The last four days I have felt very grateful for the invention of gortex-lined shoes. The rain stopped late this morning and I made a bee-line for the bike rental. The shopkeeper needed a passport for collateral and I did not have mine with me. Fortunately, it turns out my Boulder RTD (bus) card carries a lot of weight in Yunan province. I think it must have been a gesture of ground transportation provider solidarity. Getting the bike was easier than getting t...

Well, the inevitable "Chairman Mao's Revenge" gripped hold of my intestines and would not let go until I unleashed the mother of all antibiotics -- Cipro. I hate using that stuff because in addition to wiping out the bad tummy organisms it also trashes the good ones that keep me healthy. This is the paradox of modern pharmaceuticals. I am 100% recovered! Dali is another kind of paradox. An ancient city at the shores of a great lake... With a pizza joint on eve...