Southbound

en route to Southern China

 

After a 30 hour train ride across asia, we arrived in Xi Shan, Sichuan Provence. Home to a smattering of ethnic minorities, and known for copious amounts of peppers in the food, it made for an amazing first bike tour in China. the Tour began at Luga lake and wound around the lake, across the Yunnan provence border, to Lijiang.

Luga lake, Southern Sichuan Provence

Buddhist Monestary

Smoking of the local wild growing "herb"

village in northern Yunnan Provence

beijing and beyond

Beijing Subway

 

Exerts from a typically poorly translated menu. My personal favorites are the dishes "North Korea is Grim" and "Old Beijing Explodes the Stomach" the latter of which holds a degree of literal truth.

Tiger paws for sale on the streets of Beijing

No longer Ulaanbaatar Bound or even in Mongolia, but as I have been in China for the past month (This blog site is prohibited)  here is a post due post of a trip to the West of Mongolia, home of the Kazaks.

Bayn Olgi, Mongolia

Mongolia's highest mountains, Tavan Bogd.

My Trustee travel buddy, Caitlin, feeling bleary during our 40 hour return bus ride to UB.

The highest peak of the range, huiten uul (cold mountain), in the background

I've made it back to Ulaanbaatar after a summer of science and heaps of fun in Northern Mongolia. Thanks to NSF, the P.I.s and everyone at PIRE Mongolia for the opportunity to participate. Here is a quick intro to some of the cast and crew.

The frenchman- Pierre a postdoc at Penn

The Brit, Laura. A postdoc a Penn

Our cook Hashaa created many a miraculously good meal out of limited ingredients (mainly yak)

Sandak the horse man

Ariunna a fellow Fulbrighter working on a PhD at the University of Wyoming

Boldgiv who heads up the project on the Mongolian side. Seen here taking tree cores

Anna the undergrad very excited about grassland ecology

Farewell bonfire

Mongolian Undergrad, Sereglen, fishing for lenok in Lake khovsgol

One of many a mischevious ground squirrel

dinner

My inaugural bike tour to lake khovsgol was  a success. Looking forward to more time on two wheels come August.

The study site in the Dalbay River Valley near Lake Khovsgol Mongolia taken in Visible and near infrared.

A quick run to Inner Mongolia, China.

 

Bidding farewell to my apartment (view from balcony above) today and heading north to Lake Khovsgol for the summer