This was quite an eventful year, despite the road trips not being as epic as last year. Had some good adventures and came away with a lot of good photos before leaving Guilin and moving to the frigid Northeast, right up against the border with Siberia. Used a Fujifilm compact camera for several months in the winter to see if I could downsize, but the Canon just takes great photos and is worth hauling around.
The highlight this year was definitely when my wife and I almost ran into a massive king cobra (the way it elegantly glided across the road is something I will never forget) on the way back from a long trip and almost got into a fight with a large group of farmers that wanted to kill it and sell it for meat. Some of them were carrying farming tools and at least one was piss drunk. I started photographing their license plates (to send to the forestry department) with my phone and they chased after my wife and I. We hopped on my bike and I nearly kicked one in the face as we blew past them and got the Hell out of there!
Anyways, here are the photos:
(With the Fujifilm X30)
(Back to the Canon)
(See, even frogs and toads can have an inter-racial relationship..)
(View from my apartment in Guilin)
【Last ride on my bike... ；（ 】
（And now in Jiamusi, Heilongjiang Province, where it has been below zero since the end of September and snowing since mid-October...）
Well, no more for now. Every time I go out these days my fingers and toes are in agony within minutes. That being said, as I write this a heavy snow storm is coming and I may try to get some more shots before I pack up for the year. Training has been brutal at -20+ C at five o'clock in the morning, but I'm still slaving away at least until there is a danger of frostbite. Hope you enjoyed the show..
Also, for anyone coming to China to train or to travel, I highly recommend staying in the South or the West. There is just a lot more to see. Generally avoid 95% of the country in winter. In the South it's overcast or rainy and there is not heating (or insulation), so just miserable. In the North there is heating and the food is better, but there is a lot less to see and do, plus the pollution can be worse. Not where I live, but in most other places. Nothing to do here, though for five months out of the year. I'll be gone within a year, though, as we are waiting for my wife's visa. Still studying a bit of Gongfu and fighting with a group of boxers in a park..
