Drove to Shangri-La - cold and far place, populated mainly by the Jong [i.e., Tibetan] peoples... up to 3800m of height... toured yet another historic town. Got an amusing chance to practise my broken, broken French which i have not yet spoken since high school. Was kicking myself because I couldn't remember the word for "cow" until near the end of the conversation... [ahh...vache! so sad...] Was pretty funny translating between Mandarin [the French lady actually looked up various pinyin], Cantonese [didn't know what she was referring to.. had to ask parents], and French, of course, in my head everything is in English...
Drove to the National Park - This is the first national park that china preserved. It was really nice... high in the mountains (>4000m) that it was quite scary for those who were not as physically fit (otherwise may get altitude sickness). I was pretty scared for my dad as he has high blood pressure... thankfully, everyone made it through, especially as everyone knew each other to support. Good thing we also got small oxygen tanks just in case (35 RMB for about 10 minutes, supposedly). I have shared this before, but the toilets here were GREAT. They are so clean and did not smell... and seem to be pretty hygienic (think Chicago airport toilets which have a plastic covering over the seat and is replaced for each person). This was a different system but similar concept. Seriously, was so impressed!! Definitely many times better than the ones at Yosemite, which I remember my travelling buddy saying "ho chau ah... ho chau ah..." (it smells.. it smells). hahahhaa.
Fly back to Kunming to visit another cultural/historical exhibit and other places (silk factory, pu er tea place). I did buy something afterall (my parents went crazy...) ... but something useful! A silk blanket... since I'll need a blanket after all!
Flew back to Hong Kong... was very happy to be... "home"?
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