The Deep South

Before we begin, may I just say that I rediscovered this song about five minutes ago, and it is SO GOOD.  Just as good as it was in my fourth-grade soft-rock days.  Ooh girl, ooh.

Megan: Please make sure the 80’s band plays this slow jam at your wedding.  Thank you.

August 14, 5:15 pm

We got into Jinghong yesterday evening, via what may be my new favorite mode of transportation: Sleeper bus.  Fainting couches for everybody!

Once in the city we confirmed our reservations for a three-day trek, I bought a backpack, we grabbed some dinner at a mom-and-pop place that seemed to magically intuit that we wanted vegetarian versions of their seafood dishes, Ryan made impatient faces at me because he hates me, and then we called it a night.

The trek so far has involved the following:

1.  A stop at a market where our guide bought vegetables for lunch and I, in a panic over not having brought anything long-sleeved (we were at a high, misty altitude at that point), paid $20 for a crappy windbreaker.  I talked the seller down from $30!  But lo,Ryan still has not forgiven me this expense.

2. Walkin’, lookin’ at views:

3.  Eatin’ some AVOCADO

4.  Terrifyin’ some buffalo:

5.  Taking shelter from a biblical downpour in a ‘tea factory,’ where tea leaves were scattered across a vast concrete floor to dry and then be swept up by the women working there

6.  More stinky tofu for lunch

7.  Stopping in a gazebo in the middle of some tea fields and meeting two women from the Bulang tribe.  They were awesome, they seemed like real jokesters, they shared some homemade chili snacks with us, and they even let me take a photo:

Now we’ve arrived at our family homestay for the evening, a big wooden house on stilts, with pigs and chickens below and tea fields and clouds above.  Nothing much to do besides wait for our hosts to get back from the fields (and take photos of ourselves).