Suzhou

上有天堂，下有蘇杭

 …or so they say. 

                       
  
A very memorable start of the year.

Hangzhou

上有天堂，下有蘇杭

 …or so they say. 

  
  
  
  
 
Because of a minor incident (which might have involved damaging a camera lens), I was sure I didn’t manage to get any decent photos, but some turned out to be alright. I suppose there is some truth in that Chinese saying about the beauty of the scenery. Autumn leaves around the lake. Green curtains. Christmas tree in the wrecking ball. Bubbles, bubbles, and pure pleasure. 

Jinghong

Dai. Tai. Thai. Dressing room. Bath tub. Balcony. And Rain.

Menghai

At the bustling local market we had a bowl of noodles which was as bland as any food can get. Imitating the locals, I added spoonfuls of spices, herbs, chillis, sources, pickles, seeds, onions and stirred them altogether. Then I remembered another line from another novel; unsophisticated food may not have layers of flavour, but as in life, we add what we want and simply taste it all.

 

Banana plantations, pineapple plantations, tea plantations, peanuts, maize, rice fields… it was like a biology class field trip. We then crossed woods and forests and hiked from a Ha Ni village to a Dai village – I definitely have not done anything like this since the Amazon. Chickens and pigs ranged freely. This was one amazing day of people watching.