We are in Tibet on the roof of the world. Here we have tried to see Mt Everest, the summit of the world.
In the Everest base camp for tourists, we were more or less successful. The summit of Mt Everest could be seen in the morning and evening. But we really only saw the summit. The rest of the mountain was too shy (-;
This is the peak:  in the morning  in the evening
By the way, altitude sickness is no fairy tale. A night at 5200m and the headaches are greater than after 6 Lhasa beer.
The earthquake in himalaya the day before yesterday was no fairy tale either. Luckily it was not so bad in Tibet. In running on the streets in panic, we still need to practice …
Tibet is occupied!
In the capital Lhasa you don’t realize, that the hostile takeover and the massacres of the Tibetan Rebellion were more than 50 years ago. Chinese soldiers decorate every corner. Hourly patrols are walking through the streets.
The Chinese occupation forces make themselves seen and heard:
Taking photos of soldiers is prohibited. Photographers who are caught, have to show all heir documents and delete all their photos in the worst case.
Tibetan photographers may have to give up all their remaining rights of freedom as well.
We have finally left China for Tibet.
I spent more than 1.5 months and almost half of the elapsed world tour travel time in the Middle Kingdom. China is very beautiful indeed, but also very strange.
China is actually the most peculiar country, that I know of, even compared to Mongolia, Thailand, Russia and Southern Europe. Some of the strange behaviors:
 in the evening there is dancing in the park  belly-top for men is sexy and spitting too
 the Chinese are crazy about building and restoring  it's a sonE!
 Chinese people love kitsch und show  for photo posing, every excuse is welcome
 the Chinese indoor voice is as loud as talking on Tiananmen Platz  there is arguably no Chinese word for noisiness, anyway
 Chinese people jostle and push like little children  there are entrance fees for each rice field
99 days ago, Greg and I headed off on our world travel together.
So far, we didn’t overdo the together part. We were actually on the road as travel companions for less than half of the 99 days.
 Travel mates to Tibet
In the Mongolian steppe Greg has found his sweetheart. And while they both enjoyed their time together in Ulaanbaatar, I had the same luck in China. 3 weeks ago I would have sworn a 1000 oaths, that I had enough of such nonsense (-;
That’s why last week Greg had to explore the Yunnan province alone. Greg returned saying, that for the most interesting region of China, 1 week was hardly enough time. I am holding the same opinion, when it comes to the most interesting woman in the world (-;
 Sweetheart and author
The fact that we, as travel mates, are taking so much freedom towards each other is in best order. Greg and I both take a relaxed view on things like that. We also went through thick and thin for more than 10 years.
Greg and I are grass widowers now and we are rather confused. Thank God we are quite flexible on this trip, or rather without a plan. According to our plan without a plan, we will head to Tibet by train and Nepal by Jeep next.
Then we look further.
(click)
1000 EUR are already gone again. 23 days are a sad record in spending money.
A Yangtze cruise and a lost cell phone are expensive, but the dominant position of 400 EUR is the theft of my camera.
 costs of living in blue - transportation costs in gray - new camera and travelsafe costs in red
For future thefts I want to be better prepared. Together with the new camera, I bought myself a Pacsafe Travel Safe 12L.
The Travel Safe is a mobile safe with these top features:
- storage space for laptop, camera and documents
- stainless steel mesh against slashing
- stainless steel cable against snatching
- water resistant
- 500g weight
- 50 EUR price
More infos
Against determined thieves, the Travel Safe is a joke, of course.
 Pacsafe Travelsafe 12L - Images © Pacsafe
Since the theft, I’m more relaxed, when it comes to money. When 400 EUR are gone uselessly in one single moment, even the most tensed scotsman loosens up
This doesn’t harm for sure.
My camera was stolen at the beach in Yangshou in China. I’m not a human being without a camera, so it was only a matter of time:
My new sweetheart is a Nikon D3100 with 18-55mm kit lens, made in Thailand!
The purchase decision was a matter of minutes, thanks to Ken Rockwell. For all camera issues, I recommend his brilliant photo page. In particular, the following articles:
After some haggling I had to pay 400 EUR at the Nikon dealer in Chengdu. That’s almost 70 EUR cheaper than in Germany.
Simply because of the wicked shooting sound, I couldn’t have avoided buying this camera, sooner or later. Compared to my old Nikon D40 kit, the D3100 kit also features:
- less weight
- smaller size
- video mode
- image stabilization
- better auto-focus
- better white balance
- better Auto ISO
Now the photo safari can go on!
7 days before departure, there are in principle only standing seats left for the Chinese railway.
So I try my luck at one of the countless “travel agencies” in front of the station. There, a sleeper bed is no problem at all – against 50% surcharge. China’s black market for train tickets is flourishing in the holiday season.
floc: What does standing mean in “standing seat”?
Ticket seller: Standing means standing up!
floc: While travelling for 25 hours!?
 Standing seats in the Chinese railway Travel in China is not as easy as in Thailand. But after all, I absolutely wanted to see the giant country
Because China is so big, I was very lucky to find a big friend. Jeonghwan (1.94 m) from South Korea is on a world tour to Africa:
 2 globetrotters on the Yangtze
Of course we took it the easy way. Nevertheless, we have experienced a lot of China in our three weeks together. for example:
- medieval city centers in Pingyao and Xi’an
- pure nature at a sandy beach in Guilin and Yangshuo
- several days on the Yangtze, where every 16th man lives
- daily craziness of the Far East
- extremely hot food in Chengdu
- a sacred mountain
 Jeonghwan boards
To move on, there were nice and less nice methods of transportation:
- Large passenger ferry – top:
Ships kick ass!
- sleeper train – top
Transsiberian feeling, but with a view out the window
- bus seat – top
The good old bus
- small bamboo boat – baloney
Tourist attractions on the Yangtze and Li River
- bus with beds – terrible
On Chinese streets you prefer to sit
- train with seats – an absolute nightmare
Every little space on the train is sold as a “standing seat”.
 elapsed route: purple, planned route: red - © 2010 Google
Unfortunately Jeonghwan has now fled to dive in the Philippines.
Yesterday I rejoined my world travel partner Greg again. Together with Miss M from H, we take on Yunnan now. And on the 13th of September, we will move on to Tibet!
Thank you for the wonderful time Jeonghwan!
Last week, a fellow traveler in my hostel asked, if I would fancy this:
- contact with English-speaking Chinese
- free accomodation with WIFI
- free lunch and dinner
- 2 free beers per day
This is too crazy an idea to be made up, so I said yes. All of a sudden I was a volunteer at an English language school in Yangshuo for several days.
Conversation with the adult students English is obligatory for 2 hours a day. At the beginning this obligation feels like an added advantage. How else do you learn more about China and the best beaches and rooftop bars in the vacation resort of Yangshuo.
There are actually no requirements. 4 of us went there without advance notification and we have been warmly received. The school has probably tacitly assumed, that we know English.
Luckily nobody has tried to verify this (-;
 Yangshuo on the 20 Yuan note
Unfortunately I don’t have pictures of Yangshou.
My camera was stolen at the beach…
7 useless facts about the sacred mountain of Huashan 华山:
(A declaration of love)
Useless Fact Nr. 1
Sacred mountains in China are extremely popular for excursions.
Useless Fact Nr. 2
Sacred mountains in China are not really sacred to the Chinese people. They cement and chisel stairs from the top to the bottom. What’s more, people have written on them.
Useless Fact Nr. 3
In China, almost everything costs entry fees, even sacred mountains. To climb up Mt. Huashan, you have to pay close to 20 EUR!
Useless Fact Nr. 4
Chinese people spit all the time, even when climbing a mountain. They get back the liquid with watery Red Bull.
Useless Fact Nr. 5
The little via ferrata at the south summit of Mt. Huashan is the only via ferrata in all of China.
Useless Fact Nr. 6
The via ferrata at the Mt. Huashan is so easy, that you can go in high heels.
Useless Fact Nr. 7
The real heroes at Mt. Huashan are the carriers for material and personnel.
The Huashan via ferrata has been on my todo list for many years, because of beautiful videos and a lurid report.
If you have done a via ferrata before, you will be disappointed at Mt. Huashan. 2 ladders and transversing wooden planks lead into a dead end after just 10 minutes.
Nevertheless: bare rock and bare steel feel very good in China, too.
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Lukla - Everest Base Camp Trekking Route, Nepal 
