Portrait of an LBX

An old crippled man sits on a hill overlooking the town of Langmusi, or Lahmo, and its monasteries.

A Tibetan yak herder gestures while telling us about the anti-Chinese protests in his town in 2008, part of a larger series of protests and rioting across Tibet and Tibetan areas in Sichuan that took place in the lead-up to the Olympics. He was jailed for 20 days for his part in the protests, while others we met had been imprisoned for as long as a year. The large army presence in this area is evidence of how closely Tibetans and their religion are monitored and restricted in China.

Hats were pretty popular at this market on our way out of Yunnan.

Spotted in a small-town market on our way out of Yunnan.

Watching life go by.

A farmer at a little market on our way out of Yunnan. Yunnan has been great for markets.

Finally, we come across a man wearing something besides Western-style clothes! Although, having no other reference points, I have no idea whether he is Hani (哈尼族), Yi (彝族) or Yao (瑤族). Given that I saw him in the Lvchun (綠春) market, I'd bet Hani though.

One starts seeing these massive...bongs (煙筒)...pretty much upon entering Yunnan province. Holding them at a slant, the men (never the women!) smoke cigarettes or pipe tobacco (煙絲), pulling the smoke through the water that sits in the bottom of the cylinder. On our last trip here, most of these were made of bamboo, but now they unfortunately seem to be trending toward metal or plastic.

In contrast to the women, we have yet to see the men in Yunnan wearing traditional or colorful outfits. Perhaps that's only for the tourist zones.

Once we left Guangxi and the misty/drizzly weather we had been experiencing for over a week, we immediately found ourselves in the midst of a severe drought in the mountains of Yunnan where it has not rained for six months. We met a local farmer on the road, who has little to do because he can't plant his fields. Judging by his friendliness, love of hand-holding and the alcohol on his breath, however, I'd say he's found a tolerable pastime until the rains come.