Jiuzhaigou, Sichuan Province四川省，九寨沟风景名胜区
I successfully hitched to Jiuzhaigou 九寨沟 while making a few new friends along the way. Jiuzhaigou didn't disappoint. It is characterized by nine turquoise pools scattered down the mountain.
Not without the Chinese tourist and selfie stick.
This is at the top of the pools. Clearly not turquoise, but pretty all the same.
Almost immediately after I checked into my hostel I met a Finnish guy named Sebastian Janatuinen. We hit it off and spent most of the three days together. Like me, he hated the mob of Chinese tourists who take thousands of terrible photos (common traffic signs, buses, squirrels) so we decided to find paths that said 'No Access" and hop the fence. This led us to some killer spots and we had almost half the park to ourselves. I recall we spent hours trying to rationally and scientifically figure out why these pools were so blue, throwing ideas back and forth without looking at our phones. His theory ended up being correct, but the discussion was immensely enjoyable. He was a great conversationalist, naturalist, scientist and companion. We spent New Years Eve together drinking and lighting off fireworks from the roof.