14 August

Ouch. Ouch ouch ouch. I'm in pretty bad shape right now...to start off with, I decided to go on a horse trek this morning, and dear old Dobbin managed to tenderize my nether regions pretty thoroughly. It's the first time I've been riding since I rode donkeys at the seaside when I was younger, all those many years ago. Not having often ridden horses, I don't really know what a typical equine digestive system is capable of, but Dobbin certainly seemed one of the more flatulent of his species, which caused me to give the guide a few funny looks until I twigged that it wasn't her. We rode for a few hours, out of Dali and into some of the more "real" Bai villages. Cue lots of staring by everyone at the crazy foreigner on the horse. Aaah, just like being back in Jiayuguan.

After feeling like I wouldn't be able to sit down for a week, we tethered the horse and I went for another ride on Erhai Lake, this time in a rickety metal rowboat. I didn't really see many sights, just relaxed by being rowed around, at least until I received the quite strong offer to row for a while myself, "to see what it was like." I promptly made a complete tit of myself, by showing myself not was strong as the woman rower, but hey, every holiday has to have some embarrassment, right?

So now, with aching arms and tortured backside, I started riding back from the Bai village with my guide. By now, my bum was completely numb, and I'm pretty sure it's been worn down to the bone. A little way down the road to Dali I heard an ominous rumble. Surely, just a truck passing, I told myself, naively as it turns out. A few minutes later it started to drip, which turned into a trickle, then a torrent and finally a waterfall. After standing in some pretty dire shelter for about half an hour I decided enough was enough and gave up on the whole endeavour, catching a bus back to the hotel. So now, I had an aching butt and aching bones from the wet clothes. What could be worse? It turns out that lying on a mattress that felt like it were full of rocks could be worse, as I found out when I stayed in Jim's Tibetan Peace Cafe that night. Needless to say, peace was the last thing on my mind.

After the horse ride, I cruised the markets for random ethnic-looking knick-knacks and once again bumped into my friend from Kunming, thus spending more time than absolutely necessary getting sloshed with him and some new friends. Sounds just like home in some ways...