moving on anyway >>>>>

Well.....

When Ojo did finally show up at the hotel, he was a state. torn up, naked, wet, like a beaten dog. he'd lost everything. how? I may never know.... gambling? mugged? I don't know, and if he did, he couldn't talk about it.

After the nightmare of Ruili Town, we knew we had to get the hell-yeah out of there. We booked. As soon as he was rested up enough, Ojo and I moved on. With our (proverbial) tail between our legs. trying to turn the page. make the most if the rest of the time we had over there together.

And the day was looking brighter too. The mountain air, the fresh cool air, cleansing us, with the windows down. There were gorgeous trees with red blossoms like berries. and farm land. a country road. the river we followed into the mountain valley. heading up into the southeastern streamers of the Himalayas, following a huge tributary of the mekong river -- i forget the name of it. but god it was great to move on.

R's PISSed

Ojo goes missing in Ruili Town, on a bender no doubt, leaving R to freak her shit for a few days in the hotel waiting for him to show. After two days -- instead of checking the local morgue or the ditches on the outskirts of town -- she is just pissed off.

How to have a good time in Ruili Town.... finale

The last thing one does in Ruili is of course to sample the local distillation of soma. Ojo just has enough money left after loosing his passport.

At the Border (mahna mahna)

R and Ojo start off easy at the Burmese border with this formal introduction to Ruili Town. In spite of their best efforts, however, things get a little out of hand. In search of the long lost heart of Ruili Town, Ojo heeds the call of the night, and slips away.

Has Ojo finally met his match?

The Baijiu Bomb = A Battle in Every Bottle

Ojo takes us out for a night in Ruili. And takes himself to the next level with the local brew. At 30 cents a hand grenade, maybe you can buy happiness after all.

Gummi Beari Juice? Oh yeah. We'll buy a case of the stuff before skipping town, for sure.

Driving inspires deep thoughts on the internet

Drop in on Ojo and R's conversation on their drive out to Ruili. pretty much the deepest conversation to happen that day on earth. power to the people.

First Impressions of Ruili Town

Is it all that? Is this really the deep dark den of inequity that everyone writes about?! hum...

At first glance, the city is completely nondescript. Other than the tropical palms and saronged burmese men, it's like any other new Chinese town, with its history bleached out by rapid growth and ill-charted gdp mandates. concrete lords, over extended bank loan growth, hollow, uninhabited infrastructure. decaying before it was ever alive.

Ruili, where did you go? where are your casinos and whores? your addicts and smugglers? oh ruili, have you yielded to the mainland order? We are looking for you!

But after a few days, you start to see it, the soul of sin emerging from the strip malls.

May the seedy underbelly actually be belly up!?

The Plan Stan (and what to do with lushy Ojo)

Rbeka breaks it down in the Kunming hotel for a little pre-road planning and concept. At least she's clear, if not optimistic, about what she expects from her brother -- lushy lish lush lush.

What the hell is my brother doing? Is he gay?

Ok. please, people, can you help me here? help me understand, what is Ojo doing?

4am Ojo on the Toilet

After drinking Rbeka and the entire wait staff under the table, Ojo retires to the bathroom in the Kunming hotel to record this intimate confession. Thoughts and reflections on the adventure that lies ahead.

How to quit smoking....

Ojo proves himself to be a decent older brother after all.

Rbeka Arrives in Kunming

Still reeking from last night's escapades, Ojo comes out to the airport to meet Rbeka's plane. They almost miss each other, but Ojo catches her at the last minutes as she's getting into a taxi. It's been a while since they've seen each other, and while since she's been in China. It's good to be back, smell the air of freedom and Paris.

On Jade

Ok. first off. I like the jade shit.

Did you know that the finest quality jadeite is more expensive than diamonds, the most expensive gem in the world. impressive. no? supposedly one of the seven or so jadeite mines in the world is located right across the border at Ruili.



Also.... I dont know if you saw my blog entry/comment from a while ago, but i talked about the idea of making "gambling" a central theme. starting with the casinos, the sex workers, the HIV, the drugs, the illegal trade, then to your tretcherous driving in an unsuited vehicle, and then how it relates to our quest and the ultimate quest for shangrila/happiness/wisdom, etc. It's all a gamble.

The jade trade fits into this motif as well. In one of the articles you pulled, it talks about the gamble of buying jade stones because you cant see how rich the color is until you cut the stone. so youre buying and selling purely on speculation. you dont want to cut open a window, because if the color that is revealed is worthless, you won't be able to get it off your hands. So what you sell for 20 bucks could be worth thousands, and vis versa.

I read one story about a guy in bangkok a couple years back who spent a small fortune on a stone. he was offered triple fold for it, but turned the offer down. he wanted to cut the stone himself. So he put it in a polishing machine, and watched the color reveal itself, a pale opaque cream, a worthless color, and blew his brains out right there in front of the polishing machine.

i think it be interesting if we could develop the theme of "gambling". taking risks, life being a gamble, all you can do it hedge your bets, no one can know what god's plan it, it's all luck, and the like.

The jade stone also feeds into a second theme that I see developing, a theme of "seeking". Jade in traditional chinese thinking is a symbol for eternity, immortality, perfection, and what is that but the ultimate quest. the search for shangrila, return to paradise, mythic and spititual reunion, etc.

"Pao Putzu, a Taoist philosopher once said that jade originally flowed from the mountains as a liquid. Ten thousand years after, it crystallized into a substance as clear as crystal. If the right herb is added to jade, it again reverts back to a liquid. Drinking this liquid confers the gift of long life."

so I like the jade. Let's keep that.

what do you think>?