Alan went to Lijiang (again - here are pics from the first time) for his team outing to celebrate a great year.  He challenged the organizer to make it not yet another team outing, but one the attendees would remember 5 years from now.  She stepped up and set us up in the gorgeous, brand new Crowne Plaza (first 16 pics below).  We kicked off with a review of our 2009 plans - I found my presentation for execs done in Nov 08 and showed how we accomplished most of what we had set out to do, and more importantly, beat our numbers handily.  I also ran a session for the team to think through, and more importantly, write down their life values and goals.  We then did some fun teambuilding exercises, with the typical lessons-learned of team work, planning ahead, and trial and error.

My marketing manager came up with a great idea to volunteer half a day.  We bussed 45 minutes out to a small school of 175 students up in the mountains.  I read them Curious George - all the kids knew their alphabet!  This is way out in Western China where the family average income is 870 rmb PER YEAR (under $150!).  It was a touching experience, an excellent reminder of what a privileged life we live.

I spent Saturday walking around Old Town and exploring Mu's Gardens, which were mostly empty because of the 45 rmb entrance fee.  I highly encourage paying to avoid the crowds.  We were very lucky for the crisp air, blue skies, and snow in the mountains.  I ended my trip drinking the area's famous pu'er tea in the hotel lobby.

All these pics are from my iphone.  The last 6 are random shots that I didn't download until now.

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