CONTINUING ON.....DALI, YUNNAN PROVINCE, CHINA 24/04/02

(DIMITY) We left Luang Prabang for that trip up the Mekong in a wooden boat.It was a bum jarring two days!Our seats were little wooden things that were built (I'm sure) with the intent to make it the most uncomfortable boat on the river. People twisted themselves into the most amazing positions just to relieve the pressure on their bum - (may try to send photos later to non hotmail users).(PAUL) The crew was quite excitable and a few times when the engine stopped they would run about frantically up and down the boat yelling at each other. One time (while in rapids) when the engine stopped we really thought there were problems as they started bailing deisel and we were handed back our tickets. We had visions of swimming to the edge and camping! We did make it to our destination but not before the boat ran out of fuel 100m before our destination. We spent the last hour helplessly drifting back down the river with the crew screaming at each other until we reached on the Thai (ie not the Laos) side of the Mekong. Here a sympathetic Thai local found us some diesel and we chugged to the other side.

(DIMITY)From here we made our way to Luang Nam Tha, a town very near the Chinese border and in the centre of the Golden Triangle. Here we decided to see in the Chinese New Year which lasts for about 5 days involving lots of water throwing (for which foreigners are the most prized targets!) culminating in a spectacular show of (joyfull) drunkenness and rocket firing!We also went on an eco tour around the hills of Luang Nam Tha.THis was a 2 day trek or trial for me- at least the uphill parts.Paul had a great time except he walked barefoot most of the time as his very expensive new hiking boots turned out to be lemons: one shoe is smaller than the other. I've heard all about how his old steel caps were so good for hiking!We stayed over night in a tradional Akha village , which I loved.P & I spent an afternoon just watching the children playing in the river.Very few of the adults were around as there was a house party (for the new year). It rotated around all the huts.You could tell the current location as the hut would rock on its stilts and water (mixed with spilt rice whisky) would pour out through the floor boards.We had a lovely dinner with the "First Chief" that night where P gave a rousing rendition of Waltzing Matilda - it went down very well.

We arived in China about a week ago and spent a few days in Jinghong, a city that had succumbed to concretism.It wasn't a particularly inspiring location and we moved on pretty quickly.Probably the most noticeable part was that being so used to small Lao cities it was actually a surprise to see a big city again.

(PAUL) China appears to be caught up in an amazing fast track "development". Many of the smaller towns have 6 story buildings with internet and good roads. There are no queues for bus tickets and the lady behind the ticket counter often has a computer where you can book the seat you want! Toilets are pretty interesting though, with no doors in sight. Dimity is planning on taking a photo of her next set of onlookers! Although Yunnan is supposed to be one of the most forested provinces, most has been recently replaced by rubber and tea plantations. Got to give the Chinese credit though for making full use of every acre of land (most is irrigated).

We are currently in Dali, which has a beautiful setting with 4000+m mountains on one side and a large lake on the other. The old stone city is surrounded by a city wall which dates back 800 years. Yesterday we went for a 13km hike in the mountains along a paved (!) track cut into the sides of the cliffs.The forested ridges and valleys were awesome and we saw our first crystal clear rivers from the melting snow. Saw a few wild pheasants too, which was a surprise considering the notable absence of all wildlife (not including the bats in our guesthouse rooms).

In the next week or two we plan to move along the mountains at the edge of Tibet in Sichuan Province. We hope to arrive in Bejing in 2-3 weeks.