“So Mike, I have this feeling you’re about to tell me something cool.

“Why yes, I am.”

If you read my previous post, you know that I had a very, very brief time in Cairo. I wanted to fit everything in, so I hired a driver and a guide from the hostel which zipped me around town and told me everything I’d ever wanted to know about the pyramids at Sakara and Giza, the sphinx, and the Egyptian museum. The pyramids were just mind blowing to see and try to phantom how they were built. Equally amazing were the artifacts inside the Egyptian museum–many artifacts, older than 2500 B.C. still had vibrant and extremely detailed colorings–probably no less magnificent than the day they were painted. It’s not known even to this day what sort of pigmentation they were using. Unbelievable to think that we need nearly 4000 years to accomplish equivalent feats of gigantic structures and lasting color.

Elf got into Cairo at 1a and was under instructions from her minority investor to stay at the airport until 9:50a for her flight to Athens the next morning. I considered this just short of a travesty, so my first order of business when I arrived in Cairo was to make arrangements with the hostel to maximize her short night in Cairo. We did it in style. After a brief rest and at the hostel, we started early at 4:30a in the morning and were taken to a coffee house in Kahn Al-Kalili for some Turkish Coffee and sheesha, a favored tobacco smoked with a water pipe (also available in the U.S.). After sucking down the deliciously thick concoction, we were whisked out to Giza, where we hired a couple of camels, rode out onto the sand dunes, and caught the sunrise next to the infamous pyramids.

Yes. It was beautiful. Pictures are coming.

Now we’re in Athens, where I got my cheek pinched by a Greek woman on the bus, saw all the big sights in four hours, and playing backgammon in cafes like addicts after some locals taught us the game.

The Elusive Elf hailed me from Idaho this morning, much to my relief. But instead of figuring out all the details of meeting up in Cairo, Elf had some news of her own…her dad wasn’t letting her go to Egypt!

::screech:: ::slam::

(hey, that’s exactly how totalling my car sounded!)

Elf’s dad and partial investor decided that it was too dangerous at this time for her to go to Egypt. This is partly in response to the recent bombing in Qatar and also the fact that it’s Holy Week. Thankfully, Elf’s dad is also willing to pay for my tickets to be changed. The revised plan for Elf is to arrive in Cairo as planned on the 24th at midnight, but fly out to Athens around 10a the same day.

Since it was always planned that I would arrive a day early to have things greased for Elf’s arrival (Egypt is a heavily male-dominated society and they reputedly do not take kindly to Americans), I’ll have about 30 hours in Cairo before I meet up with Elf. Just enough time to see the Pyramids!

The trouble really, is the fact that we’re flying into Christendom on Easter Weekend and need accommodations. Thank Bell for inventing the telephone. As soon as I heard the news, I rushed to the nearest phone (which happened to be my cell phone, already in my hand :)) and called up my dad. Thank Tim Berners-Lee for inventing web pages. My dad used his rather fat data connection to load up the various hostel reservation sites that be and was able to find us accommodations at the Athens Northern Backpackers. A little more expensive and a little far from the city centre, but hey, it’s a place to stay. Easter Weekend is bound to be a blast in Greece, so I’m really looking forward to it.

And oh yeah, thanks Dad for helping us out!

Hello all! For those of you that haven’t realized it yet, my China leg is quickly drawing to a close. Less than 24 hours from now I’ll be on a plane bound for Cairo, Egypt. With some luck ,I’ll also be meeting Elf, my next traveling partner (I say “luck” because Elf is being elusive and impossible to get ahold of as usual. :)).

Wait! Before I draw my Asia chapter to a close, there’s one last thing to blog about–the highlight of my trip!

Tiger Leaping Gorge is located in China’s Yunnan province (southwest). It’s the deepest gorge in the world, which isn’t a title to be taken lightly.

Immense.

There’s really no other way to describe it. An endless list of adjectives or curses beginning with the letter ‘F’ to assist in a detailed description of “Immense” would still be insufficient.

Tiger Leaping Gorge is located in China’s Yunnan province (southwest China). Hiking the gorge wasn’t originally on our travel plans, until I met Alex, my roommate in Hong Kong that couldn’t stop raving about the hike. I’m incredibly glad that we decided to take his advice and go.

It’s a good 25k+ hike in challenging terrain. Some sections are downright dangerous (but what’s fun without danger?) but the views are oh-so-worth-it. One can’t help but feel euphoric while looking out at the gigantic gorge walls and sweeping mountain views that make everything else in the world small in comparison.

John and I spent three days hiking in the Gorge, spending nights in surprisingly clean and well-positioned guesthouses along the way. As with all adventures, we met some great company along the way: Bekk (Canada), Steve (Canada), Jordan (UK), Carla (Beijing), Brian (New Jersey), Courtney (New Jersey).

Steve is a character worth mentioning. When we first met him, he couldn’t stop talking about the “fields of grass” reputedly to be found on the hike (if you have no idea what “fields of grass” are, stop reading, skip to the pictures, and don’t ask). Apparently, a guy Steve met earlier on his travels showed him this photo, fueling his Desire, giving him his Mission, and creating his Motivation to barrel down the gorge.

It was the first John and I had heard of this on the hike, but there’s no way I’m leaving until after I see all this bud.

Unfortunately, it’s March and not August. We were told by the owner of the first guesthouse that it was too early to find fields. Ha! Even the locals can’t beat first-hand experience! Behold! We found bud late in day two of the hike, although certainly not in ‘field’ quantities. Yet, we all dutifully took our photos and paid our respects by being extremely careful to not crush the plants as we posed. Only in China.

I’m going to disclaimer the photos right here and say that these photos do TLG no justice. Capturing real immensity, euphoria, and magnificence didn’t quite make it onto the features of my camera. But I love my photos, so I went a little overboard…just this once!

Photos after the jump.

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…are the only words I can come up with to describe the Jinshanling to Simatai route of the Great Wall of China.

I had originally gotten travel advice to do this 12km hike from Ethan W, but after seeing someone’s pictures in Shanghai, John and I were totally sold. It’s a full day affair that’s a pretty decent hike, which (rather nicely) scares away most tourists. As a result, other than our group of backpackers, our self-appointed guides, and the occasional guy selling water, coke, or beer (on a hike!), we were alone.

My immediate group was comprised of 2 Americans, 2 Australians, 1 Brit, 1 Portuguese, and 1 Brazilian. The Portuguese and the Brazilian, both Portuguese speaking countries, hit it off immediately. One of the Australians had been to Siberia and Mongolia just weeks earlier teaching guitar–he said it was so cold in Siberia (-34 degrees C) that after a few minutes outside, your lips would go numb and you couldn’t talk normally!

The views were absolutely breathtaking. They can’t be explained. So I’ll show you instead! More after the jump.

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John and I took the extremely cush (Benita, I’m stealing your vocab :)) night train up from Shanghai to arrive in Beijing yesterday at 7am. Let me digress from Beijing for a moment to say that this Made In China train was nicer than all the Italian trains I’ve been on, including the rather comfortable EuroStar Italia.

We were greeted by a beautiful sunrise and clear skies. Reports from travelers saying that Beijing was freezing seem to no longer apply for the immediate 5-day forecast and I was wearing only a long-sleeve shirt through the afternoon. However, John, being slightly more sensitive to cool weather, was still wearing his customary three layers and a fleece.

Beijing is the first city we’ve been in with classic Chinese architecture (le duh, it’s Beijing). This is a welcome and refreshing change from all the cities to the south we’ve seen thus far, which are considerably more westernized and indicative of New China. Classic Chinese architecture is quite unique, with curved roofs, columns both inside and out, and vaulted celings accented by horizontal wooden beams covered in detailed paintings with a geometric theme. I’ll take some pictures soon.

We’re staying in the Far East Hostel. Supposedly we were going to be staying in their dorms built in a classic Pudong house, but it just closed for renovation. However, they have a newly renovated hotel across the street, one section of which is are hostel dorm rooms. No complaints–the downstairs bar has 2 for 1 Tsingtao for RMB 2 after 11p…that’s 12.5 cents for each 630ml beer (that’s over 21 ounces)!

John and I also checked out the Kung Fu show here on the recommendation of Alex, my Hong Kong YMCA rommate. It cost about 20 USD including ride there and back, but the show was great! Picture a play at the children’s theatre without dialoge–then add super-intricate sets, lots of well-done lighting, and the kung fu from your favorite movie and you’ve approximately got what we saw. I certainly hope those guys got paid well, because during certain parts they were smashing stone slabs on their foreheads and breaking wooden sticks across their backs! The main actor even had a part where he made his body rigid and balanced his body on the tip of a spear pointed right into his gut! Now even if those ARE stage props, you nor I could not do the physical feats they did. The kung fu was excellent as well, John (who has knowledge of these things) said their forms (leopard, duck, mantis, etc.) were solid. And who can argue with Chinese weaponry? It was amazing.

Anyway, on to pictures!

Awww yeah!

More pictures after the jump…

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I just got back from Cloud 9 Bar in Jin Mao Tower over in Pudong Island. Jin Mao tower is the third tallest buliding in the world and the bar is on the 87th floor of 88, making it the tallest bar in the world!

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I’ve finally got around to bringing my portable hard drive to the Internet Cafe here. I don’t have the time to upload the whole set of the pictures into the Gallery, but here’s a small selection.

I’ve been disappointed with the quality of the photos coming off my camera on this trip thus far–all my shots are feeling a little soft and out of focus. But I’ve also been looking at my photos on subpar Internet Cafe monitors, so it could just be my end. Let me know what you guys think!

Gotta get my photo problems in order before I tackle the Great Wall!

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The Sony Gallery in Shanghai’s Old French Concession.

Finally, a city where my site isn’t listed as porn, the computers run Windows XP, the temperature is comfortable, and FINALLY some sun for image composition.

Wait. Sunshine? What the heck am I doing here? Later!!