To Gaoligong and Tengchong From Baoshan Airport we drove on a new highway heading toward Myanmar and Gaoligongshan Mountain Reserve on the border with Myanmar - a four-hour drive. The roads were new and in excellent condition. A famous restaurant serving fish hit the spot. The fish were grown in pools surrounding the café. They were nicely spiced and grilled. The fish was eaten as a first course then many more dishes followed. It was a feast. The area is known for growing coffee, dragon fruit, and selling expensive civet cat coffee (more on this below). Farmers were selling roadside fruits - plums, guavas, and mangos. The mangos were delicious and fresh from the trees, but the green plums were so sour. Gaoligongshan National Park is near large agricultural plantations, where the forests have vanished. This is where rice, sugarcane, mango, and coffee are now planted. Shifting cultivation was evident from the look of the degraded hillsides. Near the entrance to Gaoligongshan Nature Re...

Kathmandu to Mt Kailash The Friendship Bridge was the point where we entered China and left Nepal. Our papers were thoroughly checked by Chinese guards many times starting from the middle of the bridge until we emerged through the back door of the immigration building on the Chinese side. Books and magazines were being scrutinized for the word "Dalai Lama" and if found they would be confiscated. Once over the border, the first stop was lunch in the border town of Zhangmu. Money changers are like flies and hard to get rid of. This was the start of the Friendship Road at 2300 meters from here it climbed quickly toward the next town of Nyalam where we would sleep.  Nyalam was the stop for the first night - an unimpressive town - lined with hotels, stores selling Cordyceps that many think will help with altitude sickness, and dingy-looking restaurants. It was hard to sleep the first night at an elevation of 3700 meters complicated by being in a noisy room near the toilets. ...