KUNMING - Saturday - August 17th

As we landed in Kunming... we felt something different in the air... a cool refreshing breeze. The rain was coming down, but different from the hot tropical rains of Hangzhou. Kunming and the whole Yunnan Province leg of the trip will be just that... cool and refreshing. We hadn't come here on any of the previous trips, so it was gonna be new for all of us... with lots of coolness.
Dance Performance - That night

This little excursion after dinner was optional. Costed extra money and we were all tired, so half the people returned to the hotel. I decided to go because... well... it's China, might as well do and see as much as possible. It was quite worth it... very colorful and interesting modern dance. Low energy at times, but the fresh lychee fruit they had out made up for it. Would have been really great to watch while high on crack...JK
Ed, David and Dan had their heads in the way throughout the entire performance... you can guess what i was so tempted to yell out.
I'd like to see her try to pass those nails through airport security.
they must have been enjoying it... they had giant crack pipes.
Definitely the highlight of the show... a lady doing the peacock dance. Think of it as ballet, shaolin peacock fist, and pop and locking style dance rolled into one.
I haven't tried tallying up how much time we spent travelling by bus on the trip. It must have added up to at least 24 hours though. To most people, bus time meant nap time. I tried to stay awake though. Some of the most beautiful scenery i remember was right outside the bus window. Too bad the moment passes so quickly.
A beautiful mountain waterfall
Ai commits it all to memory
Some random bridge
Me and Scotty dueling duck heads...oops, he almost lost it.
There we go... quack, quack. Actually, it's pretty sick when you think about it. Luckily we were done eating, cause duck brain got all over the chopsticks.
KUNMING - SUNDAY - August 18th

After lunch, we were whisked away to some place called the "Rock Forest". On the bus, we were wondering... hmm, is it a forest with rocks? maybe it's a petrified forest... or perhaps rocks that look like a forest. Our last guess was the closest. Lots and lots of rocks, cave-like sometimes, not for the claustrophobic... or really fat people. Definitely neat though. BEWARE! lots of rock pictures ahead.
When we got there, we were whisked (word of the day) through scenic areas like this... definitely a "follow the blue flag" moment. Very crowded and lost half the group several times. But then....
...We stopped at a fish pond for a break and to take pictures. We fed them something that looked like styrofoam, but they seemed to like it.
Scotty and Master Hu... Hey! over here!
Dave and Miora... OH MY GOD, she's standing!
Susan... relaxed... as she was throughout the trip...thank god. The only hit Russ will ever ever be able to get in on Me and Scotty...ever
All Dressed Up

Through caverns and tight spaces
We move like a line of ants
In the distance there's a commotion
Feathered hat in vibrant colors
Men with swords and skirt-like pants

Bill could almost pass as one
10 yen? I'll join in too
Everybody's all dressed up
Master Zong with flower basket
Looking cute with Master Hu
The only hit Master Hu will ever get in that doesn't send my body flying.
As close as we'll ever get to see Bill posing
ALL FOR ONE... ONE FOR ALL!!! except for Jiayin, she's my hostage
The odds are definitely against Ed here
You might think we're posing, but we were actually trying to kill each other. Luckily for Rich, the tourguide said we had to get going.
Just too cool!
Rocky let Ed surrender, and i released Jiayin from captivity... so it's all good now.
Mark couldn't have chosen a more magical location to get engaged
Me and Jiayin doing the Nathan pose. It's a first China trip thing.
Bradley, Rocky and Cheyton
One of Scotty's random rock pictures i stole
I figured i should get one more picture of Scotty before he slipped and fell to his demise, but he didn't, so it's all good.
The pagoda... actually, i don't think it's technically a pagoda... but it had a great view.
A cool view from the pagoda. Almost puts in perspective how many rocks there actually were... imagine this surrounding you 360 degrees for miles and miles.
KUNMING - Cross the Bridge Noodles Special Dinner - later that night

Our itinerary listed several special meals... one being the Cross the Bridge noodles. Honestly, i was expecting something more "special", like a scenic location...maybe a bridge or something. It just ended up being a bad version of Hu Tieu or Pho... if you're familiar with Vietnamese food. Oh yeah... and they started serving firewater that night.
Another foodcam victim Several firewater bottles on this table... no wonder they're smiling, i knew it couldn't be the food.
Hey, she's not red-faced and giddy. This shot must have been before she had the firewater.
Later later that night...

Bowling in the hotel. Pure fun-ness. Thanks for paying Phil!
Derrick helping us set up a game cause the screen was in Chinese.... but to the hardcore bowler, there are no language boundaries.
On my way to bowling a 45. Hey, beats that 11 i once bowled.
I was afraid for my life cause i honestly think Lindsay was still drunk at this point.
later later later that night... was that whole... "lets go to McDonalds at midnight" thing. Geez guys, It was obviously gonna be closed.
KUNMING - Monday - August 19th

Goodbye Kunming... part 1... that morning was THE 4:30 wake up call. Waaaay too early. The flight was even delayed. We also had to pack for 3 nights cause we left our big check-ins at the Kunming hotel which we'd return to in a few days.
Dude, look how tired everyone looks.
sunrise.
Flight was short, only 40 minutes. But didn't take long for Jiayin take a nap.... with.... PAAANDAAAA.