All Good Things Come to an End...

Wednesday, November 11 and Thursday, November 12

The Return

After breakfast we collected our belongings and piled in the car for the six hour ride back to Kunming, where we would stay overnight and fly out to HongKong the next day. It rained the whole day, which made the first part of the drive through the mountains and along the banks of the Red River very disappointing. We had hoped for some good scenery, but it was obliterated by rain and fog. 

The Red River (aptly named) in the rain and fog

Furthermore, the weather slowed us down on the slippery, narrow roads so the trip took much longer. We amused ourselves with trying to identify birds we had photographed, culling lousy photos, chatting about highlights of the trip, snacking and taking naps. After dinner we organized all the stuff we had added to the belongings we arrived with, and crammed it all back into our suitcases and bags. If we weren't so tired, we would have been melancholy that the trip was coming to an end.

The Three Stooges??  Amigas.......

Exhausted

In some ways this last 16 days has been pretty rigorous. First you have to keep your belongings pretty lean and organized, otherwise you're lugging around too much stuff and can't find anything. Just the routine of charging cell phones and camera batteries, then remembering to bring the chargers with you every day requires some discipline. (Of course, I was the one that left the adapter at the hotel!) Since we were done with breakfast and on the road most days by 8-8:30, there was no time to dally in the mornings. 

Each day was filled with visits to villages, temples, museums, natural areas, and usually involved a lot of walking, and of course, photographing. Not much down time! We were getting back to the hotel  around 6-7, after which we had dinner and often fell into bed not too long after. There was just enough time to try and get out a few emails, or phone calls, and wash out some undies before bed. There really wasn't any down time, but then, you want to make every minute count because there's so much to see and experience.

Onward and Upward

After breakfast at the hotel with David and his wife, we piled into the van for the last time and headed for the airport. We were sad to say goodbye and leave this chapter, but we were also looking forward to exploring HongKong. The flight was uneventful, and we landed in the afternoon to a gray drizzly day. The hotel was situated right in the central downtown area of the city, which was convenient. However, it was a bit of a shock to see how "mini" the rooms were in the Mini Hotel Central. Basically, the room has a double bed, with a small shelf and tiny walkway to a small bathroom. And that's it. We did adjust, and realize it's all you need because we were gone all day, anyway, and the hotel had a very comfortable lounge area to hang out in. An additional plus was the use of a smart phone to take with us and even call the States for free. Quite a perk!