The only way to travel [Baidicheng, Yangtze cruise]

600-plus steps up to the temple at Baidicheng, so Tom climbed in style.

CRASH! [Hong Kong]

I think this is the first evening that the entire group simply crashed from exhaustion. Ruth found a very good pizza joint a few blocks away, we contributed some beer from the 7-Eleven, ate in Ed and Abby’s room, and fell asleep early.

Lost! [Hong Kong}

We couldn’t entirely find ourselves on the map and Tom’s leg was acting up, so we hailed a cab back to the hotel. The cab drove on the wrong side of the street and was mysteriously configured.




We drove around in circles for a bit and even went up on the highway for an exit or two; I suspected we may have only been a few blocks away, and snapped a picture of the cab ID, but Aaron pointed out that our fare was only 33 HK$, or about $4.00, so it seems more likely we’d just wandered into a warren of unnavigable one-way streets.

Better than Buffy (Hong Kong)

Despite hauling all my gear, this is the first tme I’ve made it to a hotel gym (ok, so I’ve walked into a few gyms, but not actually onto any machines). I spent the 44 ellipticalling minutes that I usually spend in front of a DVD tv show watching the night Hong Kong skyline, and listening to the Fenians on Jeffrey’s pod because mine was out of juice.

Unprogrammed (Hong Kong)

It was raining hard when we arrived in Hong Kong, so we postponed the scheduled sightseeing for the day and just checked into the hotel. Tom, Aaron, Jeffrey and I had an excellent late Vietnamese lunch (pho, cha gio, soft shell crab garden rolls, beer for me; pho ba for Aaron, spicy curry for Tom, more soft shell crab garden rolls and an adzuki bean milkshake for Jeffrey). Then we just wandered about. We found an amazing park, Victoria Park,














where hundreds of young women in head scarves, some perhaps praying, and others just practicing their music

or lounging about on blankets

















Tom speculated that they were domestic servants enjoying their Sunday off, which our local guide later confirmed.


Jeffrey found an excellent playground










and we watched lawn bowlers and toy boats skimming around the properly labeled “motor boat pool.”












We did not feed any birds.











Then we just wandered about the streets, more or less window shopping.
We considered a movie.


Scott, is it ok if we come home with a few more pets?

The Benefits of Rainy Season Travel (Yangtze Cruise)

It doesn’t really dampen anyone’s spirits,

















Plus it keeps the ducks happy













and affords fabulous fashion opportunities

And did I mention the waterfalls?

Feng Du [Yangtze Cruise]

The village of Feng Du is now completely inundated, but the tourist-attraction Ghost City Temple still remains. It’s a series of temples and shrines on the mountainside. Because of all the steps, they’ve installed a cablecar,
but only the bravest dare it because of all the dangers.




















There’s a fertility temple with 1000 babies above the entrance.
Lois lit a prayer candle – I think she wants more grandchildren!


















Wonderful demons guard the entrance to an upper temple, the Ghostly Gate Pass,


















but you can only enter if you can balance for three seconds on a slippery stone to prove your worthiness.


















If you’re as uncoordinated as some of us, the prospects are not good.