"Captain Good Times" is More Like It

(Been out of Internet territory. Time to catch up.)

May 17, 2007

Just got a farewell e-mail from Captain Ken. Today he leaves China. Tami and I don't head back into Vietnam for at least a couple more weeks so, I find it strange (perhaps because Ken is going home) I'm already starting to miss this country. More on China later but, without a doubt, I'll be missing Ken.

We parted ways over a week ago. Ken has a neice teaching in Henan Province far to the north so he went to visit her and see some sites in that area. Just knowing that he was still in the country and getting his e-mail updates so we could compare notes made traveling here seem more familiar - and fun.

We spent a couple weeks together running around Yunnan Province. From the moment I first saw him walking up the street, the guy fell right into the rhythm of things. We met up in the moutain town of Dali and immediately took a two-day bicycle ride through the fields around Erhai Lake checking out the villages during a big harvest. Many people, even many backpacker-style travelers, might have found that kind of touring a little esoteric if not boring - not to mention physically challenging. Not Ken. We rode, stopped in village after village, chatted with people to get directions, snapped a ton of photos, scrounged around for food and blundered back and forth in one village to find the only guest house - and it was a ball for all of us.

When we returned to Dali, we sought out a bar that let us use their video system. Ken had brought a DVD of videos he shot out at Burning Man last year. It was the first live action Tami and I had seen of the Playa since being there ourselves. Tears ran down my cheeks even as I laughed out loud at many of the images. Ken, with a lifetime of experience in the movie business, had captured a beautiful half hour of Burning Man life - and he couldn't have found a more appreciative audience.

Ken gets friendly with Fei Fei - our Dali friend and sometimes host.

From Dali we headed north to Lijiang and the Tiger Leaping Gorge. We spent the better part of four days hiking a canyon cut by the Yangtze below the "awe inspiring diadem" (inside LOL) of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountains. Brother K celbrated his sixty-fifth birthday last year yet he hiked the mountains with the enthusiasm of a Boy Scout. As Pleasure Sean sagely observed of Ken's exuberance and style, "We're all taking notes."

Accomodating Tami's addiction to photography can be a touch trying at times. Captain happens to be a monster behind the camera, too. Between the two of them I knew immediately I'd have to ratchet up my patience if I didn't want to see them only at the guest house at the beginning and end of each day. Watching one of them scramble up a hillside or squat next to a gravestone to get a good shot worked as a positive contagion for me, I have to admit. Ken brought us both some fresh eyes and his helped invigorate mine.

Any of you who've spent time with Ken know he doesn't just bring enthusiasm to an activity. The man has more stories and tales than just about anyone I've ever met. I'm just about ready to petition the National Archives to declare Ken Phelps a national treasure and force him to get it all down on paper.

(Buy this man a beer,sit down and listen - Money-back guarantee for a good time)