Here no longer be dragons (Yunnan, China)
There are some mysterious places in this world. I call these places "here be dragons" places. Medieval European map makers coined this term. They used to attach this comment to some places on their maps. Places that they were unsure of (most of the far east). There is a map on my wall. I stuck some "here be dragons" labels on them. One such place on my map is the place where the borders of Tibet, India and Myanmar meet. This is where the mysterious Shangri-la is supposed to be.
One September morning, I trekked up a misty hill. It took about two hours. All along the way I could hear Tibetan shepherds sing. I could never see them, just hear their singing. I reached the top and found this little girl. Her mother was barbecuing some yak meat. I tried some along with some rice wine. The wine was strong, I became a poet (apologies to Li Bai).
Hey little Tibet girl,
happy-shiny like a pearl,
you will not talk,
just play with that yak,
and that dress so pink
please follow this link.
Counting sheep at Bita
see
The loneliest shepherd
The shy, curious, puzzled, happy, smiling childhood friends.
Lets play all day, never go to evil school.
A temple in Kunming
Grassland kids expert at horses
The misty walkway
Wildflowers
My home
Waterfalls
An Yak train
Colour girls
The Market
Black Dragon Lake
The walk up the Bita sea
Old Lijiang
More Wildflowers
The grasslands
My childhood friends
The monastery up the hill
The tea plantations
The temples in Lijiang
Under the world so high
The last doll
Lunchtime on the way to Zhongdian
Tiger leaping gorge
Another childhood friends
Little baby yangtze river
Lijiang street market
Inspecting the goods..bee hives