Everest Basecamp Trek 2009

Travelogue to China will be interrupted by a trip to Nepal . . .

I'm leaving tomorrow to do a trek to Everest Base Camp. No, I'm not climbing the mountain - I'm walking to it, though. I'm participating in a photography workshop/trek and you can follow our activities here:

Everest Base Camp Trek 2009

and there's a widget where you can follow information as well.

I think I will have intermittent email access once we're on the trail from Lukla to EBC. Most of the villages have internet cafes. Now that I know how to access my blog via email, I'll make attempts to update the blog from Nepal.

I still have a lot of info to post from my China trip and I intend to resume when I return. I might be going out of sequence for awhile, though. You can navigate the blog by hitting a keyword over there in the right margin.

Please keep us in your thoughts. I'm hoping the experience will be amazing and that I learn a lot.

China 2009 - 16

16 February 2009 - Kunming, Yunnan Province

This was the fanciest breakfast set-up I experienced during my visit to China. This buffet was stocked with a large variety of foods.













Plus there were chefs at different stations to make omelettes or other specialty items.











Oh, I finally found the picture of the hotel front. We stayed at the Expo Garden Hotel in Kunming. It was a very nice place.











This was Monday morning and the city's workers were commuting to jobs. In addition to bicycles and cars, there are a lot of commuters that use motorcycles and scooters.










We were back at the Kunming Institute of Botany early in the morning for some tours or meetings. Sean Graham and I had a tour of the Millenial Seed Bank Project. It's housed in a very modern facility.






I can't remember the name of our guide, but he gave us a very thorough and informative tour. The guy on the right is processing a voucher specimen - basically a pressed plant that will end up in a herbarium. That gives the identification of the plant from which seed was collected.

The doors at the far end of the room lead to a secure cold store room where the processed seed are kept.







This is a culture room - for seed germination, I think.












There is an area for educational display of fruits and seed in part of the facility. The seed collection is for native plants of China and the idea is to collect seed from every species for future conservation.










I don't know what plants these fruits are from, but the patterns they had in their storage containers were visually interesting to me.












Wow - love those winged fruits.












Seed is processed and cleaned in this area. The sieves are used to separate seed from fruit tissue and other non-seed detritus.











This is a storage area where seeds are awaiting processing.













Winged seeds - a personal favorite of mine.











Seed morphology is fascinating. There are so many adaptations for dispersal that it boggles the mind.












The water content is carefully monitored. I can't remember what the ideal percentage is, but it's highly regulated to ensure seed viability over a long period of time.









Packaging is also important. Sealed jars and vials are used for bulk storage.














Foil packets are used for small seed lots.












Compactor shelving is used for archiving the collections.












In addition to the seed bank, the facility hosts a state-of-the-art molecular technology center, which includes automated sequencers and genetic analyzers. Most of this equipment had not yet been put online as the labs were still under construction.








Once this facility goes online, it's going to be an amazingly productive place, I'm sure.











The bench space is amazing.













It has a nice gel room, too.













The next stop on the tour was the herbarium. I wish we would have had more time here because I would have like to have looked at the collections.











We stopped only long enough to take a quick look. It's very modern and seems to be a really topnotch collection.

This part of the herbarium is for the lichen collection.








I think this is Dr. Hua Peng, the curator of the collection. Maybe he is the director of the herbarium as well. Again, my memory is not so good on the details.















Fungi are usually stored in envelopes such as shown here.














Dr. Hua Peng's office had some interesting art on the wall. He collects artifacts that have lichen growth and makes artistic renderings from them.



























I thought these were very beautiful and interesting to see.













After a quick tour of the lichens, we went upstairs to take a quick peek at the vascular plant collection. Before going into the collection, shoes are to be removed and you can borrow some slippers to wear.














Sean's checking out the size.

















I guess if you work there, you'd want to have some very comfortable and fashionable slippers. The building was very cold, also, so warm ones would be a good idea, too.









Those are my feet. I have bunions.













We signed the guest book,















and then got a glimpse of the herbarium. It looks like a fantastic place to work. I wish there had been time to explore.

Testing the email function of my blog

If this works there should be text and a picture. The picture is of a recent project that will be on display at the Spoke in Wood exhibit at the Mansfield Art Center, June 7 - July 19, 2009.

China 2009 - 15

15 February 2009 - Kunming, Yunnan Province

After visiting the botanical garden, our driver brought us back to the hotel so we could freshen up before dinner. When we arrived, there was a wedding party waiting for photographs or their ride - don't know which.

I find it very interesting that Chinese couples dress in western fashions for their nuptials. I wonder when that tradition began and if anyone wears traditional costumes for wedding ceremonies?





I loved the use of fresh flowers for celebrations. This sure beats the American tradition of balloons and tin cans tied to the bumper. Pretty!












The hotel lobby was filled with the sound of music played by young ladies. Classy!










Even the ash trays were done up in style. Several times an hour someone comes along, rakes out any cigarette or cigar butts out of the sand and then imprints the hotel logo back onto the pile of sand that was raked into a cone shape.











The wedding couple was still out on the steps when we came back downstairs to catch our ride to dinner.










Sometimes candid shots capture the most amazing moments.












The sun was setting over Kunming as we were whisked away to another hotel where we would have dinner with Professor Li.











Kunming is full of shiny, modern buildings.













There are lots of neon signs, too.

















We went to a very upscale hotel for dinner where Professor Li had rented a suite on the third floor to host a banquet for us. We had our own chef and wait staff to serve us through the evening. The decor was very nice.









It was a very intimate setting and it was easy to share conversation around the table.












The place setting was very elaborate and a bit confusing to this westerner. I basically just watched what the Chinese scientists were doing before reaching for any dish, serving utensil or miscellaneous item.








The first thing that happened after we were seated was an elaborate placement of the napkin under the place setting, and draped onto the lap.












This interesting stone sculpture stood watch over the festivities from a perch up on a tall cabinet.










The food was nicely prepared and very flavorful, but I had to start asking about each dish after sampling this one. I'm not used to eating organ meat and this was a dish that nearly made me embarrass myself upon first bite. My "Don't ask, don't tell" culinary policy basically fell apart this evening.











Ummmmm, no chicken feet for me, either, thank you very much..










I did enjoy the variety of fungi dishes.












All of the vegetarian dishes were very tasty.




























I'm not sure what all was in this dish. It had some unusual textures on the palate. Hmmm, this was a "don't ask" dish.












I think this was a dish made from lichen, but I could be wrong. I do recall that the lichen dish was delicious.









These were some kind of fish cake that had a dipping sauce - very tasty.









This was the "Do it yourself" course of the meal. The broth was boiling hot and all the ingredients were laid out to be placed into the bowl to make a lovely soup. Flower petals, calamari cut to resemble a ginger flower, raw meats, egg, and a variety of spices and veggies. It was truly a wonderful culinary experience.

























I snapped this picture on the way out of the hotel - we had a glimpse of the chef preparing food for the restaurant. I loved the image of squash piled up, waiting for their turn to be sliced and added to a dish.









It had been a very long, but memorable, day in Kunming. This is the hotel where we stayed the night. There were all sorts of social furniture circles tucked away in various niches of the hotel.











This is the hall where my room was located.













You'll have to click on the image to be able to read the sign above the phone. It finally sunk into my jet-lagged brain why there was a phone next to the toilet in each of the hotels. I'm happy to report that I didn't need this service during my visit to China!

China 2009 - 14

15 February 2009 - Kunming Institute of Botany, Yunnan Province.

After Jim Doyle's talk, we were given a tour of the institute's botanical garden by Professor Li, the director. First, though, there was a bit of socializing and an opportunity for YQ to meet some very important Chinese botanists.

I don't recall the name of this eminent scholar, but YQ was really keen to meet with him. I have to apologize for my poor memory of details this long after my trip. I should have taken notes.




I took the opportunity to do a bit of an explore around the building. The institute is very modern and very clean. Conservation for electricity is practiced. There are hardly any lights on in the facility during the daytime. The new buildings are designed to catch a breeze for cooling, and to maximize natural lighting.








Scholarly intensity. There was a student who wanted some input from the American scholars and so there was an impromptu session after Jim's lecture.









Professor Li's very spacious and comfortable office. We went there for some refreshments and to visit for a bit before the garden tour.











I got a kick out of this very practical umbrella locker that was in the building's lobby. What a great idea!












A group photo of the visitors with our host, Professor Li. R to L: Sean Graham, Andi Wolfe, Jim Doyle, Professor Li, YQ.











It was a very pleasant afternoon. So many lovely plants were in bloom around the campus that the walk over to the garden was very enjoyable. Of course, we received a tour along the way as well.









You, know, I have to say that there are a lot of very ugly dogs in China. Many of them roam the streets and probably end up as "happy meat" on some menu.











Others are obviously pampered, but are unleashed. I'm not sure if this is a mutt or some breed endemic to China. It's rather homely, I think.

I didn't see a lot of cats in China, but I'm sure there are many kept as pets.











This is the entrance to the botanical garden. The Camellias were in bloom and it was a spectacular show of flowers.











The entry court had a display of potted Camellias to exhibit the cultivar diversity.











I didn't write down the names of these cultivars, but they were spectacular.


















The garden was very popular during this pleasant afternoon. As customary, there were games of Mahjong, cards and that strategy game I mentioned in an earlier posting.









Here are some more pictures of beautiful Camellia flowers:
































A very impressive specimen of Manglietia megaphylla. (Magnolia family) The leaves were about a foot in length.















It was a magnificent garden to explore in the late afternoon.












Spent blooms gathered up into a sort of offering.












This is a war memorial (if I recall correctly).














So many people enjoying a pleasant Sunday afternoon!












Family portrait, anyone?












How about another group photo? Boy, I'm tall compared to everyone else. I towered over most of the Chinese I encountered on this trip.












Parasitic plants up in the tree.

















The garden was a productive study for this artist.













Living sculpture in the making.

















Magnolia

















Bamboo leaves














Mahonia














Tetrostigma vine (grape family).















I don't know the genus, but this palm foliage is gorgeous.













Ornamental kale












The camellias were a huge draw to the garden. I enjoyed my time there.













These remind me of prayer flags, but they're just decorations.







Finally, here's a very short video clip of a little boy making a car alarm go off. I watched him kick and hit this car about a dozen times before I finally thought to record it. Everytime he ran away from the car, the alarm would stop and then he'd run back and kick it again to make it go off again.

China 2009 - 13

15 February, 2009. On the road again. This time to Kunming, Yunnan Province.

We headed back to Kunming for an overnight stay. We visited the Kunming Institute of Botany. I found it interesting to watch the landscape change from rural to urban. One really gets a sense of the population pressures put on the land when you fly over a region. China is a big country, but a billion plus people take their toll on tropical forests, grasslands, river ecosystems and the like.







I found the in-flight magazines to be very curious by American standards. One would never, ever see an advert like this on an American domestic flight. Given that I am illiterate for Chinese, I could only make up my own story about what this advert might have been about.









A couple of miscellaneous notes about China. Advertisements are everywhere - even on the handles for the transfer bus to the terminal.

Also, you have to get over the feeling of being pressed in a crowd, because you won't escape that in any of the cities. You will quickly become chums with thousands of strangers because they don't have any sense of personal space. You need to just keep moving and don't worry about bumping into people, because they'll be bumping into you, too.






This was an interesting sculpture at the entrance to the Kunming airport. I would have liked to have seen it up close, but I just got a fleeting glimpse of it as we were driving away.














Our driver first took us to our hotel via some back streets that were out of the main traffic congestion. That gave us a look into some back yards that were interesting - this is a government building with some military hardware rusting away.








I always enjoyed having the opportunity to drive the back streets because it revealed more of the everyday kind of scenes.











There was a lot of activity at this hour in preparation of the midday meal. Buckets and pans out in front of stores are used for washing fruits and veggies and cleaning dishes.











Cooking is also done out in the front of many of the shops.












What an interesting juxtaposition - a lorrie and a cement mixer on a bike trailer.












I don't recall the name of the hotel, but I think there may be a logo in one of these pics. The rooms were very modern and I always find the bathroom open to the sleeping area a bit disconcerting. I just don't get the appeal of this arrangement.








It's ok if you're in a room by yourself, but there are just some things one shouldn't have to share whilst traveling.










This hotel had a bunch of little accents that were unusual. For example, this ceramic bowl with flower petals and goldfish.













Aaaaacccckkkk! You can't get away from American stuff, even in China.









We were taken to a very nice restaurant adjacent to a park that overlooks the skyline of Kunming. The restaurant was owned by the the Kunming Institute of Botany director's daughter.












This isn't her restaurant, but there was a coffee shop next door, which was a welcome sight to me. I was very ready for a cup of joe by this time in the trip.










We had a room upstairs for our lunch and the staff took care to set the table in style.












This is the other half of the room. The tables were not the short, round style of the Dai restaurants we had been visiting.











This cabinet is one of the more important furnishings in a restaurant in China. It's a UV cabinet, which decontaminates the dishes after washing. With all the modernization going on in China, one would think that they could solve the clean water issues. I was glad to have a Steri-pen along with me on the trip. I just got into the habit of zapping all of my water.










Here's something not seen much on this trip thus far - silverware.













This was a fusion of cultures, from the place settings . . .











to the food served. It was nice to have some pizza as a break from Asian cuisine.













Oh, yes, we had Brassica. This was very nicely done, too.











Another cultural difference was in the desserts served. Dessert was always fresh fruit. You have to be a little careful with this because of the unclean water issues, but good restaurants will have no problems with water contamination.








After lunch, we had a short drive to the Kunming Institute of Botany.

Kunming is very modern and the housing is new and clean in most areas of the city where we traveled. It is interesting to see the mix of debris next to tidy areas, though.







The shops lining the main streets have glass windows and don't seem to be a jumbled as those on the side streets or in the rural areas.












Also of note in the cities are the very wide streets and huge intersections. Maybe this is planning for the future for when everyone has a car and the streets are like parking lots during rush hour.











Side streets are a different scene altogether.












As soon as we arrived at the institute, Jim Doyle gave a lecture on the evolution of early angiosperm lineages. Dr. Li is introducing Jim in this pic.

I liked how we were served green tea - every few minutes some nice ladies would come along to top off our cups.






Jim Doyle

















I learned a lot from Jim's talk and enjoyed the slides of fossil pollen and plant parts.

China 2009 - 12

15 February, 2009. Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden.

We had a pretty tight schedule this morning, with just enough time to do a tour of the research end of the botanical garden before driving to Jinghong for a flight to Kunming.

It was very misty at this hour in the morning, and the lighting was very dim. It did cast a mystical aura to the garden, which was very lovely.

The research area of the garden is across the river and is accessible via a foot bridge.





It was very still and the sound of birds was all around. The mist made it impossible to find the birds in the canopy, but I enjoyed hearing them sing.










Now, that's a huge strangler fig. The original host tree must have been humongous.












Here's YQ to give a sense of scale at the base of that strangler fig.
















Speaking of figs, here's a pollination ecology experiment underway.












Here's another grand tree in the research preserve.













I'll give a sense of scale at the base this time.















Here's our group: L to R - Sean Graham (University of British Columbia), me (Ohio State University), Jim Doyle (University of California, Davis), and YQ (Yin-Long Qiu, University of Michigan).









You need to click on the picture to fully appreciate the signage.














I loved the vein patterns of this leaf. This is one of the early patterns for flowering plants.












The last stop before catching a ride to the airport was the area where cultivars of economically important plants are being assessed. There was a grove of rubber trees and I found it interesting to see how the bark is scored for latex collection.












Camelia sinensis - i.e., tea plants. The ones in the plantations tend to be short shrubs that are easy to harvest. I'm not sure what traits were under consideration with these plants.










Coffea arabica - my favorite source of caffeine.













These fruits aren't ripe, but it's cool to see where coffee beans originate.












Last view of the XTBG - a grove of rubber trees in the mist. It was a very nice visit, and I enjoyed the introduction to tropical China during this part of my trip.

China 2009 - 11

14 February 2009 - Xishuangbanna region, Yunnan Province.

Hey, this is the last post for Feb 14th. I bet you thought I'd never finish this day, eh?

After visiting the park with the canopy walk, we loaded back into the van to head back to Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanic Garden.

We drove through the agricultural region and I scored a pond heron (not in this pic) in one of the rice paddies. That was pretty cool.




Rural China is so very different than the big cities. I wonder if this is going to change in the near future? It seems as if the cities are trying to emulate the west and that the rural areas are standing still in time.









Some of the tunnels had only one lane open. We got stuck behind a log truck carrying rubber tree logs. The sap was oozing out the ends.












On the way back, Jim requested that we have traditional food rather than westernized stuff. Our guide made a decision to stop in a Dai village, where, once again, we were able to see a more traditional layout of homes, businesses, and other sites.








This is a view of the village from the porch of the restaurant where we spent the evening.











The restaurant was a sheltered porch with lots of small chairs and short, round tables.












This is the kitchen and those shelves hold the evening's menu. Our forestry colleague is making decisions about the menu, choosing among the various plants and other items on the shelves.
















He also looked at the current selection of refrigerated meats and fishes.
















The cook staff immediately got to work in prepping the dishes, chopping veggies and starting to stir fry the various selections.















Here's a closer look at the larder. This was such an interesting concept - go into the pantry and choose different fresh (real!) foods and then have the staff prepare flavorful dishes fro the selections.





Here's one of my all-time favorites - banana flowers! Who would have guessed? The dishes I had that were prepared with banana flowers were the most interesting and flavorful of all the things I sampled on the trip.

We had a variety of fungi, greens, etc. in this meal.









I think we probably had some of everything in the evening meal.











You can see the kitchen layout here. Two large chopping blocks, the wok is on the wall near the window, a set of burners in the corner, and that low curb to the right is the sink.











Our driver made himself at home in front of the TV set.











While dinner was being prepared, I took a short walk to look around the village. The main road has all the typical shops and construction stuff.











I sure saw a lot of automotive support places along the roads in China. Low tech, but very efficient, I'm sure.












All of the rooftops had the typical Dai embellishments.










The little girl in this picture is all dressed up. I wonder where they were heading?












Bamboo scaffolding around a new construction site.









Back at the restaurant, some appetizers were brought out. These are tamarind pods - from the legume family. The outer coat of the pod is broken away to expose the fibrous covering of the seeds. You pop that into your mouth and chew it off around the seeds.

It's very flavorful - kind of sweet and spicy.









This is what's left behind. We made a pretty big pile of seeds and husks while we were waiting for dinner.












The ubiquitous pack of cards that everyone seems to be playing with at mid-day.











Ahhhhhh - this was my favorite meal in China. Everything was super delicious and adventurous in one way or another. I loved how the dishes were brought to the table as they were prepared. You'd start eating and think that there was plenty of variety, and then another handful of dishes would arrive.

We figured we had plants from 12 families, including some that would never be encountered in the states. I don't have my little notebook handy, but I wrote down the different families. If I think of it, I'll update this post sometime with the list.




Of course, we had Brassica. Every meal had this vegetable - always prepared nicely with lots of flavor.












My other favorite - bamboo hearts. Think artichoke hearts and you have an idea of how to eat this. There were several sauces for dipping and the hearts were tender and flavorful. Loved it!








I thought the presentation of this fish was very nicely done. Yum!













This was a tasty stir fried dish of veggies and egg. Another huge yum!












Strips of pulled and marinated beef. Very spicy.













The start of my food trash pile. When in Rome . . .











The sunset was pretty. I guess all the smog in the air is good for something. . .

China 2009 -10

14 February 2009 - Xishuangbanna region, Yunnan Province, China

After lunch we went to a park that features a canopy walk through the tropical forest. That would have been ideal for birding, but, alas, we took a wrong turn and missed the canopy entirely.

There seemed to be some misunderstanding at the gate and YQ, Jim, Sean and I were kind of on our own at that point.




This is the path we took rather than heading on to the canopy walk. It actually was a very nice walk, so the afternoon was well spent. Given the fear of heights some of my colleagues have, I suppose this was probably a better route for the group anyway.











This stem is covered in aphids, which the ants were "milking" for their honeydew.










Trees that have fallen over the path were still there with a bunch of epiphytes (plants that grow on other plants) littering the trunks.














The trunks have buttresses to support the size of the trees.
















This strangler fig has already encompassed its victim.

















Light filters down through canopy breaks. The lighting is a diffuse green, which makes the whole place seem tranquil.










We pretty much walked along this stream the whole path, and it was lovely to hear the water together with the singing of the birds.











The biggest surprise on this walk was this huge tree with Dai offerings scattered around the base in each of the bays formed by adjoining buttresses.










Each of these flower offerings were presented with a Dai weaving and some beadwork. I have no idea what this was about, but it seemed very sacred. I walked around the circumference of the tree to look at each of the offerings. Notice the Dai candles at the base as well. I photographed similar candles in the cultural museum at Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanic Garden.











The path came out to this plaza where people were eating lunch and playing games around low tables.











This was also the tourist trap area. You are supposed to sit here between the peacocks to have your picture taken. I was appalled that the birds are tied to the arms of the bench.










I did take a few photos of the brilliant birds while I was there. They seemed pretty content to stay there, even if they had no choice. The rest of the peacock feather pics are at the end of this posting.












Ahhhhh - this was what we were missing. I think I would have enjoyed the canopy walk very much, but, as I said, the afternoon was well spent anyway.









An advert for the park restaurant.













Botanizing on the way back to the entrance yielded a fern that is on the early lineage branch of the family.










Spores are presented along the margins.


It's kind of neat seeing plants that we have in the greenhouse from their native habitat.









I did see drongos at this park, so I did get another life bird out of the afternoon. I also scored a pond heron on the drive back to the garden.

China 2009 -9

14 February 2009 - Xishuangbanna region of Yunnan Province.

Here are a few more images from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Forest Reserve. This one is of an immense lichen - about 10 inches in diameter.










Something in Acanthaceae - one of my favorite families.















Figs, anyone?













I'm sure these are chock full of wasp larvae, so I think I'd pass on the offer if I were you.







After our visit to the forest reserve, we returned to the Dai village where we took a rest break earlier in the day. We stopped for lunch at an open air restaurant there.

I snapped this photo of people walking down the street and then noticed what the woman on the left was doing.






She's washing vegetables that will be prepared for our lunch. I wonder what the source of the water is here. It looks like it could be rain run-off, but maybe it's from a well.

Rule of thumb when in Asia - don't eat raw veggies or drink untreated water.








These ladies were playing Mahjong.











We got the table in the corner with a view of the street. The server is pouring hot tea into glasses for us to enjoy before the food is prepared.

These short tables are a bit of a challenge for tall people like me, but it was kind of cozy to sit around in such a tight space to enjoy the flavorful food.









YQ is looking forward to some tasty food.












I can't remember the name of the forestry scientist who took us to the reserve. He was very helpful and gave us a lot of information about the region and the forest.










This is very different from how we do it in the west. Having hot tea in a glass takes some getting used to, but this is how every meal begins. After tea, we usually had beer with the meal.











A fish soup. The meat was very chewy.












An egg dish of some sort - very flavorful.













Those long things are slop fries - stir fried potatoes that resemble french fries, but are soggy.













Lunch became more and more interesting as the dishes were brought to the table. There were spiced meat dishes and a variety of vegetable dishes.








Veggies included fern fiddleheads this time. We also had some Brassica and a vine in the Cucurbitatceae (pumpkin family for non-botanists).











Chicken feet just seem so unappetizing to me, but they are, apparently, a delicacy. I watched the driver of the van eat one with great enthusiasm.












YQ certainly enjoyed the food. It must be so nice for him to be back in China to enjoy the foods he grew up with.










I wasn't expecting this, but it is the habit of the Dai people to dump bones and detritus on the floor between their feet.












Not too savory and I suppose it's not a pleasant job for the clean up crew.












Hmmmmm - I take it back, this clean-up crew seemed pretty happy about the chore.












While we were eating lunch, there was another group of locals playing cards at another table.











This little girl was totally fascinated with us. I doubt if there are very many westerners visiting this village each year, so I suppose we were a novelty for her. She was so cute!









Speaking of cute . . .

China 2009 -8

14 February 2009 - Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanic Garden forest reserve.

The forest reserve is a pristine tropical forest that is used for research. There is quite a diversity of basal angiosperms that are present here and that was the primary reason we took this trip to Xishuangbanna.

Jim Doyle (green jacket) is a paleobotanist who works on the evolution of early flowering plants. This whole day was fun because of his excitement and enthusiasm. It was like watching a kid in a candystore that has an unlimited budget.





As with tropical forests throughout the world, you have sensory overload when you enter a place such as this. There is so much going on that you just don't know where to focus. The sounds, the smells, the layers upon layers of foliage, movement on the leaves - everything draws the eyes this way and that.







I don't know much about the early angiosperm diversification as this isn't my area of specialty, but I learned a lot by listening and watching what my colleagues were doing.










I was mostly interested in taking in the ambience of the tropical forest and I had a keen eye out for birds. I certainly heard a lot of birds, but the foliage was so thick that I couldn't spot any in the understory. I think most of what I was hearing was up in the canopy.









Fortunately, we were there during the dry season so there weren't any leeches to deal with. The forester who guided us on this excursion was covered in leech scars.









I enjoyed seeing the diversity of fungi in the forest. The bryophytes and lichens were also amazing.












Whenever I had a glimpse of the canopy, I had my binocular out, scouring the upper branches for birds. Alas! No luck here.















We walked along and in the streams to reach different areas of the reserve. It was a stunning place to spend some time.











Of course, the pace was rather slow because there was so much to see.












Every surface is covered in plants - that is so cool!














We came across a lot of quadrats and transects as well as measuring devices such as this one that tracks the growth rate of the tree trunk.











The smell of earthy decay is all about as well, which makes sense given all the evidence of termites and fungi attacking the dying trees.














What a lovely gem - I certainly have taken some design inspiration from this mushroom.













More stone stepping - at least they weren't too slick with mud.











Aha! Evidence of those canopy birds. Now, if only I could recognize the bird splats I might have a new life bird out of this excursion.










The vine going across the image is Tetrastigma - in the grape family. This is cool for me because this genus of vine is host to Rafflesia - the parasitic plant in Borneo that has a flower about one meter in diameter. No Rafflesias here, but it's cool to see the vine.









There's a lot of water in the low areas, too. One of the trails was along such a steep and slippery slope that I thought for sure I'd end up in the water. I'm sure there are leeches in there even if we didn't find any terrestrial ones.









This was near where the van was parked and I was treated to a life bird - a beautiful kingfisher that flew by just as we came up to the bridge.

China 2009 - 7

14 February 2009 - Trip to Xishuangbanna Tropical Forest Research Reserve

We had a pretty full day scheduled for Valentine's Day, and it started with a breakfast of rice porridge, noodles and dumplings.

I found it pretty interesting that breakfast, lunch, and dinner served pretty much the same fare with a few variations here and there. I liked most of the noodle dishes I had throughout the time I spent in China.






Some of the dumpling dishes were very delicious and others were a bit hard to take. I didn't particularly enjoy this one - stuffed with some kind of meat and the broth was high in fat content.








We had a small bus to take us to the forest reserve, which was about an hour's drive away from the botanical garden. I took a bunch of pictures out the window.

As you can see from this slope, the forest has largely been cut down for agricultural conversion - rubber tree plantations for the most part.








Patches of forest are cut and then burned prior to planting.












Hogs off to market - poor critters.













The terrain was pretty hilly and I was amazed at how steep the slopes were that were terraced and planted.








Many of the buildings along the road looked to be hospitality businesses - restaurants and tea houses.











There was often a mix of old and new in the architectural elements. The entry gate shows the Dai cultural elements, but the building in the back is modern China all the way.










When we left the main highway, there were glimpses of rural China - ramshackle shacks and buildings pressed close together.











We traveled through a lot of agricultural areas and it was interesting to see the irrigantion canals and some of the crops that were planted in the region. Xishuangbanna is in a tropical climate, so it's no surprise that the crops lean toward tropically adapted ones.









I saw a lot of farmers working the land and most of the cultivation and irrigation in this area is done by hand.










We were going fast enough that I couldn't really see what was being planted aside from rice and bananas.












The farmer straddling the irrigation ditch is pulling water up onto the planting bed.











This young man would look at home in any modern city.











Bananas with their inflorescences protected from herbivores.













I couldn't tell if this was a recycling center or the rubbish heap. I think it was the former - it seems as if most things are re-used or adapted for other uses in the rural areas.









Here's a glimpse of someone's home near the road. Cinder block construction seems to be common.












A reservoir that has a lot of scenic appeal.













We stopped at a small village to stretch our legs and to use the public toilets. The smell was pretty overpowering, but this was the only game in town for visitors. In I went . . .








ok - welcome to rural china. The trick is to watch your step and don't put anything on the floor in or near the stall. There's no door - just a half wall that sort of offers privacy whilst you squat to do your business. Unappealing? Yes - but better than a long drop in Lesotho, believe me.










A Dai restaurant - open air and up on platforms.













Town hall for this village.














The village is in a beautiful setting.













I think the lower section must be for farm animals.











The locals always seem to be hanging around together, visiting and interacting through games or the sharing of food.











Cassytha - a parasitic plant that resembles Cuscuta.









Jungle fowl - aka a farm chicken. Our domestic chickens had their origins in China.












I'm not sure what is being washed here, but it wouldn't surprise me if it's something in preparation of the mid-day meal.








Every village had lots of dogs roaming around. I thought the puppies were very cute.














These two ladies noticed that I was taking a lot of pictures and they offered to pose with their dog for me.











The dog just licked her face - some things are shared across cultural boundaries. This made me miss my dachshund, Emma. She has the fastest tongue in the west.

China 2009 - 6

13 Feb 2009 - Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanic Garden.

After visiting the museum, we were given a tour of the herbarium and some of the garden.

This is the herbarium building. It's a very modern facility with compactors for the cases.










Every herbarium has stuff to process and these look like parts of presses that need to be sorted and put away.










We signed the visitor's log. This is Jim Doyle signing in.














The collection is stored in compactor cases. To open an aisle the wheels on the case are turned.











Sean Graham and YQ examining some specimens. I annotated quite a few sheets in Orobanchaceae while we were there.
















The administration center is near the herbarium.












After that short tour of the herbarium, we were taken by cart to tour the garden. I'm not quite sure what this sculpture represents, but it was rather large.











Now, that's a huge leaf. Sean Graham is standing there for scale.















The mountains in Xishuangbanna are very beautiful - when you can see them through the haze, that is.












Musaceae - very interesting plant there in the foreground.
















Another view of the mountain and a pavillion.











Our private coach for the tour.













It seemed as if most of the gardening tasks were done by hand.












An avenue line with
palms.












This was interesting - a group of Dai people touring the garden. Our guide told us that the Dai like to dress alike when they travel as a group of friends. The guy standing on the right was filming.









We visited the bamboo collection, which was very impressive. There were 250 species growing in the part of the garden. I had no idea about how diverse this genus is until seeing this collection.









I love the colors of these stems.


















YQ is showing me the defense mechanism of this species of bamboo. . .













Spines galore.














Graffitti, Chinese style.

















And graffitti, Dai style.














There are a lot of interesting little display and shelter areas in the garden. I enjoyed seeing the water gardens.













A different angle of that water garden.













This tangle of vegetation is growing through a well.











The late afternoon sun made for some scenic views.












The cycad garden was also lovely in the late afternoon glow.











Some Dai people touring the garden.












One of the many species of butterfly that inhabit the garden. I really enjoyed the diversity of butterflies - I wish I could have photographed them all, but they never stayed in one place long enough for me to get a good picture.






I found these ants to be very interesting, too. They had hairs on their posterior segment.