3 August - Mengla

We took a slightly longer ride into Mengla, the large border town for this part of China. The ride was extremely muddy, my sandals went buried into the mud and my bicycle was mudded along with it. Poor Winson, my bike mechanic, would be extremely heartbroken to see the nicely polished Scott Montana that he put in so much effort is in this current state. I am also quite heartbroken to see that the bicycle is scratched by all the sand/dust/grit and mudded. Haiz. Liddat how to sell it away? How to finance my road bike? AIYAH!

Anyways that aside, there's a teahouse next to our hostel today. And for the first time in my entire life I actually got to see the art of tea-drinking unfold in front of me (and my muddy feet). The ladies in the teahouse were extremely nice to entertain me. And after some PR-ing, we are invited to this nice lady's tea-pressing company in Jinghong, the regional capital. I am looking forward to taking photos of this ancient art of tea pressing, since it improved how tea is shipped all over the world. Turns out that Xishuangbanna (the region we are at) is actually one of the largest tea-producing areas in China.

Contacted Auntie Darren, who's located in Chengdu. Absolutely good news, since I'd have a host of some kind once I am there. Ah... Good ole Singaporean hospitality. :) Looking forward!!!