Hi all, thought you might be interested in this.

The last full lunar eclipse to occur until 2014 is on THIS SATURDAY, the 10th of December.

The eclipse will not be fully visible to much of the world, but lucky Yunnan residents get to see the whole thing! (Check out shadowandsubstance.com/20111210ecl/USA12102011a.png for a world map).

Having seen a similar event earlier this year in India, I can recommend making the effort to get out and see it.

The local timings for viewing the event in Kunming, courtesy of NASA at eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/JLEX/JLEX-AS.html, are as follows.

The initial penumbral (partial / 'shadow cast by the edge of the earth's atmosphere') eclipse begins at 19:34.

The partial umbral (actual hard shadow from the earth) eclipse begins at 20:46.

The total eclipse begins at 22:06. As this begins, be on the look out for special colours on the moon. Once it sets in, the moon will apparently be coloured with a reddish or orange hue of unknown nature, due to unpredictable atmospheric conditions at the time. Mid-eclipse will occur almost half an hour later at 22:32. The total eclipse will end at 22:57. The partial eclipse will end at 00:18 and the penumbral eclipse will end at 01:30AM on Sunday, December 11.

It might be worth getting a little out of town to see this. I'm thinking of going to see from the cemetery parking lot on Yu'an Shan, accessible by a small road leading off the main one up to Bamboo Temple. To get there, head directly west from Xuefu Lu / Huangtupo.

If someone has a car I'd appreciate a lift!

Enjoy,
Walter

Hi Tigertiger.

I run www.vegetarian-china.info/ ... there's some dishes there you might like to take a look at. Going vegan or at least vegetarian would definitely help you.

In terms of eating decent low-fat western food outside, I would recommend:

- Small veggie pesto salad at Salvadors (very filling)

- Salads at Prague Cafe (though a little pricey)

Unfortunately much western food is simply bad for you in terms of cholesterol. Quiche, pizzas, hamburgers, heavy chunks of meat, etc. Lots of Chinese food you buy outside is also very oily, though. You can reduce the amount of oil you are eating by choosing good restaurants, ordering carefully and eating less.

Try going to a good Chinese restaurant (I recommend Kadilan, opposite Mandarin books) and ordering some vegetables you've never eaten before. The white root plant 'zi er gen', cucumber, mushrooms, tofu and tomato, various leafy greens, broccoli, etc. are all tasty and much better for heart conditions than meat dishes.

Also, drinking a glass of red wine every night is supposed to help reduce the incidence of heart problems.

Stay away from any regular consumption of sugary foods. One of the worst is beer, but also fizzy drinks like sodas. Move from beer to wine: feel better, drink less.

If you are smoking, stop. When I've succeeded in stopping for weeks or months in the past a combination of exercise and locking myself at home with DVDs or a computer game or some good books has been a good method. Also, travel in a low-pressure environment (Thailand, etc.) can be a good way to keep the mind off the habit.

Consider getting in to cooking a lot more ... the veggie markets in Yunnan are some of the best in the world and you can really eat well here. Ultimately, eating at home gives you the most control over what you will consume and in what quantity.

Get more fruit around the house, and snack on that and eg: cashew nuts instead of having full meals. Don't overdo the cashews though: in theory they're pretty high fat but in practice you can munch away pretty happily as long as you don't do a bowl a day!

Eat less in the evening, and more in the morning or at lunch time.

Exercise wise, maybe get yourself a bicycle and take a day a week to visit one of Kunming's nearby mountains. Also consider playing some badminton (very full body game: less energetic / high body impact than squash, very approachable for people out of shape).

Good luck and thanks for the shock treatment. I'm overweight too after a too much of the good life and not enough exercise but am working on it with some serious cycling and careful food selection right now. Hoping to avoid a similar situation in 20 years' time!

I would recommend going south from Dali via Midu, Jingdong and Jinggu, then heading west across to Lincang. This area has far more traditional Dai temples than you can find in Xishuangbanna owing to the Xishuangbanna Dai's propensity to knock the old ones down and build glammed-out concrete replacements the second some rubber-plantation money drips in. That said, there are still plenty of interesting places in Xishuangbanna, just most of them are nothing to do with the Dai but instead other 'minority' groups.

Three of us (Taiwanese 18, Australian 27, Australian 29) are planning to cycle that route at least as far as Jinggu, with an open schedule, at the beginning of October. The pace will be pretty slow, I'd say. If you're interested in coming then feel free to get in touch: 18669080480

Props to you for having the staying power to continue.

Give me a call 1866908040, I think we can help each other.

Man made <something or other I later determined to be an English radio station>, God made Grass, who do you trust? [With a huge marijuana leaf] - about 2005, eastern Shandong.