| Subject: Trip to China and Mongolia |
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Jerry,
We were there at the same time. I've just returned from China and was also
in Ulaan Baatar for the Naadam festival. What was your mistake in visiting
Mongolia? I found train travel an excellent way to go. In fact I travelled
by train (several) from Helsinki to Guilin.
I was surprised at how clean and tidy China is. Although people are constant litterers every town has an army of street cleaners keeping everything spick and span. Yungshou, near Guilin, was especially beautiful, it has those pointy limestone peaks that appear in nearly every Chinese painting. I also travelled down the Yangtse and recommend the Three Gorges for everyone's Chinese itinerary. In 2006, I think, the big Yangtse dam will be finished and over the next few years the river (then a lake) will rise 175 metres. Although the Three Gorges will still be there they won't be so visibly deep. Patrick Horton |