Kai is our Diary writer today.


AACE students often pass the waiting time in airports by playing cards.

The stewardesses played music and danced to entertain the passengers. They were also playing a game where they asked a question and if a passenger knew the answer they would come up and receive a prize. What a wonderful way to be entertained during the 4 hour flight.

We checked in at the Lotus hotel and had a wonderful dinner. We did a bit of shopping. The tailor shops (and the entire block of buildings) that the boys bought their suits in last year had been razed! A new apartment building had sprung up across the street as well.

Ms. Sopper adds:
Today we traveled from Beijing to Kunming. The city of eternal spring did not disappoint. It was warm and sunny and the grassy parks on all sides of the roads were for picnics, naps, and playgrounds. Not one was unoccupied. Our hotel made us the most exquisite dinner. The ginger, garlic and peppers were enough to make the more excitable among us (you figure it out!) swoon. There were also little fried sweet potatoes and corn cakes. After dinner a walk around the hotel showed China in its condition of constant change. The tailor and market place were no more. Instead a three block pile of bricks were in its place. By contrast, an entirely new apartment complex had sprouted where there had been nothing more than a lot last year. Drummond was disappointed, but is taking it in stride confident that we'll find another tailor for him somewhere in our travels. Like Kai says, somehow travel, can be more trying than climbing a Great Wall.

Ni hao!
Today we left from Beijing at 9:00am so we could take a short plane ride to Kunming. For the plane trip Drummond, Oliver, Jesse, Brandy, Grace and wore our soccer jerseys that we had purchased yesterday. Our two hour and 15 minute plane ride went by very quickly. Five of us played a game of cards that lasted for well over an hour and then as the plane was nearing its destination I decided to listen to some music to pass the time. Just as we were descending I happened to look out the window; Kunming is beautiful from above! I was disappointed that I missed the chance to take a picture of the multi-colored terraces.

After landing we picked up our luggage and bought some ice cream. What I had thought to be plain vanilla ice cream actually turned out to be some sort of butter flavored ice cream. I bet you can guess that I didn't finish the whole thing.

After ice cream we packed our stuff onto little carts and shuttled them to our bus's location. When we went to load our luggage, the driver remembered that the cargo bays were full and we had to bring all of our suitcases onto the bus with us. The ride was a little cramped, but it was a great chance to see that fragment of Kunming in which we would be spending a day.

Today has been a long day and I am quite tired. I have noticed that travel days, although they do not require much physical activity, seem to leave me more fatigued than days in which we are sight-seeing and walk ten miles or more.
It's time for me to get some rest; we have to get up fairly early tomorrow for our departure to Dali.
Until I write again,
Zai Jian

The stewardesses on the China Eastern flight to Kunming wore uniforms representing the traditional costumes of the minority peoples of Yunnan province.

Here we are with our luggage after arriving in Kunming. Notice the sign outside the airport letting passengers know what they can and can't bring in.

A man set up his bike repair shop right across the street from our hotel.