Horse Trekking!

Mama Naxi/Noxi (can't remember) was kind enough to set us up with a horse trek into the neighboring cliffsides. 

Sadly the horses already looked so tired and this was in the morning...

Nonetheless, we all were thrilled by the prospect of a chill horse ride through the wilds of China.

I was more concerned with staying on my horse....

The hills were treacherous but the horses were relatively steady despite the insane incline.

Of course the landscape was absolutely gorgeous.

They also provided a meal of an original hot pot... though it lacked flavor. Still we were happy to get some food.

We were then taken to a lake with horses in the front yard of this boat house type deal.

The sunflowers were huge and were all over the place!

This man acted as our tour guide of the lake. He also was the engine for the boat.

Lots of vegetation and sadly little dead fish that floated along the surface. Saw lots of beautiful dragonflies and other bugs that skittered along the lake.

Last on our day's schedule was a trip to a traditional Naxi village.

Few photos taken because the place was chock full of goods that we all got carried away in bartering.

A place to rest my head...

and to dance until I drop ;)

New destination... We finally caught up with our other half after our shenanigans in Guilin.

We spent the better part of the sunlight hunting down our hostel and finding some sustenance that wouldn't horribly upset already delicate stomachs...

The area was decorated here and there with these wall murals that were quite massive. You couldn't quite get a full capture of them because the streets were randomly narrow with tiny bridges over the vast waterways that weaved through.

A dear friend and I went hunting for some food and we stumbled upon this adorable restaurant that catered to a multitude of tastes.

Dancing, singing, karaoke, club, bar, and good ol' fun.

Most importantly... burgers.... :DDD

Water Buffalo Pools

After our river adventures, the group split up into two parts; one to get tattoos while the other went on a bike ride to hopefully go swimming.

We found a few water bison/buffalo just wading around in these pools with their nose rings tied with rope to a nearby tree.

They seemed so chill, which really fit the atmosphere.

This was our final destination. When we arrived a couple of people had just gotten out to leave for some other fantastic location. Everyone but me jumped in, which I now regret but I didn't want to swim that day. Perhaps I'll return to this amazing locale at some point in the future.

The bike ride was long but filled to the brim with amazing views of the landscape.

After our day in the sun we were forced to separate and choose once again as a problem occurred with train tickets. Either we could stand in a 17 hour train ride or wait a day and hope for tickets on another train( or two). Seeing as I felt horribly sick (contributed to my not swimming earlier) I elected to wait a day. I was a little heartbroken because that meant I would miss out on Cormorant fishing and potentially another site that was absolutely gorgeous.

Instead we had an early birthday celebration with lots of drinks, dancing, and awkward stories to tell the other group once we met up later on.

I even got roses out of the whole shebang :D