0g3qjLHVhd7oc1QjnWLEC2u-yst2sEyuHT3pcUj1HyCSy9qcGlQlNGFjBAg7Q8r1-z0Ijl4UEA64JYLu557t7YwDON4OQ4XQfhVGKHeBfPD6xAdDBdB2KJz9g1oeoyECwAye89SC3gg/s200/DSC00336.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">9</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4wDeTm-Gf73uB8OiCxq5C_Aggtq6JQXGxnoTcfs5AsnPHDsTnxFGz4JzkN4Qtd4B5j-bTCdzlsoHhvDnysxZ3uFWGPZKy-13DNqHrxo5ujhrduxWWObUxRkOhhAnMMDicGU-pCuggfQ/s200/DSC00332.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">10</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4wDeTm-Gf73uB8OiCxq5C_Aggtq6JQXGxnoTcfs5AsnPHDsTnxFGz4JzkN4Qtd4B5j-bTCdzlsoHhvDnysxZ3uFWGPZKy-13DNqHrxo5ujhrduxWWObUxRkOhhAnMMDicGU-pCuggfQ/s1600/DSC00332.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi_RWk8z_MBhgf3qylAjS97xDGvdD69rYoWgV9p0WSN6qNrENEunRcfHQ1x0e42M8UWiKgWZ1_m1g-Pi_I8052-wGYDR2BNDUVxveAK8FT0go5X10_xueOmXZiRgG2i0_fQ18rv_UqSw/s200/DSC00338.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">11</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmUBcSkAdhc3Q1MhaUhjeYx2WnTqIDQjKnGviOsg8iQmbqpYnkjGbvxA_jg757ngvrYnxSGVvT_SmkG-bPyfa66osvhJbBdrS_Qwri03BQ-UURq5frs3BZLOsDxPGl7cPKL8kEeQj3CQ/s1600/DSC00340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmUBcSkAdhc3Q1MhaUhjeYx2WnTqIDQjKnGviOsg8iQmbqpYnkjGbvxA_jg757ngvrYnxSGVvT_SmkG-bPyfa66osvhJbBdrS_Qwri03BQ-UURq5frs3BZLOsDxPGl7cPKL8kEeQj3CQ/s200/DSC00340.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">12</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi_RWk8z_MBhgf3qylAjS97xDGvdD69rYoWgV9p0WSN6qNrENEunRcfHQ1x0e42M8UWiKgWZ1_m1g-Pi_I8052-wGYDR2BNDUVxveAK8FT0go5X10_xueOmXZiRgG2i0_fQ18rv_UqSw/s1600/DSC00338.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7IEC7VpHhaXRjSuaQSXjFiGyC46cQBL32QqIqxQt4i_ErVUd127Qr1VvJ_OgeAT1o-W3P0Evy2d4UUseF96tVhjbLd3s81npL9ovXXKjFb13n_lRdFXabkTLTOtfC28uigEU-BsAjkw/s200/DSC00339.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="150" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">13</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidLcy_GHLfQ3m63boqqUYDO9zQBmX16htUUQfuhSNgUO3PZCgU4nIkkoRw6ZFDkDCZhcPMilsB2fdjyHZektrH1b464Xv2Bb6y6HAhjOjlOcfzpBmefLw9Bm8fkim-9goYAT4DruqTqA/s1600/DSC00344.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidLcy_GHLfQ3m63boqqUYDO9zQBmX16htUUQfuhSNgUO3PZCgU4nIkkoRw6ZFDkDCZhcPMilsB2fdjyHZektrH1b464Xv2Bb6y6HAhjOjlOcfzpBmefLw9Bm8fkim-9goYAT4DruqTqA/s200/DSC00344.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">14</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7IEC7VpHhaXRjSuaQSXjFiGyC46cQBL32QqIqxQt4i_ErVUd127Qr1VvJ_OgeAT1o-W3P0Evy2d4UUseF96tVhjbLd3s81npL9ovXXKjFb13n_lRdFXabkTLTOtfC28uigEU-BsAjkw/s1600/DSC00339.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCeMOLuJcxcS-EVetWykT28odg0HLSSZQiHuAOJc4jnuiI0eaX0kj_EHtSGAzGcQ41vwYhgJwzyrcyrsFc6AHR6KURDqo_jI8iSnRPMqWpFDjdXCmjDm1tFgHivl6xFpdiJEYPjmLxUg/s1600/DSC00349.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCeMOLuJcxcS-EVetWykT28odg0HLSSZQiHuAOJc4jnuiI0eaX0kj_EHtSGAzGcQ41vwYhgJwzyrcyrsFc6AHR6KURDqo_jI8iSnRPMqWpFDjdXCmjDm1tFgHivl6xFpdiJEYPjmLxUg/s200/DSC00349.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">15</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfaSqqZs53c3-HWlaAwyPeIHUzn_U06NLt7s2h4uS7tNdr3TlfUYW8lMraFzEBgYdRgcZAo-PjDk41iQp7TQhHhsOL-GbM6weZBEnQM4FxAxLocHupFOemijz54kv8nug1NXJOo4yllA/s1600/DSC00346.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigSkCPnWs4D-pW8bTvcanBFiy0QMoGIrjB7zNg5-2jtWSlrLXYvEYDm88zwGXwUS20X6u8x9zmd5urBxxWDrA8TxVCKh9_3lskEH1YAIE5qR50JZvnHvZ5FA3c8Iyfjzyx73IFP2TzXQ/s200/DSC00353.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">16</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuesH3M4z0DP1bnx04xEOVI_fgLG-uCQFYXxcdali5FqZdZXmovdBxoyzW1AjmB9-GD7VGJKyTchI9T62bc97ndi2IHjSE7h5l-s2x3MsiTZ18cJFtr_oFz1PYVAyxC_yKjA6baAs2UQ/s1600/DSC00356.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuesH3M4z0DP1bnx04xEOVI_fgLG-uCQFYXxcdali5FqZdZXmovdBxoyzW1AjmB9-GD7VGJKyTchI9T62bc97ndi2IHjSE7h5l-s2x3MsiTZ18cJFtr_oFz1PYVAyxC_yKjA6baAs2UQ/s200/DSC00356.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">17</td></tr>
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</tbody></table>brendanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837657160598843294noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-807613932063067511.post-30549888926658799442011-07-23T07:35:00.000+08:002011-07-23T07:35:47.549+08:00Today's Adventure.....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">First off, I am finding out that more and more folks are actually reading this blog, that makes me happy. I have no way of know unless you happen to be a follower. Anyway feel free to leave a comment and say hello so I know you're reading as well. Thanx!!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">TODAYS ADVENTURE!!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I wont tell you about.... Well not the details anyway, just incase my plan goes terribly wrong I won't have to come back and tell y'all "Well.. it didn't go quite as I expected..." NO! I will leave everyone in the dark, And So when I return, accomplished or not, I can tell y'all that everything went exactly as I planned. BUT I will say my adventure has to do with a long bike ride to another city.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Wish Me Luck!!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">ho<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Ch4DRTWX1th1-C4c39oRwFOS36umV5QRqIx2fX0Pi6A6-kpHpaiOMF828WWLC3GJOQjTrC3A7OjmlFVBY9982zaUfwK9qJkiAux6XDMShRseLc4VYxU8AYrjFCgzB_6m-4kJoxzHLw/s1600/Biking+Xindian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Ch4DRTWX1th1-C4c39oRwFOS36umV5QRqIx2fX0Pi6A6-kpHpaiOMF828WWLC3GJOQjTrC3A7OjmlFVBY9982zaUfwK9qJkiAux6XDMShRseLc4VYxU8AYrjFCgzB_6m-4kJoxzHLw/s400/Biking+Xindian.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>brendanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10837657160598843294noreply@blogger.com2