well, I'm back

from China.  It was a very eventful trip.  Among other highlights: had all my money stolen, spent 48 hours on a train, probably about as much time on various buses, "climbed" a mountain at 5 a.m. (including bus ride where bus had to stop and put on snow chains and cable car ride of over-population doom), went to a police station three times (to register myself as an alien), climbed probably ten thousand steps total (including some in snow/ice), saw many temples/monasteries, and ate lots of food (the strangest of which were Chinese takes on spaghetti and pizza).  I spent most of the time either in Zhengzhou or around Chengdu.  The main tourist spots I went to were the Shaolin Temple (where it was snowing at the time), the Leshan Giant Buddha (where it briefly rained), and Mount Emei (where it was gently snowing at the peak).  The dramatic weather actually resulted in a very nice atmosphere at each.  I have many pictures, and I may post more later.

I just spent 24 hours in transit.  How's everybody else doing?