Jul 23 2009

Kunming kool

Kunming is a really chilled place, nobody seems to be in a hurry. There’s no traveling today, but tomorrow is when I leave Yunnan for the trip home, via Shanghai and ultimately HK again. Just everywhere there are great sights and sounds. Here are some pictures from the Green Lake area. This is a city to visit again and this is where I have received so much help from people, I am incredibly grateful. (Resting a day in Kunming 23 July)

Rough Edge, Adventure, Logistics, Breathtaking, Wales,

DofE Gold, Expedition,


Jul 19 2009

Dizzy in Deqin

Deqin (pron Durr Chin) is already at an altitude of 3350m I was staying in a mountain lodge higher up the road towards the Tibetan border (see next post). And so to the first Deqin Don’t. Don’t rush in. With the idea I would climb above the hostel to take in even more breathtaking views, the views took my breath and I had to take myself down again. With the little time available to me as this trip nears its end, I believed I could do more than I could and ended up feeling decidely dodgy. My best advice for this most awe inspiring of places is to plan a few days of nothing when you first get here, then once acclimatised the terrain is yours to discover. Nonetheless, despite my haste and paying the price, I was treated to some amazing sights in the hills above Deqin, the best of which was when the mighty Mei Li Xue Shan (6740m) revealed her sacred peak through the cloud. This mountain has never been climbed (in the last attempt in 1991, 17 Japanese mountaineers lost their lives). But enough, here are the pictures and there will be more because this place has to be visited again, it is awesome. (Dizzy above Deqin 18/19 July)

Rough Edge, Adventure, Logistics, Breathtaking, Wales,

DofE Gold, Expedition,