We were meant to spend 5 days paddling the Mekong River stopping in the afternoon to make camp and get some camps in, however on our 4th day of camp some local chinese police came and told us we couldn't paddle any more. They wanted us to take out at camp. We layed over a day and did classes the next day while we worked out a deal with the police. For photo class we hiked up into the hills to a hotsprings and small monastery.

Working the Fields: ISO:200 F-stop:6.3 Shutter Speed:1/160

We walked through a lot of very unfertile, dry fields that the locals were laboring away in.

Hiking: ISO:200 F-stop:9.0 Shutter Speed:1/320

Sam Fulbright hiking up the mountainside.

Prayer Statue and Monastery: ISO:200 F-stop:5.0 Shutter Speed:1/100

We came across this really cool prayer statue with the monastery in the background.

It was a really fun hike, and found out that we would be able to paddle down to an easier spot to take out the next day, which meant we missed a few miles of the Mekong, but wouldn't have to take out in such a bad spot.

We drove about 12 hours out of Lijiang over a 14500 foot mountain pass. Everything was covered in snow and we had snowball fights. We put in right above a huge rapid. We spent a little while scouting and those who were running it did and the rest portaged. We continued down through more big water until we reached the biggest and last rapid of the day. It consisted of a lot of water in a very narrow steep space. It created the biggest crashing wave I have ever seen, a wave that you would not want to surf voluntarily. After those who wanted to ran it, we continued down to camp.

The next morning we awoke, packed all our gear into rafts and headed a quarter mile downstream to a rapid that had a super sick wave in it. We spent a few hours surfing and going big.

Mekong Blunt: ISO:200 F-stop:5.6 Shutter Speed:1/1000

David Hughes throwing a big blunt early in the session.

Mekong McNasty: ISO:400 F-stop:5.6 Shutter Speed:1/800

Tino Specht looking over his shoulder to finish a snappy McNasty.

Mekong Blunt2: ISO:200 F-stop:5.6 Shutter Speed:1/1250

Sam Fulbright throws a huge ariel blunt.

We continued downstream after a few hours and spent two more days on the mekong running big water and playing, however none of it compared to the first day's big water and the second day's wave. 

After our two days in Kunming we gathered our gear and borded an overnight sleeper bus. The bus has two levels of beds all about a foot to short. We arrived in Lijiang the next morning after a not so refreshing sleep on the bus and walked through old town to our hostile. Lijiang is set up into a new and an old city, the new city is just like any other city, but the old city is all small cobblestone roads and small traditional shops. We spent a few days in Lijiang preparing for our Mekong trip.

Stone Arch Bridge with Reflexion: ISO:200 F-stop:5.6 Shutter Speed:1/1

The old city of Lijiang is set up as a series of cobblestone walkways among river channels. This is an old stone arch bridge that crosses one of the small river channels. At night the channels are lit up by lights and you can purchase lotus flowers made of paper with candels in them that you can float down the rivers.

Morgan on a Horse: ISO:200 F-stop:5.6 Shutter Speed:1/125

Old style people dressed in fur carrying guns and swords walk around with horses that you can ride for a small fee.

Young Monks: ISO:400 F-stop:4.5 Shutter Speed:1/60

We rented bikes and rode them about 7 miles out of Lijiang and then hiked about a mile into the mountains to a Buddhist Monastery. We each burned incense, left a donation, and received a small prayer bead. We were not allowed to use cameras or wear glasses, shoes, or hats inside the inner building.

Morgan, Tino, and Dave: ISO:400 F-stop:4.8 Shutter Speed:1/80

Morgan, Tino, and Dace are watching a guy pull ginger candy. It is similar to salt water taffy except it dries up and tastes like ginger. 

After spending a couple days in Shanghai, New River Academy gathered all of our gear and got on the subway of Shanghai. After a long tiring hike we arrived at the Shanghai train station where we got onto a train and settled in for the 37 hour ride to Kunming. Upon arrival, we once again hiked across a city to a hostel where we would stay one night and two days. During this time we were able to spend time exploring the city and finding any last minute items.

Kunming Arch's: ISO:200 F-stop:6.3 Shutter Speed:1/160

These arch's are scattered around Kunming. Each has different chinese symbols above the main arch and different animals above the two smaller arches. This one and one other were lined up right outside our hostile.

School Children Brawling: ISO:200 F-stop:5.0 Shutter Speed:1/100

While exploring we came across a school yard. We stopped to take pictures and a bunch of children came running up to say hello. They asked us every question in English that they knew. These two were fighting for the attention of my camera. 

Stone Dragon: ISO:200 F-stop:5.6 Shutter Speed:1/125

Sculptures like this are littered around Kunming along with tons of other really cool stone and metal structures and statues. 

These are some photos taken during my stay in a hostile in Shanghai. We stayed for two nights and spent a significant amount of time wandering around the streets taking pictures and seeing some awesome things. We were staying on one of the only historic chinese streets that had old-time vendors and street shops selling all sorts of cool things.

 
Kitten on a Bike: ISO:400 F-stop:5.0 Shutter Speed:1/100

My Turtle ISO:800 F-stop:4.5 Shutter Speed:1/15

 I bought this turtle for 15 yuan($2) and had it for a few days then it ran away.

Sea Turtle ISO:800 F-stop:4.0 Shutter Speed:1/40 

Pretty cool sea turtle that was being sold where I bought my first turtle. I really wanted it, but had no way of keeping it, and it was probably pretty expensive.