My trip date is creeping up on me (this weekend!). I have so much to wrap up at work before I leave.

. . .

Horrible typos from my traveling buddy:

Roy: i'll bring some advil
Roy: we are two TOUGH men
Hao: VERY TOUCH MEN

. . .

Hao did all the negotiations on the trip, and I have to share this email snippet ... cracks me up (if you know Hao, you'll find this even funnier):

The price of [REDACTED] Yuan per person is too high. Is there anyway to lower it to [REDACTED]. We only take up TWO seats in the jeep, when these vehicles can easily seat four or more. Since the gas usage is based on weight, and we are TWO average weight Americans, not the usual OVERWEIGHT Americans, the vehicle will use substantially less gas.

If I was any type of talented writer, I could simply write the great American novel based on the people in my life - damn, they're all interesting and awesome.

. . .

Final Tibet trip itinerary (finalized as of this moment!):

• May 2nd - May 4th: Fly into Kunming, China
• May 4th - May 6th: Kunming, China (acclimitize as best as I can)
• May 6th: Kunming -> Chengdu -> Lhasa flight
• May 6th - May 7th: Lhasa
• May 7th - May 9th: Camping at Namtso Lake (Return to Lhasa)
  
• May 9th - May 10th: Drive from Lhasa to Shigatse and see Yamdrok Lake along the way (stay in Shigatse overnight)
• May 11th: Return to Lhasa via Gyantse
• May 12th - May 14th: Take the high-altitude railway into Beijing
• May 14th - May 16th: Beijing & HOME!

I'm getting all my photog stuff in order (ordered extra memory sticks) - hopefully I can take some cool pictures to share!

My worries: altitude sickness. Lhasa is 3,650 meters above sea level. Kunming is about 2,000 M, so I'm hoping my two days there will slowly acclimitize me. Worst comes to worst, I'll just be downing Advil to combat those nasty headaches :)

I'll admit it - California has made me soft. I can't remember the last time I didn't sleep on a comfortable bed, or enjoyed weather that wasn't gorgeous. The 48 hour train ride back on hard sleepers... should be interesting. Rion (coworker) mentioned that ride was beautiful, so I'm really looking forward to it.