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Yesterday we took the bullet train from Shanghai to Hangzhou to eat at Dragon Well (Longjin) Manor, which was recently written up in the New Yorker. It’s a beautiful place and the food is superb–simple yet elegant and all natural. The owner is trying to keep alive the traditional recipes and cooking methods of Hangzhou and has gone to great lengths to create a supply chain that ensures they are serving fresh, all natural food, which can be hard to do in China. When you sit down for a meal, they show you a catalog of where all the day’s food came from, including pictures of the farms, plants, and animals. It’s definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area. The New Yorker article has a lot more detail.

We’re in Boracay for the new year. The weather has been lousy, but it’s still a beautiful place.

We spent yesterday in Manila celebrating Adam and Ella’s engagement. After a 13 course Chinese meal at the Shangrila, we went to the Lim house and sampled some fine wine and champagne.

I had a lot of difficulty choosing a picture for today since we hiked through some gorgeuous terrain. Yesterday we drove from the eastern part of Xishuangbanna to the west. Below is a picture of us descending one mountain through a sugar cane plantation. We had to hike up the mountain you can see in the distance to get to the village where we’re spending the night. It was strenous but well worth it for the views. As usual we’re staying with a local family that wasn’t expecting us but is happy to host us.

We had a pretty grueling day yesterday. It included 7 hours of hiking including three hours in the jungle (see the picture below) where we had to alternate between hiking in a river and bushwhacking through the over growth. We ended the day exhausted in another Dai village. Again we spent the night in a family’s house–a wooden structure on stilts. The accomadations are certainly rustic (no bathrooms or even kitchens) but it’s nice to get a flavor of the local life. Somhow even though they don’t have stoves (just wood fires to cook over), the government has managed to electrify all the villages. Every house has a couple light bulbs, a satellite dish and a tv. And of course they all have cell phones. Everyone is a farmer out here. We’ve hiked through pineapple, rubber, and tea plantations.

Here we are at lunch on our first day of trekking in Xishuangbanna. We’re hiking from village to village in the mountains over the next several days. This is the Dai area of China near the border of Loas. The Dai people live in wood houses on stilts like the one in the picture. We’re staying with families in these houses along the way.

Today we all met up in Kunming and then flew to Xishuangbanna. The trek starts tomorrow. Here’s a picture of us at dinner (Ferg, An, Deepa, me, Rashi, Nikhil). Have I mentioned I love Chinese food?

There’s not a lot to do in Shanghai besides eating, which is fine by me. Kellie and Greg took us out for hot pot last night. Here’s Kellie fighting a shrimp.

I thought I’d get the travel blog going again since I’m in Bangalore for a few days for the TIE Summit before heading off to China and the Philippines for vacation. Right now I’m spending the weekend with my in-laws visiting family and running errands. Here’s the flower guy down the street.

Kover, Ferg, Cohen, Reidy, and I spent the 4th of July weekend in Lassen Volcanic National Park. It’s a beautiful place that’s off the beaten path–especially compared to Yosemite and Tahoe. As the name implies, the park is volcanic, so there’s a lot of strange scenery and a diverse range of geographic features. As you’ll see from the pictures, much of the time the air was filled with smoke from the surrounding forest fires in other parts of Northern California. Although that took away from some of the views, Lassen is still gorgeous. We also got lucky and had a few clear days. For those who are interested in visiting the park, it’s an easy 4.5 hour drive from San Francisco. Back country permits are free and don’t require advance reservations.

(Click on the slideshow to see larger pictures.)