*This post was originally an email sent on the 6th July
Hey all
It seems that as part of the ongoing animosity between Google and the People's Republic, I'm not able to access my blog to update it.
I've added to this list the people I suspect might actually be reading my blog, and I'll send out an email on occassion to keep you informed.
Basically, I get back from the jungle on Monday, having spent my last day there doing a 20km jungle trek to a remote lodge. Getting out of the jungle to the lodge required crossing a flooded river during a torrential rainstorm, all thunder and lightning, in tiny dugout canoes that could only take us two at a time (I was with four others). It was amazing. I didn't get to see any tigers that day, but I did see fresh(ish) tiger prints, and snuck up on a bathing rhinoceros. Also, the river was full of crocs. Good times, I wish you had been there.
I got back to Kathmandu, shaved off my 2-week throatscratcher, and started to set about packing to leave the next morning when I ran into a group I'd met by the jungle, and so we went out for dinner and drinks. Luckily Kathmandu has a military-enforced curfew, otherwise I would have been packing at 3 in the morning.
Because of the Tibet closure my trip schedule is all messed up. I flew to Kunming, a fairly uneventful city in SW china, yesterday. It's an absolute pleasure being here. It's a lot like being back in Korea, except quieter(?!), as all the scooters are electric, and hence silent. The cars seem quieter too. And there's all manner of fast food and modern conveniences. I did not buy anything from Starbucks. Food here is super cheap, too. I had a massive meal of noodles and meat broth for 6Y (<1$). At midnight I'm catching an overnight sleeper bus to a more historical town just up the road, a mere 7 hours away.
Anyhey, I've always been opposed to people who send out mass emails to everyone they've ever met, keeping them informed of the details of their life. It seem very conceited. But if you're on the list it's because you've shown interest - thanks, you're the people who make it worth while getting home at the end.
Anthony
p.s I've attached some pics, but the Internet here is so dreadfully slow I don't have time to wait for more than 4 to upload. They're all from Chitwan and Sauraha, the town I stayed in on the borders of Chitwan National Park.
