On the road again... north of Buerjin heading towards Altai.

Of course, when I got up into the mountains the weather was terrible and the road to Hemu was closed. I decided to head back down to a lower altitude.

That's more like it. The weather down in the Chonghuer Valley was much more pleasant, so I decided to stay there for a few days.

Some lovely purple flowers grow along the river just outside the village of Hongqi.

Sunflower power! It's true... sunflowers are the most photogenic object on earth, and there were lots of 'em around Hongqi.

The main street in the village of Hongqi. Not much going on... that's for sure.

The local mosque in Hongqi. Most of the people in and around Altai are Kazakhs who practice Islam.

The bridge in and out of Hongqi.

Nice valley, eh? Blue skies, puffy white clouds, green fields, yellow sunflowers.

Perhaps the scariest public toilet known to man... especially in the middle of the night. I wish I somehow could have included the narrow, muddy alleyway I had to navigate to get to there. Men to the left, women to the right.

The first obstacle on the way to the scary outhouse was this crazy dog... don't get too close!

The daughter of the restaurant owner I stayed with in Hongqi. She couldn't stand still long enough for a clear shot. I happen to like this "night portrait" effect, however.

The view from my room in Hongqi. What you might call a 5-star dump. But at $2.50/night who cares?

On the way back from Hongqi towards Buerjin.

Fields of gold on the way to the Kazakh border.