Well, I've made it out of China; in a couple weeks, we'll find out whether they feel like letting me back in again.
I've spent the last 12 days hitting the big sights (and some smaller ones) of Yunnan province. I've seen a lot of yaks, cows, yak-cow hybrids, snow-covered mountains, and mountain "highway." Pictures forthcoming if and when I can upload them from the road. I know you've all been feeling neglected (ok not really, but I like to think so), so I'll try to write a bit more about Yunnan in the next few days, but right now I'm a little tired -- and a power surge just forced me to reboot and rewrite this post. In the meantime, I have some older material that never made it online to share so that you have a little bedtime (lunchtime?) reading.
Oh, right -- where did I leave China for? I'm in Hanoi, catching up with old friends and preparing to meet up with newer ones for two more weeks of travel. I'm looking forward to new sights, sounds, experiences, and of course... the food.