i have a bit of a cold. i attribute it not so much to the cold places i visited, but to the constant changing between clothes and to the demanding schedule tour companies put you through. when i write in more detail, accompanying my pictures, this will be more clear. but it was not unusual to be waking up one day at 4:00 am for a 6:30 am departure, to be taken to see 6 places (shopping ones included), then not allowed to rest in a hotel but taken to a song, dance, acrobatics and kung fu show until 9:30pm, for a late hotel check in, then woken up at 3:00 am the next day for a 4:30 departure and repeat of the previous day. a colleague told me that if i purchase the Lonely Planet guides, i can make my own arrangements anywhere, being able to read in detail how to use public buses and who to contact for personal and private tours, where i can see things at my pace for the duration i want. my Chinese improved a lot by going along with tour groups, but i got exhausted. with the Lonely Planet guides, my colleague told me, it does not matter if your have beginner or intermediate Chinese speaking skills. you can make plans per the guidance in the books. photo by Leo Yu, whose photographs of Huang Shan i'm organizing to post soon, maybe this weekend. by the way, in the country we work this weekend, as a requirement for taking 8 days off.
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