http://www.andrisandcara.com We need a tagline Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:41:33 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en It seems to be the opinion among the cool (read:  annoyingly jaded) travelers I've met that 'The real Tibet is gone forever.'  While the Chinese encroachment on Tibetan culture is painfully obvious, one walk around the Barkhor pilgrimage circuit in Lhasa proves this statement to be far from true. After caving ... http://www.andrisandcara.com/2007/04/18/the-real-tibet-not-gone-forever/ My current guesthouse has free internet....but no heat.  I managed to upload a bunch of pictures today, at the cost of numb fingers.  Enjoy.  Zhongdian, cool mountain town atmosphere: The Yubeng Trek near Dequin that I raved about in my last post: Tiger Leaping Gorge: Lijiang-touristy, yet pleasantly photogenic: By popular demand:  pandas!  Amazing to think ... http://www.andrisandcara.com/2007/04/01/pictures/ I try to be sparing with use of the phrase 'you should,' but the Yunnan province of China warrants it...seriously. Granted, my introduction to Yunnan in the form of a 22-cum-24 hour bus ride from Chengdu to Lijiang wasn't all that great.  The alleged sleeper bus was not, and I found myself in a ... http://www.andrisandcara.com/2007/03/31/why-you-should-go-to-yunnan/ A little girl skated up to me on her Rollerblades while I was walking through a park on my first day in Chengdu. She couldn't have been older than 8, was dressed all in lavender and sported two long ponytails (tied with matching lavender ribbons of course). As ... http://www.andrisandcara.com/2007/03/11/three-gorges-chengdu-and-a-really-big-buddha/ I'm here at the site of the Three Gorges Dam waiting for my three day cruise up the Yangtse River through the famous Three Gorges.  If you haven't heard of the massive hydroelectric project, it aims to provide for a significant portion of China's growing demand for electricity by placing a ... http://www.andrisandcara.com/2007/02/28/making-friends-in-yichang/ I think I've finally hit my stride in China, and a lot of the things that seemed confusing at first are starting to make more sense.  I think travel here is a bit like chess...it's just not possible to win if you don't plan a few moves ahead.  Once I ... http://www.andrisandcara.com/2007/02/23/china-is-great/ ...that's my completely non-pinyin correct transliteration of Happy New Year in Chinese.  It's now two days into the lunar year of the pig, and in these two days I can say I've learned one thing for sure:  the Chinese love their fireworks.  It's like being in a war zone here...seriously.  ... http://www.andrisandcara.com/2007/02/19/shen-yen-quai-le/ Here's a little thought experiment for you: picture the dumbest guy you know. I mean, this guy seems completely unaware of what's going on around him. He asks questions to which answers seem painfully obvious, he seems oblivious to the most basic of social customs, and is ... http://www.andrisandcara.com/2007/02/11/the-dumbest-guy-you-know/ As I mentioned a few days ago, I decided to use my Saigon city map and the extensive bus network to explore some of the more out of the way corners of Saigon.  Though this definitely isn't a method of city exploration guaranteed to yeild many (or any) good pictures, ... http://www.andrisandcara.com/2007/01/31/obscure-saigon-exploration-project/  As of 3:30 am four days ago, I'm flying solo in Asia.  Cara took off for the airport, got most of her frequent flyer upgrades to business class, and is now back home in Milwaukee working on her graduate degree.  Traveling solo will definitely be a lot different, and I imagine without ... http://www.andrisandcara.com/2007/01/28/flying-solo-in-asia/