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By Root 653 0

in turn. Girls huddle and scream as youths attack them with water. Even the monks join in and jump in the river or nearest fountain. Buddha himself gets wet during a ceremonial bathing in the Mekong river. While all this happens, homemade bamboo rockets scream into the air and tiny, magical hot-air balloons float through the sky before being consumed in their own flames. Candle rafts float away down the river and small bean bags known as love pouches are thrown at whomever you fancy; catch one of those in the face and you know you have an admirer.

There is lots to admire about the province of Yunnan itself. Scenic valleys and fertile hills lead to lush paddy fields and tropical jungle. Here the people are more laidback than their northern cousins and the pace of life much less frenetic than Beijing or Shanghai. The people themselves are different, made up of several minorities, the most prominent of which are the Dai people. Their fun and relaxed attitude is more in line with their Thai, Laotian, and Burmese neighbors. The area has become a popular tourist destination with lots of trekking and biking possibilities in the surrounding area. Of course many come for the New Year’s celebrations which run from the 12th to the 18th of April. As well as the water party, an amazing dragon boat race takes place on the river with each craft holding 50 rowers, pilots, dancers, and drummers. An extravagant parade rolls through the town with colorful floats surrounded by traditional dancers. On the final night a massive fireworks display takes place on the riverbank opposite, distracting tired and wet revelers with an awesome display. —CO’M

When to go: Apr.

Jinghong.

$$ New Tai Garden, 61 Minhang Rd., Jinghong, Yunnan 666100, China ( 86/691/216-5199). $$ Yunnan Aviation Sightseeing Hotel of Xishuangbanna, 6 Menglong Rd., Xishuangbanna, Jinghong 666100, China ( 86/691-214488).

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Thunderdome Cage Battle

The Mel Gibson Appreciation Society

Black Rock City, Nevada, U.S.A.

A huge dome welded with steel overhangs a large sand pit. Above it hangs a neon light in the desert darkness bearing the legend The Thunderdome. The structure is entirely covered in people clinging to the bars and hanging from the metal gridwork that allows them to see the interior below. Many looked like they have not washed or shaved in days and have a ragged, crusty look, colored by glow sticks and fluorescent clothing and the occasional beaded dreadlock. They look eagerly into the pit below, lit from time to time by the periodic camera flash. They cheer and jeer as two gladiators below bounce from bungee harnesses, whacking each other across the head with bats while a witchlike referee with tall staff and ragged skirt officiates. All you need is a Tina Turner soundtrack and you would be forgiven for thinking you’re an extra in a Mad Max movie.

The venue is the Burning Man festival, the famous gathering of New Age ravers and radical thinkers in a desolate desert spot 100 miles (161km) from Reno in Northern Nevada. Here a temporary city of 50,000 hedonistic souls gathers once a year for a week of enlightened debauchery. Massive art installations, theme camps, techno parties, and incessant drumming take place in a C-shaped city at the center of which is a 40-foot (12m) effigy, the burning man that will be torched as the festival comes to an end. Colorful mutant cars roar around the playa, throwing flames and exciting mirth with some appearing as giant motorized muffins and an eight-legged mechanical spider.

The origins of the festival come from some annual San Francisco beach bonfires in the 1980s, and it has morphed into one of the biggest counter-culture events in North America. While some criticize that it has lost its free, non-commercial ethics (ticket prices are now $300), it still bans all merchandising and the only things you can buy on-site are coffee, soda, and ice. The rest you must bring yourself and gifting is encouraged where participants exchange items in brotherly love. Take the on-site Irish bar, for example, called Paddy Mirage, that dispenses