Debout, les damnés de la terre
Debout, les forçats de la faim
La raison tonne en son cratère
C'est l'éruption de la fin
Du passé faisons table rase
Foules, esclaves, debout, debout
Le monde va changer de base
Nous ne sommes rien, soyons tout
|: C'est la lutte finale
Groupons-nous, et demain
L'Internationale
Sera le genre humain :|

Il n'est pas de sauveurs suprêmes
Ni Dieu, ni César, ni tribun
Producteurs, sauvons-nous nous-mêmes
Décrétons le salut commun
Pour que le voleur rende gorge
Pour tirer l'esprit du cachot
Soufflons nous-mêmes notre forge
Battons le fer quand il est chaud
|: C'est la lutte finale
Groupons-nous, et demain
L'Internationale
Sera le genre humain :|

L'état comprime et la loi triche
L'impôt saigne le malheureux
Nul devoir ne s'impose au riche
Le droit du pauvre est un mot creux
C'est assez, languir en tutelle
L'égalité veut d'autres lois
Pas de droits sans devoirs dit-elle
Egaux, pas de devoirs sans droits
|: C'est la lutte finale
Groupons-nous, et demain
L'Internationale
Sera le genre humain :|

Hideux dans leur apothéose
Les rois de la mine et du rail
Ont-ils jamais fait autre chose
Que dévaliser le travail
Dans les coffres-forts de la bande
Ce qu'il a créé s'est fondu
En décrétant qu'on le lui rende
Le peuple ne veut que son dû.
|: C'est la lutte finale
Groupons-nous, et demain
L'Internationale
Sera le genre humain :|

Les rois nous saoulaient de fumées
Paix entre nous, guerre aux tyrans
Appliquons la grève aux armées
Crosse en l'air, et rompons les rangs
S'ils s'obstinent, ces cannibales
A faire de nous des héros
Ils sauront bientôt que nos balles
Sont pour nos propres généraux
|: C'est la lutte finale
Groupons-nous, et demain
L'Internationale
Sera le genre humain :|

Ouvriers, paysans, nous sommes
Le grand parti des travailleurs
La terre n'appartient qu'aux hommes
L'oisif ira loger ailleurs
Combien, de nos chairs se repaissent
Mais si les corbeaux, les vautours
Un de ces matins disparaissent
Le soleil brillera toujours.
|: C'est la lutte finale
Groupons-nous, et demain
L'Internationale
Sera le genre humain :|

The Billy Bragg version of the International on YouTube

Greece Closed Its Door to Me

Finally the MGS was fed up with the "increasingly entangled bureaucratic procedures and demands" from the Greek authorities and has decided to give up their efforts to obtain the visa endorsement for me. We had been forewarned that the application could take up to a year to process. It's been 10 months since I "officially" started the visa application. Now at last at least I have a confirmed reply.

So for the moment Greece has shut me out. But there are many other doors open. The questions is: which one shall I choose?

Replicating Toscana

La Replica in Costruzione

Toscana

A real estate developer is bulldozing on the hillside a stone's throw away from my home, to make way for Italian-designed lavish villas modeled after those of Toscana. There will also be a replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, it promised its potential clients in the advert.

成都有機小市場

the Small but Growing Market

Podocarpus macrophyllus

In a desperate pursuit of safer food , I fled to Chengdu to attend the monthly Little Organic Market organized by CURA (Chengdu Urban Rivers Association, 成都河流研究會). The market was held in the courtyard of a vegetarian restaurant called Lotus on the Water （清水荷花）, which was located in another newly renovated historical district of the city - Wenshufang （文殊坊）, right beside the renowned Wen Shu Yuan, or the Mañju Bhuddist Temple（文殊院）.

There were only a handful of sellers and a small number of goods on sale/display. The fresh produce were from Anlong village （安龙村）(where CURA's pilot CSA project was based) and two other commercial organic farms. The rest were packaged foods and personal care products imported from Taiwan and the West - a miniature show of some popular items that one can find in a health food store in western countries. Most goods were sold at extortionate prices, making me feel as if I were in London again.

Indeed, one commercial farm sold their organic eggs at CNY40 (approx. USD6) per pack of 10. If I remember correctly, that was more expensive than the price at Tesco in London! I don't know how much the farm's actual cost was for producing those eggs. Maybe it was really that high. I just naturally resented the idea that healthy organic food should be reserved for the privileged few... Under the disguise of the "organic" label, corporate agriculture could easily mislead the "organic movement"...

One will be surprised to see the long list of certified organic foods if he takes a look at the website of China Organic Food Certification Center. However, most of the products are exported to serve the high end market and few are available to the "undeserving" masses who are only fed the fabulous "faked in China" junk...

Some volunteers prepared a vegetarian buffet lunch with the fresh produce brought in by the farmers. The menu consisted of brown rice, steamed wholewheat buns, steamed lotus roots with sticky rice stuffing, steamed taros and purple yams, boiled pumpkin and assorted blanched leafy veggies. I devoured my portion "like a prisoner who had just been set free" (my mother would have thus commented:) Healthy organic food tasted truely different and my body told me it felt great.

After the market, I escaped into Wen Shu Yuan and spent the rest of the afternoon there indulging in the tranquility and positive aura that pervaded the zen temple.

In the courtyard in front of one of the temple's many halls, I found two elegant Podocarpus macrophyllus （罗汉松）trees. Podocarpus macrophyllus trees don't grow very big. It is common to see them grown as shrubs but I don't remember seeing trees of this size anywhere before. They must be really old!

枇杷花開

Eriobotrya japonica (photo courtesy Luigi FDV)

枇杷開花了，我又開始期待，它甘美的果實。

奇文共賞：《施氏食獅史》

這幅美洲獅是07年殼牌野生動物攝影獎
10歲以下組的獲獎作品之一

朋友發來的只能看不能讀的奇文《施氏食獅史》，通篇只用一個音shi。據說作者是著名語言學家趙元任。

石室詩士施氏，嗜獅，誓食十獅。施氏時時適市視獅。十時，適十獅適市。是時，適施氏適市。氏視是十獅，恃矢勢，使是十獅逝世。氏拾是十獅屍， 適石室。石室濕，氏使侍拭石室。石室拭，氏始試食是十獅。食時，始識是十獅，實十石獅屍 。試釋是事。

我的古文沒學好，有幾句沒看明白，但我琢磨是事之釋，大約是十獅嗜奶，不幸中毒逝世成了石獅；而貪食的施氏嗜食獅，亦因此遭了報應。

A Marginal Win

Finally I chose this vintage Otagiri china vase... I waited until the last minute to place my bid in order to guarantee my chance to win it. There were so many tantalizing violet-themed collectibles on ebay, nevertheless, as I was simply trying to use up the small remaining balance on a bank card which was not worth keeping, my choices were limited by my meager funds. Yet I am delighted to have won by a small margin this elegant Japanese vase featuring violets...

A Loss So Dear

I just had a major computer crash which cost me a few days of work, a lot of patience and the chance to win this charming vintage Lefton china box adorned with violets. Alas!

高地*幽蘭(9.9 - 9.11)

高地旅館大門

雲中的玉帶路-1

雲中的玉帶路-2

從玉帶路看大理壩子和洱海

蛛絲毛藍耳草（Cyanotis arachnoidea）

形似飛鴿的唇形科（？）奇花

野菊（種未知）

野牡丹（Melastoma sp.？）

紫雀花（Parochetus communis ）叢中的

緣毛鳥足蘭（Satyrium ciliatum）

又回到了大理，還趕上了好天氣，自然要再爬蒼山。依舊沿天龍八部影城旁熟悉的步道向上攀登。一個多月過去，沿途開花的植物又有不同，仍讓我無數次駐足為他們留影。所以儘管8點剛過就進了山，抵達中和寺已過中午。

未及進寺朝拜，我先去尋訪了隱匿於寺後深山中的高地旅館。因為事先未與主人打招呼，我還擔心會吃閉門羹，畢竟現在已入淡季，山下古城裡的旅舍都十分空閒，想必這高山深處的旅館一定更冷清。轉過幾道彎，望見院門大開，才讓我放了心。門上的對聯寫著：隱林中繪光影故事，居雲上享花鳥心情。可見主人的超脫。

門旁的牌匾上是摘錄自《道德經》中的一段話：不出戶，知天下；不窺牗，見天道。其出彌遠，其知彌少。是以聖人不行而知，不見而名，無為而成。

Without leaving his door
He knows everything under heaven.
Without looking out of his window
He knows all the ways of heaven.
For the further one travels
The less one knows.
Therefore the Sage arrives without going,
Sees all without looking,
Does nothing, yet achieves everything.

旅館的房舍雖然簡陋，卻無妨暫避塵囂的俗人來此分享主人的“花鳥心情”。終年不變的房價高出古城一倍還多，但考慮到主人僱傭了18匹馬，費時一個多月才把家當搬至山上的艱辛，也算合理。無奈在結塘時兩次遇盜，盤纏已所剩無幾，我躊躇了一會兒，決定還是先去中和寺看看（或許寺中亦可藉宿？）再作決定。

中和寺雖名為寺，其實是個道觀。大概是緊鄰索道，遊人紛擾之故，感覺寺裡仙氣不足而俗氣有餘，令人不免掃興。

看看天色尚早，我把原來計劃明日的行程提前到今天，畅游玉帶路北段（中和寺以北）。一路依然風光無限，而除我之外，更無第二個遊人，唯流泉飛瀑、奇花異卉一路相伴。有護欄的路在桃溪戛然而 止，通往梅溪的路口豎起了“遊人止步”的牌子。前行的路更加險峻，且無護欄，試著走了一段，念及自己是獨自一人，我還是謹慎地選擇了折回。終於決定不投宿高地，下山回城了。

今日最動人的發現乃是一處峭壁上飛泉邊的一大片紫雀花（Parochetus communis ）和紫雀花叢中的一株香氣淡雅的的緣毛鳥足蘭（Satyrium ciliatum）。

丽江浮光掠影(9.7-9.8)

I took a most pleasant walk from Shuhe to Baisha on this road

I evaded the rain and contemplated in this illuminated temple

Peristrophe japonica (九頭獅子草)

Coallodiscus flabellatus (石胆草)?

Yet another unidentified violet

10 years ago when I first visited Lijiang (丽江), it was already a hot tourist destination. Now "the old town has been almost totally taken over by outsiders and the streets are simply packed with tourists," other travelers kept telling me.

So I only made a brief stop in Lijinag on my way back. I visited Shuhe (束河) and Baisha (白沙) (which are also part of the World Cultural Heritage site), the two villages not far from town but far quieter than the old town...

I found a lot of violets in the temple complex where the famous Baisha murals were kept.

花落阿花落（8.28-8.31）

The small village on the bank of Lancangjiang River（澜沧江)
was where we started our expedition

Ahualuo merrily runs through the lush forest

The Lisu (傈僳) hunter with his crossbow

Unidentified violet 1

Unidentified violet 2

A violet growing on a moss-covered tree trunk in the stream

Viola diffusa（蔓茎堇菜）?

Helwingia japonica （青荚叶/叶上珠）

I joined in a botanical expedition to Ahualuo River（阿花落河）in Weixi（维西）County. It was part of the EIA work for the proposed hydro-power station on the river.

8.28
The scenery on both sides of the road leading to Weixi was breathtaking. Quiescent Nixi（尼西）Tibetan village, nestled in a deep valley about half an hour's drive from the botanic garden, awed me at first sight. Only the fast-moving van prevented me from taking a good picture of it. Along the way, I saw many houses built on steep slopes and quite a few temples on high cliffs or mountaintops.

8.29
We set off at around 9 a.m.. After crossing a suspension bridge, we reached the place where Ahualuo mingles with Lancangjiang (澜沧江), and from there we started our exploration.

I spotted my first violet of the day soon after, and it was in flower! It looked like Viola acuminata to me except that there were no purple stripes on its lower petal. Later on I found several more species (V. diffusa?, V. magnifica?, etc. )on the roadside, but only the one which resembled V. acuminata was still in flower. The elevation of the place was lower than Jietang and the weather was much warmer. I was surprised yet delighted to find violets still in bloom at this time of year.

We reached our camp site quite early. I was surprised that my teammates did not bring any tents. They simply cut some tall wormwood （蒿）stalks to put on the ground and we slept on them in the open with only a plastic sheet hanging on the walnut tree to provide some cover.

8.30
I was not able to sleep much and got up at 3 due to the cold. Fortunately our guide kept the fire going all night through. So I sat close to the fire and waited impatiently for the dawn to break and the temperature to rise.

The journey today was more difficult than yesterday. We walked on a rough narrow path alongside Ahualuo River. But the spectacular view rewarded our endeavours. Ahualuo ran merrily through the lush forest dwelt by a myriad of wonderful plants, including quite a few species of violets. I had to make quick stops to take pictures as I did not want to be left far behind.

After we had reached the first inspection site, our guide did not know the way further into the deeper mountains and we were stuck on a slope. Luckily just then we met a Lisu (傈僳) hunter who was collecting mushrooms in the forest. He agreed to show us the way. We passed his home in the forest and he invited us in and treated us with fresh umes (Prunus nume, 梅子) picked from his tree.

8.31
On our way back to the village, we ran into a lot of children harvesting walnuts, or herding flocks of goats and pigs in the forest. I also spotted a number of cultivated fields on precipitous slopes. We were told that almost all the Lisu people who had traditionally lived on the mountains were relocated to the more "civilized" flatland area. However, like the hunter we met, many have returned after a while because the mountains were where their hearts belonged and on which their livelihoods depended.

Alas! Another free-running river, home of the Lisu people, and a haven for wildlife is falling victim of "development"...

结塘花花世界（8.12 - 9.6）

Napa Lake （纳帕海）below the garden

On rainy days, I take this path home

Hyoscyamus niger （莨菪）

Cyananthus delavayi （蓝钟花）

Gentiana forrestii（苍白龙胆）

Cute leaves of Viola rockiana （圆叶黄堇菜）

the one and only V. rockiana in flower

V. rockiana in fruit

the bird-watching tower overlooking Napa Lake

My first night at Jietang (aka Shanggelila or Shangri-la, by which it is known today. Jietang was its original Tibetan name) Alpine Botanic Garden was quite miserable - after a weary 8-hour bus ride, there was no hot water for me to take a shower, and the night was cold.

The next morning I woke up with a headache - a sign of altitude sickness. To go to the main building of the garden from the dormitory beside the nursery where I was provided lodge, I had to walk acrosss a wet grassland, climb over a fence preventing the intrusion of grazing buffaloes and yaks, and finally trudge up a muddy path through the woods. Owing to the high altitude (3,390 m) of the place, I had to walk slowly and gasp for breath every few steps. Fortunately my situation improved gradually during the day. Although the canteen food (half-cooked rice, veggies cooked in GMO oil, etc.) was quite an attack to my stomach, I feasted my eyes on the wonderful array of wild and planted flowers and the fabulous view of Napa Lake which is just below the garden.

Due to my extended stay in Dali, I missed the chance to join the garden's field work team to do some botanical explorations in the surrounding areas. My voluntary work, once again was to help them with some translations. After all, it was the rainy season and we had to stay indoors quite a lot of the time.

On the 14th, I spotted my first violet of Jietang near the relics of a temple (a sacred site of worshiping for the local Tibetans). It was the delicate Viola rockiana. It had long finished flowering and most the plants I saw had dispersed their seeds, leaving empty capsules as a sign for me to distinguish them from other violet-leaved look-alikes. Later on I found 2 or 3 other species of violets in the garden and its surroundings. But without their flowers, I was not able to identify which species they were. According to the Flora of Yunnan, there are 56 species of violets in this province, which has long been renowned to be the "Kingdom of Plants" and a paradise for plant hunters.

It was very sunny on Saturday (August 16). I went into town in the afternoon. On the way, I had a glimpse of Songzanlin Temple（松赞林寺）tucked in the green mountains in the distance. The whole temple glittered under the brilliant sun, looking otherworldly. It was a dazzling view!

The old town of Jietang is much smaller, compared to those of Dali and Lijiang. I wandered around and indulged in some little tourist's pleasures. I stayed the night in a small inn converted from an old traditional Tibetan house.

I spent the whole Sunday morning in Songzanlin Temple. It was the first Tibetan Buddhist temple that I have visited. I did not have any enlightening encounters with any master lamas, as I had highly anticipated; but I did have a few interesting botanical discoveries, including this outstanding plant with an extraordinary name in Chinese: 莨菪（天仙子）

Heavy rain on the 25th and 26th flooded the entrance to the nursery. My commuting between the main building and the nursery became even more adventurous...

On September 2, I finally spotted the one and only V. rockiana in flower on the side of the path leading up the mountain behind the garden. This lonely little late bloomer with delicate leaves became the second yellow-flowered violet on my record of violet sightings in the wild.

The weather is getting colder as the villagers start to harvest their highland barley and euphorbias begin to turn read. Before long the grasslands will become a sea of red. The black-necked cranes are expected to come soon to winter at Napa Lake. I wish I could stay here and wait for them, but alas the Moon Festival is calling me home...

Two weeks in Dali（7.29-8.11)

民宿窗外所見

在大理度過了閒適的兩週。十年前匆匆走過留下的遺憾，這次算是得了些補償。行前最渴望暢遊洱海，因為差不多已有半年沒能親近本色自然的水體了，可是洱海的水質令人失望，加之船租昂貴，未能出海蕩舟。這兩週的高潮都留在了蒼山。

到達當晚投宿山麓三塔倒影公園旁的青年旅舍。次日搬至洱海門外的民宿，安頓妥當便趕赴與玄云道兄的約會。玄兄與我分享了他的學道經歷，還領我去觀瞻了“道廬”遺址，亂草雜樹中殘垣斷壁猶在，只是曾在那裡結廬修行的隱者早已遁跡於市。

31日跟隨民宿主人和他一幫“仲一網”的朋友去爬蒼山，他們選了一條未走過的線路，預定目的地是黑龍潭。從古城西門搭車至灣橋，再走過一段鄉村小路，很快便到了山腳下。因為領隊失職，倉促湊成的一行人不久就走散了，迷失在山林間，幸遇一採蕈人指引，轉而奔向蓮花峰下的保和寺。保和寺未對外開放，且地處偏僻，因而顯得格外幽靜。我們這群不速之客卻受到了非常的禮遇，暢飲了山泉沖泡的蒼山茶，又享用了一頓用野蕈等烹製的豐盛齋宴。茶足飯飽，一位熱心的居士領我們去探訪了寺後密林中的一處聖地。是日陽光甚猛，樹蔭庇護下的林中空地成了我們休憩的樂園，大家各擇一處宜人的所在，或倚或躺，舒服地打了個盹兒。也有閒不住的，跟著那位居士採集野蕈去了。如此消磨至傍晚，用畢午間剩下的美食，才依依不捨地作別古寺，返回古城。此行還有一驚喜是在尋寺途中發現了一叢盛開著的身形袖珍的堇菜（種未辨）。

8月2日騎車去了喜洲。嚴家大院熙熙攘攘的旅行團隊讓人望而卻步，村中其他的老房子倒是亦有許多可觀之處，只是中午時分下起了雨，在四方街的小攤兒叫了碗餌絲吃著躲雨，雨勢漸弱後便動身回城了。

3日獨自循經典步道再爬蒼山。8時許從旅舍出發，沿人民路、三月街行至山腳，踏上條石鋪就的登山步道已過9時。步道維護得不錯，行走容易，但沿途除邂逅一、兩個採草藥和野蕈的當地人外，未見第二個登山者。我一路慢慢悠悠，不時停下來拍攝各色野花，近11時才到達玉帶路。玉帶路開鑿於半山腰，連接了幾座山峰，蜿蜒三十餘里。我到達的地方靠近鳳眼洞，看看天色尚早，我選擇了向南而行，把中和寺、桃溪方向路程較短的北線留給下次了。玉帶路所處的位置十分險峻，很多路段的護欄外就是萬丈深淵，不過步道本身卻非常平坦，甚至時有景區管理處的巡山員騎著腳踏車與我擦肩而過。如此平坦的高山步道於我是頭一次體驗，更難得當日遊人甚少，感覺妙極。行至近七龍女池時下了陣雨，躲在凸出的巨岩下看蒸騰的雨霧在山間舒卷翻飛，原本晴空下一覽無遺的山體霎時變得虛無縹緲，恍若身臨仙境。七龍女池確是處勝地，但入口處熱鬧的飲食攤實在是大煞風景。行至玉帶路南端盡頭的蒼山大峽谷已是下午5時，峽谷景色迷人，但念著還要徒步下山，只能在觀光平台上貪婪地俯視片刻，未下到谷中。相機的電池也早已耗盡，無法把這美景攝入鏡。從感通索道旁沿清碧溪下山的小路不好走，石階步道止於索道下的進山收費亭，沿一段碎石鋪成的小路下到溪谷中，在清碧溪的巨石陣裡跳來跳去，穿行了好一陣，才又發現了溪流彼岸接續的下一段小徑。沒走一會兒，又需涉水到對岸才能接著走......如此這般在溪谷中忽左忽右，一會兒小心翼翼地涉水，一會兒在草深過膝的小徑上疾行，緊趕慢趕走了大約兩個小時，才終於下到山腳的村子裡。粗略估算，這一天所走的路程不下60裡。因為遇雨染了寒濕之氣，加上體力透支，感冒不期而至。

4日下雨，待在旅舍休整了一天。5日是挖色趕集的日子，雖然身體不適，但想到一旦錯過就需再等10天，況且早起見到天色放晴，還是勉力坐上公交車趕去了挖色。挖色的集市令人掃興，雨後的露天市場因泥濘而更顯得髒亂，售賣的貨品除了幾種未曾見過的蔬菜讓我還有點兒新鮮感之外，其餘實在是乏善可陳。光邑、小成和大成村中的景緻也並無特別動人之處。幾個村子一圈兒轉下來已近傍晚，我的感冒症狀也越來越重了，於是和路上結識的旅伴決定租車直接趕往江尾。挖色至江尾的路況不大好，到處坑坑洼窪的，司機說是為修建大麗鐵路運送物資的重型卡車碾壓所致。司機在南詔風情島旁的玉磯島為我們稍作停留，讓我們溜達了一圈兒，稍後在車上從高處瞥見了一眼雙廊漁村。行前所讀宣傳品中描述的雙廊至挖色這一段最美的湖濱沒能打動我，或許和當日行色太匆忙且天氣、身體都欠佳不無關係。相信若是風和日暖時沿湖濱騎行或漫步感覺會不一樣。只是總的來說，洱海的確是不干淨了。

6日至11日待在古城養病。每日早餐後從洱海門進城，沿人民路信步至復興路口的花攤兒買些香花兒（白蘭、晚香玉、茉莉），再折返至人民路中段的露天菜市採購些新鮮有趣的蔬果（包括各種可入饌的花兒），回到旅舍烹煮。午睡後再到附近閒逛一圈兒，晚餐後再散步到人民路上的雜貨店買酸奶。

這兩週嘗試過的新鮮有趣兒的蔬（花）果羅列如下：
海菜（Ottelia acuminata）- 海菜芋頭湯
金雀花（Parochetus communis）- 金雀花炒雞蛋
情人果 （某種茄科植物果實）- 清炒情人果
仙人掌果 （應是Opuntia monacantha）
百合花（Lilium sp.）- 清炒百合花
芽荷（疑似某種薑科植物的鱗莖）- 涼拌芽荷
草芽（Typha sp.?）

我的第一个同胞CS Host

I had already booked a bed at a youth hostel, but out of impulse, I did a search on CS just to see if there were any interesting members in Kunming. Tao's profile caught my attention at once because it looked as though he was a true yogi. Yoga is in nowadays. There are loads of people who practice it, but true yogis are as rare as authentic TCM doctors. I sent Tao a message immediately to ask if he could possibly host me for a night or two. He replied promptly and said yes.

Tao was cautious not to reveal his address to me. He said he would meet me at a coffee shop. I think it was sensible of him to take such precautions in the wake of the lack of trust and accountability in today's Chinese society.

Tao had an ice hockey game that evening. I was really surprised that he played ice hockey. What a high carbon emission game, I thought. Imagine the amount of fuel needed to cool down the stadium!

I arrived at the coffee shop very early. When Tao finished his game and drove to the coffee shop, I had waited there for about an hour. I was glad that I passed his inspection from through the window of his car. He took me home.

On the way, Tao asked me what I did. Like many times before, I again stumbled over words over this simple question. What am I? Permaculture activist? Unwaged voluntary worker? Freelance translator? Global trotter in search of the Tao? I was not sure which identity would fit this particular context.

Tao was obviously irritated by my ambiguity because the next morning he asked me the same question again. It took me a lot of explanations to clear his doubts. We had no time to discuss anything further, as he got busy soon after. So I left to see my anthropologist friend.

I texted Tao to ask him if I could sit in on his evening class. He said no but offered me a special discount for a trial session which I gladly accepted. The session was a little too challenging for me, but I more or less managed to do most of the postures. It felt good to stretch the parts of my body that had rarely been exercised.

Tao was a very good teacher. The standard of his class was true to his fame as the first Chinese to graduate from the esteemed Vivekananda yoga school in India.

On my last night at Tao's, we finally had a chance to have an open-ended chat. He gave me some interesting and insightful perspectives over my mid-life crisis.

I was blessed to have made my first stop at Tao's in my quest for the Tao in amazing Yun'nan...

逃

There was only a faint tinge of blue in the smoggy sky despite that it was a sunny day. The air was stagnant and filled with suspended particles. In the filthy polluted river, lots of dead fish floated in the toxic water. Some neighbour died and his/her family has set up a shack on the narrow pathway in front of our apartment building, as the venue for their mourning ritual which featured mahjong playing, deafening firecrackers at regular intervals, the loud and frantic singing of a hired street band and of course endless eating and drinking... I braved through the shack, a run-down bridge with a "Dilapidated bridge. No passing" sign on both sides (the sign has been put up there for ages but the bridge has not been repaired) and some dirty streets laden with garbage and an occasional dead mouse. Finally after carefully crossing a road where lots of drivers would turn a blind eye to the red light, I reached a college campus which was the only place nearby (within half an hour's walk) that was suitable for a stroll. However, I was stopped by the guards at the gate. They told me that the college was closed to the public. I tried to argue with them but to no avail...

ENOUGH!!!

Fortunately I am escaping to my shangri-la the day after tomorrow. But I feel very bad for leaving my family behind to struggle in this miserable slum in the monstrous city.

Bird Talk: Birds that Laugh and Birds that Feed on Flowers

笼中的笑翠鸟

B发给我一段有趣的变形猫头鹰的视频链接，讓我想起了一些留給我深刻印象的鳥兒：

首先想到的是產自澳洲的Kookaburra，一種會笑的胖乎乎的翠鳥，最初從澳洲朋友那兒聽說這種鳥時，全然沒想到這壯碩的大塊頭和自小熟識的體態輕盈、羽如藍緞的翠鳥竟是同類，可算得上是翠鳥中的“熊族”了：）

沒想到去年第一次和他偶然相遇，在英國西南的Abbotsbury亚热带植物園，遠遠地隔著鐵籠，沒能聽見他的笑聲。籠中之鳥，何得歡顏？

還有種會笑的鳥是噪眉，英文叫laughingthrush。初識他是在南京紫金山下的中山植物園，活動於那一帶的主要有黑臉噪眉和黑領噪眉兩種，我覺得有一種的笑聲近似於冷笑，但記不清是兩種中的哪一種了。有一次，在山里看到一群噪眉站在樹枝上，排著隊挨個兒從同伴的身上跳來跳去，就像小孩子在玩跳馬游戲一樣，實在好玩兒得很：）

愛花及鳥，我對那些以花為食的鳥兒也有特別的興趣。吸食花蜜的鳥除了美洲才有的美麗如花的蜂鳥之外，還有太陽鳥科的啄花鳥（flowerpeckers)和太陽鳥(sunbirds)。

神往已久的蜂鳥06年終於在西雅圖郊外的一個公園得以一睹英姿，後來在加州的山中和他們又有多次親密接觸，不過，所見僅3種。種數逾300的蜂鳥家族，絕大多數成員都住在中、南美洲。 07年1月號的《國家地理》有一篇圖說蜂鳥的文章，拍攝那些美輪美奐的圖片的攝影師Luis Mazariegos計劃要拍完所有330余種蜂鳥，而且他已經拍完了200多種！真是令人欽佩！

至於啄花鳥和太陽鳥，雖然中國也有分佈，但我還未曾見過。書上說，啄花鳥的羽色並不出眾，太陽鳥卻有着和蜂鳥一樣炫目的、帶著金屬般光澤的華麗羽毛。

買一贈五

I bought a vintage postcard on ebay from a seller in the US two weeks ago. The card was made in Austria and the post office stamp on it dated April 5, 1909. It is a charming card featuring violets, lilies-of -the-valley, easter eggs and a rabbit playing mandolin. Of course, the violets were what attracted me in the first place.

Yesterday the card came in the mail. When I opened the envelope, I was thrilled to find not only this card, but 5 other violet-adorned cards!!! The seller attached a note saying that she had sensed that I fancied violets, so she searched her collection and found a few more cards with violets, and graciously sent them all to me!

A million thanks, snohunt, you are the best of all the on-line sellers I have ever dealt with! I will pass on your kindness...

Encounters with the Titan Arum

盛開的巨花魔芋

巨葉和巴西酷哥

B給我發來一些奇花異草的圖片，其中有大花草（Rafflesia arnoldii）和巨花魔芋（Amorphophallus titanum），兩者皆產於蘇門答臘，都是世界之最：前者是最大的單朵花（single flower)，後者是最大的不分枝花序（unbranched inflorescence）；還有一個共同點在於它們的花香，不知可否評上另一個世界之最，反正讓它們“臭”名昭著是綽綽有餘了！

大花草我還未見過，巨花魔芋的芳澤倒是曾有幸親嘗。說來緣分確實不淺，兩年前在西雅圖街頭閒逛，偶然撞進Volunteer Park的展覽溫室，未見巨花，先聞其“香”，味之濃烈，讓人懷疑是否哪裡死了老鼠？或者有誰打破了臭雞蛋？ “屍花”的別號果然實至名歸！雖然花香令人不敢恭維，但聞訊前來觀賞的人卻絡繹不絕，畢竟它是難得一見的花中異類，伺弄得好可以每年開花，但花期只有短短幾天，偏巧它怒放的第一天就讓我碰上了！為了紀念這次邂逅，我特地在温室旁的纪念品商店買了一件印有巨花魔芋圖案的T恤。

巨花魔芋花巨，葉更大。由於它是先花後葉，所以在西雅圖时沒能見到它的葉子長什麼樣。不過，去年夏天在Kew Gardens的熱帶苗圃一月苦工的收穫之一就是得以和巨花魔芋再續前緣，不僅看到了它的龐然大葉，還榮幸地為一株剛剛花畢的巨花魔芋換了盆。看看照片上的那位作為參照物（真是再堂皇不過的誘他入鏡的理由了：）坐在盆沿的巴西酷哥，你就知道那個花盆有多麼碩大了！我們換盆的那一株還算小的，過磅顯示塊莖重逾30公斤，我和一位同事足足忙活了一上午，鏟土鏟到手軟腰酸才總算換盆完畢！

大花草

St. Patrick's Day

An Oxalis pes-caprae growing on the roadside in Beja, Portugal

It's been 15 years since I first began to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.
All the posts before this one were copied from my journals after this date.