We kinda drop the ball on this page. I’ll still keep it here for the China photos, but for more updated photo updates. Jo’s “Panorama Power” album on Facebook is a good place to have a quick peek at our latest photos. For play by play updates, look for “njl333″ on Instagram. I swear, Jo is addicted to that thing.
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I know… Updates to the blog have been coming in slowly. Believe it or not, we do need time to read through and edit what we wrote. As the heading suggests, this page will feature our unedited notes or first thoughts for each of our travel days. To make reading this gibberish bearable, we will include up to 3 shots from our camera phones that we think best represent the day in question.
Why from our camera phones?
Because most of the time, they are the ones that are the most readily available. To me, that means they will probably capture things that caught our eyes at the particular instant. And even though I like to indulge in the occasional DI (mostly to make Jo look fatter) (because it amuses me), I promise the photos will be mostly un-photoshopped. (Warning: The Photoshop fat prank should only be attempted by professionally trained husbands/significant others)
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6 Dec
5 Dec
4 Dec
3 Dec
2 Dec
1 Dec
30 Nov
29 Nov
28 Nov
27 Nov
26 Nov
24 Nov
23 Nov
Catching the sunrise on the deck
Cruisin’ through The Lesser Three Gorges, and the Lesser Lesser Three Gorges (Seriously!!)
22 Nov
Eat sleep eat sleep on The Victoria Empress
The amazing navigating skills of the Empress’ Captain
Shore excursion to the Three Gorges Dam Project
20 Nov
Huanglong Cave
I don’t want to use the word “phallic”, but…
Free performance!
19 Nov
Day 2 in Zhangjiajie – 乌龙寨，天子山，十里画廊
Almost missing this incredible view of Tianbo Mansion because we unwittingly allowed ourselves to have our fortunes told
Tianwei getting attacked by a macaque (who ran off with an unopened packet of instant noodles… bon appetit)
Super happening night market in Zhangjiajie city with its topless dancing kebab sellers (male ones hmmm.)
18 Nov
Day 1 in Zhangjiajie – The Golden Whip Stream and Yang Jia Jie (金鞭溪，杨家界)
Being enchanted at Mi Hun Tai (literally The Enchanting Platform)
16 Nov
1000-year-old Sculptures & Calligraphy appreciation at Xi’an Bei Lin Museum
15 Nov
Biang2 biang2 mian4 for brunch!!
Shaanxi National Museum
Adventures of Tintin in 3D, for the same price as the Terracotta (something is not right with this world.)
14 Nov
Scammed Scammed and Scammed again
Terracotta Power…not enough time!
Xi’an subway needs to be excavated with a brush
13 Nov
Han Yang Ling – Exploring the half excavated tomb of Han Jingdi
Big Goose Pagoda Redux
Jo and the KFC egg tarts
12 Nov
Paying good money to work hard for your own food (Mutton Paomo)
Big Goose Pagoda (hur hur…)
Muslim Quarters with awesome street food
11 Nov
Hanging out at Zhang Ye (lots of 11 11 11 weddings)
Overnight train ride on a Hard Sleeper aka Life is hard
10 Nov
Monk that coerced us to lie
Standing tickets on a 15 hour journey????? No WAY!
09 Nov
Gambling scams on squeezy, bumpy buses
Tomb raidering through cliffside temples
08 Nov
The GREAT WALL!!! (the overhanging one okayyyy)
07 Nov
Nothing much… we reached Jiayuguan and basically lazed the day away
We ate more mutton!!!
06 Nov
Accidentally walking onto a film set in Dunhuang Old Town
05 Nov
04 Nov
Our Day of Rest (what we were SUPPOSED to do)
Climbing up (and sliding down) Sand Dunes (what we REALLY did)
My first taste of Awesome Mutton
03 Nov
Nearly sliding down the ICE MOUNTAIN OF DOOM
02 Nov
Train Ride to Golmud – Worst city in China with the Worst.Hotel.Ever
01 Nov
Hot Spring enroute back to Lhasa
AWESOME last dinner with Tibetan tour group
31 Oct
Super Cold and Breathless night at Rongphu Monastery (someone almost died…. true story)
Barely catching the sunrise at Everest
Return Bus Ride to Shigatse through same dirt road (yaaaaaaay!!!)
Awesomely cheap and authentic Tibetan food. Waitress tried to warn us away saying that they only serve REAL Tibetan food
30 Oct
Continuation of loooooong drive (except that we are on a dirt road instead of a tarred one now). 102km of pure joy!
First view of Mount Everest, along with Mount Lhotse, Mount Mayalu and the awesomely named Mount Qowowuyag. (All more than 8000m)
Conquest of MOUNT EVEREST!!!……………………*whisper* Base Camp
Top of the world
29 Oct
Start of looooong drive to Mount Everest Base Camp
Of glaciers and Yamdrotso lake with the huge stone piles
Chuan Chuan Dinner with rest of group
Stopover at Shigatse with the BEST HOTEL ROOM SO FAR
28 Oct
Potala Palace
Jokhang Temple
Barkhor Street (again and again and again)
27 Oct
Sera Monastery and Drepung Monastery
The smell of Yak Butter in the morning
DEBATING MONKS!!! Boo Yeah!
Debating Monks
26 Oct
Can’t…..breathe…. otherwise known as back in Lhasa
25 Oct
Being at the roof of the world
Hiking up to 5200m to get the best possible view of Namtso Lake… TOTALLY WORTH IT
24 Oct
Unexpectedly over-commercialized Lhasa
Shrunken wrinkled pilgrims with such character on their faces, pacing through Barkhor market with their prayer beads and chupas
23 Oct
Waking up to the sunrise, and the train radio blaring “天路”
Such blue, blue skies & the ground shimmering with frost
22 Oct
Idiotic TW behaving like a Patapon after hours spent playing on his PSP.
Meeting a family of Israeli men in the neighbouring cabin, one of whom backpacks for a living
21 Oct
Happy Birthday Cai Hong!
Leisurely day reconnecting with the world through the internet
Last-minute panic shopping for supplies to last us a 44 hour train ride
Getting crammed into a teeny cabin with 2 demure Thai girls who never stop taking photos
20 Oct
the unbelievable genius of constructing Du Jiang Yan
When we spent more time with survivors of the Sichuan Earthquake
19 Oct
Hell of a track and worth every single minute
A MAD rush down the mountain
The elderly couple that seemed to have floated down the mountain.
18 Oct
Unexpected Change of plans – no more salmon at 4 ladies Mountain
Sichuan Earthquake Memorial sites
17 Oct
No entry to Flower Lake because it’s…. Autumn (duh…)
Sitting beside a pile of burning yak dung eating Zang Ba and raw mutton in a random Tibetan’s tent
Horse riding on endlessly vast plains
452-step climb to see the first bend of the Yellow River
16 Oct
Having a whole waterfall all to ourselves
15 Oct
Uncle Chang’s awesome palace
14 Oct
8 hour road trip to Jiuzhaigou
Staying with Ah Zhong and family
Meeting the five feisty girls
13 Oct
Panda Power
Standing on the spot where Liu Bei, Guan Yu & Zhang Fei became sworn brothers
12 Oct
Chengdu is a grey grey place
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Back in 1995 we trod a few of the same paths and know that you are having a blast. We loved Lhasa–have a look at us then:
http://www.fototime.com/82607574D62EF29/standard.jpg
We hope that you are able to find a way to continue your retirement into your Golden Years. But if not, we’re sure that when you do have to return to the work-a-day grind, you will conclude that your early retirement was well worth it.
The Potala Palace!! We have quite a few good memories of the place. We are enjoying whatever we can now… before we have to go back to the rat race..