Around the lake & my birthday party

134 kilometer on my last day as a 25 year old...

Last Friday I went cycling around Dianchi Lake. Dianchi is a big lake (approx. 40km long) just south of Kunming. Since the lake doesn't move I was quite sure that I could cycle around it and end up in Kunming again without getting too lost... And for once it worked!!! The first 40km were great! New, slick roads, hardly any traffic, amazing views and pretty clean air. However after that the circumstances started to deteriorate. Roads got worse (up to a point that there were more holes than actual road) and lots of stinky, big trucks. However I made it and it was a great experience! Although I won't take the same route again, I certainly will go back to the west side of the lake!!

Later that night we had a KTV party for Trish her students. I really am not a big fan of karaoke, but it was fun to see and hear the Chinese students having a great time! Some are very good at it (most of them don't even need to see the lyrics) and of course others suck :-)

Yesterday it was my birthday!! As a surprise Shoshannah took me to Haigen Park where we enjoyed Go Karts, bumper cars, a rocket thing that swings you upside down, sun, grass and beer! It was a very relaxed way to start the day!


Videos of the bumper cars & our space rocket ride...

Later that night we had diner with 15 people at Hong Dou Yuan (our favorite Chinese/Yunnanese restaurant). Lots of good food, beer, bai jiu, presents, songs and fun! Bai jiu is China's national alcohol --> cheap and disgusting! But of course we had to toast with it... (see the "happy" faces below). Since Bonne's (one of the other Dutchies here) birthday is on Tuesday we decided to combine the two and have one big party on our rooftop. I made 10 liters of Chinese style Sangria (again made from the bai jiu) and that together with beer and music made sure we had a blast! We also went to Kundu (the "clubbing" district) afterwards, but for me that was a little too much and had a hard time staying awake in the club... ;-) That's what happens when you get old... haha!





In the next two weeks I have to prepare for classes next year, clean out our apartment and help Shos grade all her papers so we can leave for our holiday around the 7th of July.

Thanks for all your e-cards and text messages!!
The Old Man...