Gang of 7

I've probably mentioned this before but i'll say it again anyway. One of my favourite aspects of being on the road is that i get to meet different peopleand travel with them all the time. Yingtze and I collected 5 other travellers along the way to Diqing county and we all banded together to trek around Yu-beng village. They were some of the nicest, most kind and generous people i had met while on the road. There was Qingmei -a cool, boho and spirited Zhejiang girl, quiet Ah Hui from Hongkong, Will and Hazel from Wales/Ireland respectively, fatherly "Big moustache" from Chongqing, and us 2 from Singapore.

Even though most of us were strangers at the start and there were some language barriers between the Chinese and the English-speaking folks, the overall chemistry in the group was much better than i expected. In 4 days, we developed a close bond, chatting and swopping travel tales as we walked, and shared dorms, meals, rations, sun-block. We marvelled at the scenery together, helped each other up a steep slope or two, and mostly just laughed and joked our way through.

"Big moustache" was always reminding Qingmei to eat her vitamins, and stuffing fistfuls of milk candy into our pockets. He had a wealth of knowledge and we all looked to him for travel advice. Yingtze was designated "wake-up call" officer and Hazel was the official instant coffee procurer. Ah Hui would drive some hard bargains for our large (and very penny-pinching) group for hostels and transport. We made a great team!

The motley crew

With Yingtze, Hazel and Will