Here's another email from Madeline, one of my three friends traveling in China. It's unedited. Enjoy.

we just got back to kunming where we will spend the day and tonight get on a 21 hour train to guilin, headed back eastward. we have just returned from the city lijiang, pretty far southwest near the border of tibet. we got there by overnight bus which was like no other travel. we were bunked into this bus with about 20 other people squeezed in going over rocky, precarious terrain, we broke down in the middle of nowhere, there was a man hacking up a lung in front of me, oh how it sucks to be a non smoker in china in situations like those, i think it's worse. but we managed to get there in one piece, and it was worth the trip.

we stayed in the old town of the city where there are cobbled streets, canals, and bridges,and the beautiful snow capped peak of yulong xueshan towering above. it was like a little paradise walking in there after our bus arrived. actually the ride in was stunning as well. i am constantly amazed at the beauty of this country.

we walked the dusty streets and found a little cafe. we ordered food. when it came it was a disaster. the fruit salad was coated in mayonnaise, the toast was more butter than bread, and the noodles were drowning in oil. luckily,the rest of our time was better than the food (later we also trid a tofu dish that had a sauce so gelatinous it was vile).we wiled the night away playing guitar and singing, while amanda talked polotics with a hungarian man we met who studied chinese at the u of o, and we drank bottle after bottle of wine.

the second day we rented bikes to go out to smaller villiages. we went to black dragon pool park and saw the "most obligatory photo shoot in sw china." amanda had many chinese tourists take photos with her. it was very odd. i found the trip to be too dusty going out of town and couldn't breathe. i think my body is still struggling from the cold i got and this lingering cough. so i returned to old town. later in the day i was alone and writing in my journal and a few times found myself suddenly with an arm around my shoulder, a smiling asian at my side and a camara in my face. again, very odd. the town was a lovely oasis from smog and city, and our return bus trip was much more posh (the ticket lady made sure we got the best one).

so now we are back in kunming in a cheap hotel room to shower and relax before getting on the train tonight. we are all well, getting tanner by the day, we have had fabulous meals the last two in lijiang (we ordered a whole fish in chili sauce which was delicious) and despite one very bad hangover (amanda) and a little peanut allergy (me) we are doing well and having fun together.

Sounds like great experience.