MY ADVENTURE TO SPLASH MOUNTAIN(THE SHOUT OUTS)

THIS ONE IS FOR MY SISTER WHO HAS CRABS :

This is not just a funny pose though. I am actually crossing from the tropic of non-cancer into the tropic of cancer. Cancer in astrology means crab and now that I have given her this picture as a present, she has crabs as a present.

THIS ONE IS FOR MY FRIEND ELIZABETH WHO LIKES WHISKEY:

In Taipei they have free samples for more than half of the items for sale. This comes in real handy if you are trying to pick out which distinct flavor of expensive single malt scotch you like before you buy it or if you are trying to work up a free buzz before going out into one of the coolest cities in the world.

THIS ONE IS FOR SARAH WHO IS (sorta) MISSING OUT:

It has rained for the last two weeks in Taiwan (the typhoon came late this year). This photo is from the week we tried getting by on $1 ponchos from seven eleven. Due to weather we have been trapped in gorges beyond our control, missed out on the best hotspring/waterfall combo in Taiwan, and have been shut off from accessing the most impressive high elevation monkey-ridden jungle trail around.

THIS ONE IS FOR JUSTIN WHO HASN'T LIVED UNTIL HE HAS HEARD KATY PERRY SUNG BY A FILIPINO BAND IN A HELLO KITTY THEMED CLUB:

THIS ONE IS FOR SAM WHO KNOWS A THING OR TWO ABOUT FINE BEVERAGES:

THIS ONE IS FOR MY MOTHER:

I had a really nice one for my father involving KFC and the Forbidden City, but I lost it.

Stay tuned for a series of cool landscape photos from Laura!

Soundtrack: Roll with the Punches

Food: Coffin Bread!

Mood: Is my shirt getting wetter or dryer? It's hard to tell in this much humidity.

WEIRD FOOD UPDATE

I ate stewed duck head the other day.  It was tasty except for the brain.

Current mood ~ 80 year old man pain from the 5 thousand stairs we walked down yesterday(we are in the Huangshan mountains)

Current soundtrack ~ Bedrock

more hang zhou zhuang shanghai

hot pot!!!!
lotus flower seed pod!! (these ones were too bitter)
hot pot!!!
misty towers behind yu yuan garden
want!!!
the last photo my camera took before it shit the bed forever (hangzhou hostel)
pink line suberway shanghai
lotus and bridge in yu yuan garden old shanghai
looking out at land from canaltown
overfed fish
buddhist prayer ribbons
old house
more views from zhou zhuang
our first home-cooked by candy meal - lotus root, pepperbeef, g.beans and pork, and eggplant.

All the steamed buns in China, I'm gonna eat 'em up

We ventured out from the grimy bosom of Shanghai to visit one of the most beautiful places in China: Hangzhou, home of Dragonwell Tea and West Lake.
Upon arriving at our hostel, we attempted to take a picture of the surrounding misty mountainous tea fields and our camera stopped working.
So the photo above is one someone else took.

If the camera had been working we would've had pictures of Qi Shi Haungdi's personal tea field (think misty understory with creek nearby .5mil dollar mountain estates made of granite),
a perfectly landscaped lake area brimming with weeping willows, blossoming lotuses and ornately carved bridges over causeways, and our Gaudi-esque entrance gate to our hostel.

On our first night in town, we set out to see the sunset over the tea fields, but after a long and buggy hike found it obscured by trees and slope. It was still a successful trip for the way we discovered the Dragon Well itself, a popular new beverage (osmanthus tea), and a friendly farmer of the Lung Ching tea. At the top of the hill we rewarded ourselves with a nip of stinky tofu.

The next day we rented bikes and explored the lake and surrounding streets which were shaded with sycamores and broke off into lush green gardens and temples around every turn. We were frustrated upon a couple of occausions by policemen who wouldn't let us go on certain roads though we saw other people come through on bikes from the other direction. We also had to pass through several hot and exhaust filled mountain tunnels that provoked as much as a spiritual expirience as the temple of the thousand cliff carved Buddhas, which we were on our way to.

I was particularly awestruck by a threeheaded carving of the Buddha with weapons coming out of every orifice. Three separate Chinese tourists found our presence as spiritually enlightening as the holy relics around us, and asked our permission to take part in their photo documentation of the place.

Not many other incredulous things happened, except for when I was served sunflower seeds twice.

Mood ~ Am I sweating or liquifying?
Real Soundtrack ~ Deperadoes Under the Eaves
Fake Soundtrack (aaa quality) - Smoke on the Water

Five Dollar Fish??!! ($&*%!!!!!) Zhouzhuang, China

Cormorants putting on a show.

Neal tries out the concrete boat.



River boats.

Candy at the wish tree.

Boy.

IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PORTLAND

or so it seems based on my experience here over the last week.

Portland in full bloom

Now that Sarah is back in Portland, I have no excuse not to visit her and the city. POK POK yum, getting ready for SEasia already - and everyone has flowers!