Lone Runner and Vertical Treadwalls?

(Drew)

I woke up an hour early to go for a run around Li Jiang, something i had not done for a while. While i ran i noticed something, i was getting stares from everyone on the busy streets surrounding the hotel. Its a funny feeling knowing that 100+ people are watching you. I guess i stick out more than i thought. I rarely see people running on the streets which is such a contrast to the amount of cyclists and runners you see on the streets of Dover Sherborn in the morning. I got back to the hotel and scrambled to take a shower before the breakfast buffet closed. We had some time between breakfast and our tour with kathy of Black Dragon Park and the Dong Ba cultural museum. We took the time to walk around the old parts of Li Jiang going in and out of the various shops. The girls found one shop which seemed to match their fashion needs so they spent a while trying things on. We returned to the hotel and met kathy and began our short walk to the park. The park had a lake in the middle surrounded by several pagodas and ornately decorated bridges. The water was amazingly clear so we could see the many different types of fish that inhabited the lake. The park was beutiful and very peaceful. Other than a momentary seperation from Ric and Terry and several failed attempts at seach parties for them, it was a great experience.

We went to lunch before we went on a tour of the Dong Ba Cultural Museum. Our lunch was one of the better lunches ive had since being in china consisting of rice, sweet and sour chicken and deep fried potato puffs amoung a variety of other tastybits. The Don Ba people have their own language consisting of characters that resemble pictographs more than chinese characters. The museum had an exhibit that showed all the ethnic dressing of the Don Ba people. The spiritual leaders of the Dong Ba people wore different outfits for different occasions such as for funerals the priests would wear a black robe with a scepter and a feathered head dress.
We had some downtime between when we got back to the hotel and when we had to leave for the airport and fly to Cheng Du. The four of us went out and looked around in the shops although we were instructed not to let the girls reach for thier money to purchase more clothes.

The airport was very small (for a change) so we didnt have to walk a long distance with all our luggage which barely passes the weight requirement each time. The flight to Cheng Du took about an hour and a half. The descent in the airplane was painful because i have had a cold for about a week so my ears could not equalize. I thought it would take days before i could hear again, all i could hear when we landed were distant mumbled grunts. My discomfort from the plane was slightly comforted by the hotel we are staying which is very nice. Our tour guide originally told us that we were staying at a tibetan hotel. The hotel has a free gym and sauna as well as a bowling ally on the fourth floor. The gym has a "tread wall" which is a tread mill only for rock climbing (Imagine a vertical treadmill with footholds).

Sleep was much needed. Another day in China... Successful.