We're in Dali today and going to Lijiang tomorrow... more minority cultures! Today we drank some tea, learned how the people use elaborate tie dying to decorate cloth, watched a traditional dance performance, and went comorant fishing--the highlight of the day. This is where a man in a boat (Kris and I hesitate to call him a "fisherman") is followed by about 10 comormants (a type of water fowl) who seem to like him because he feeds them... occasionally. The man has previously tied their necks so that if a fish is big enough, it won't go down. When the neck is visibly full (see picture), the man pulls the bird into the boat and squeezes the fish--sometimes still alive--out of the bird's neck into a bucket. Done! He has "caught" a fish. Kris and I were on the boat the birds fished around and were dragged onto when they succeeded. It didn't look pleasant for them, but they kept coming back. Plus, they got to eat the smaller ones that did go down. It was all pretty exciting. I got video of a bird being pulled on board and coughing up three fish at one time. I tried to get some underwater video with my spiffy submersible digital camera and a comorant bit it! Luckily, I won a quick bout of tug-of-war rather than the "fisherman" having to squeeze my camera out.
Kris and I are leaving China on Thursday (11/16) for Thailand!
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Wow! It looks like nature's Disneyland!
You know, there's a Chinaman section at the Epcot Center. We took the kids there and they just loved it! Winnie the Poo in a straw hat?! What will they think of next?!
Then we walked over to Mexico for some chimichangas.
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