We're going to FREEZE!

My hands are so cold it hurts to touch the keyboard. My ears have started to ring at unannouced times and my nose is like popscicle tips. I'M COLD! But I'm not complaining because in two weeks it will be even worse. We just checked the weather in Mongolia and it should be -7 when we get there. No problem though because we are on the hunt for winter coats in Yangshou, China. Never mind the fact that the arms are too short and the clerks just laugh when we try them on.

Today I bought a hat and a second scarf and I'll probably be wearing everything I own in a few weeks. I'm nervous that I'll get frost bite. Anyone have some suggestions? Where is our Washingtonian travel companion when you need her. The pace of my typing has slowed tremendously so I'll ahve to make tis really quik. I can't even waste time deleting all the typos I jsut made.

We got dropped off in the middle of who knew where just as the light of day was approaching the morning sky. Well we knew we were in Yangshou but that was about it. I hadn't seen my breath in months and now I was standing in the middle of the street with my husband, 3 Polish travellers and a Chinese guy named Robert. People were chopping meat on a slab of wood behind us and steam was rising from metal pots under several different tarp covered eating caves. I was still half asleep and the bus was pulling off with all the other passengers on it. Robert was flashing his autograph book in our faces because he was the hotel representative and this morning he wanted to show us to a hotel. We followed him and although he tried to charge us $16 apiece we've gotten pretty good at the bargaining thing and ended up with a rate of $10 total. We're talking a tremendous drop from where he started right. We read you should start at a bargaining rate of half of the starting price. It's a crazy way to buy stuff trust me.

The room has no heating but there is hot water. That's a precious luxury these days. They do however provide an electric water pot. That's been great! We have ovaltine twice a day. We will be leaving that hotel tomorrow for our hostelling international hostel that we didn't know was here. Robert called us at 8 am to try and get us to go on a countryside tour with him. Whatever! it's 35 degrees and we were packed in our sleeping bag under 2 heavy hotel comforters trying not to move when the volume of the ring regenerated goose bumps that took all night to warm off.

Tonight I bought some gooey hot soup because A) I wanted to get warm and B) I wanted to see the lady pour the hot water from the dragons mouth. That was the coolest part, especially when the stem came out of his nose. When I mixed it though the water had turned to slime and the whole thing resembled mud pies. I ate it because I bought it but I won't be provoking anymore steam breathing dragons. Ok well we're expecting snow tomorrow so I better go get prepared. Talk to you soon.

Joronda