not sure what it was, maybe it was the yak milk i drank with the nomads, or the yak cheese i shared with my horse guide, or the spring water i drank from the running stream, or the tibetan tea, but all systems afoul this morning as i take a hit of lopramide for the 4th time this trip. at this rate i'm going to run out of my anti-diarrhea medication.

to make things a little worse, i got kicked out of my RMB$30/night (less than US$3) 3 bed room because - frankly, according to the owner - she wanted to rent it out to people who could really use it. i wanted to tell her that whatever she wanted to charge, i could afford it, but decided to go out and find a new place to stay; i know when i'm not wanted anymore.

my new place is in the middle of "downtown" daocheng if there can be a downtown. it's RMB$120/night (US$15) but it's luxurious - very clean and my own bathroom with prerequisite complimentary hotel toiletries. they could give a little more toilet paper though - the amount they provide i could easily palm in my fist. thankfully, due to the lopramide, i won't be using the bathroom (in that way) for at least a day or two. oh lopramide, you're my best friend in the whole world!

anyway, this is my second foray to this internet cafe, and it's a piece of shit and i hate it because even after cozying up to the girl who runs the place, she still won't grant me admin access so i can copy files from my photo drive to the web. i'm just going to check my e-mail and get go get my US$10 bowl of chicken soup with special wild mushrooms. they say it cures cancer. i might need it after being out for a week without any sunblock. in my new hotel room (4th floor, thank you very much, nice view, but i am out of breath by the time i reach the top) has a mirror, and my face is sun-damaged to say the least: splotches of dark tan spots, areas of peeling, and my nose is so wrinkly it's like a small pickle. i finally put on some sunblock today but it's kind of too little too late.

this morning was the first time in a long time where i didn't have to get up to do something. it felt nice, just being able to sleep. i finally got out of bed around 10am, and stayed inside, writing in my journal, until the owner knocked on my door, fearing that i might be dead.

after i found my new hotel room, i went back to the old place to pick up my stuff. the owner - an old tibetan woman - invited me up to her parlor to have some tibetan tea and some flour you mix with the tea to make a slightly sweet dough that tasted pretty good. i dazzled her with the few words of tibetan i learned up in the mountains: thank you, good bye, and delicious.

staying in daocheng for a few more days, to adjust my schedule. because i left yading so soon (i planned on staying 4 nights, instead i just stayed 1), i am 5 days ahead of schedule. i might just leave though, the internet access SUCKS - maybe it'll be better in zhongdian, my next destination.