Blobbles, the reason for the delay in England is that a survey was made and it turned out that no Londoner would ever voluntarily travel to Birmingham.

So, no semi naked Brazilians?

Now if Tengchong could just get a little competition it would be nice. The airline has been charging some pretty steep prices so far due to the lack of competition. The 45 minutes TC-KM ride costs the same as a 3 hour KM-BJ one. In other words: I can buy a return London-Beijing for the same money it would cost me to fly from BJ to Tengchong.

Good story yet slightly glossy here and there. Laifeng Mountain is a great place for a drive and a couple of sandwiches and you usually have the place mostly to yourselves. Heshun is adorable, especially around the lakes and ponds on the west side. It's also worth it walking up through the narrow streets where fewer tourists go. Insider tip: You don't actually need to pay the entrance fee if you say you're visiting someone inside or live at one of the guest houses. Alternatively you can turn left at take a side street that will lead you to the back of Heshun where no one is checking you.

I wonder when you lads went to the wetlands. I've driven past it 3 or 4 times and there never seem to be any water. Maybe there's more during the summer but for a wetlands area it sure felt rather dry. The one near Shangri-La is much much better in comparison.

Tengchong is also looking increasingly weird with many new jade and residential areas where absolutely no one lives or has set up shop, and they just keep churning them out.

Tengchong has a relaxed atmosphere compared to many other Yunnan towns and people are nice and generally friendly. There's a sense of community due to the small size of the place that you don't often encounter.

Hear you EjPeter. I miss the Er Kuai a lot. Seems like the only place to get them in Yunnan is Kunming, which is really sad. It's by far my favourite Chinese breakfast snack.