Twentysomething

After reading over the bogus dates for the third time, the kind fellow finally agreed to give us our visas the next day (right before our bus left for the Chinese border).

Mountains, holding up the skies, on both sides. The waters, under the crush of their own weight, hurried along below. Trees and skies and earth and water.

We got lost in the fluttering flags of the stupa adjacent to the monastery – the reds and greens and yellows made flapping sounds in the light air, like chants afloat on the mountain winds.

Wild horses nipped each other, neighed, and took off across emerald pastures.  Mountains, stereo-typically and wonderfully craggy and snow-capped, jutted their pointy chins in defiance of the sky.

I am feeling a bit better, however. Just splurged on a nice hotel -- stellar dining, swimming pool, down comforters (!) ... now I just have to find that $5 massage and I'm back to roughing it.

Internet's a bitch in China. Can't access blogspot, NY Times or other western media sources (well, the connection to them is so slow sometimes that it's not worth it).