Acene, H. 1997 May 28 Mckae offered to treat us all to local (continued) cuisine, including Nikolai Orlov, Natasha Aranjera, Sergei, and Oleg - Russians who have joined us. Cap Vang Sung chose a little shack nearby and the meal was ghostly - brown foul dipping paste and strange meats! May 29 Tam Dao, Vietnam We arrived here x 1700 hr after ~4 hr ride in bus from Banoc. All plains of rice paddies until just when we rise up into the mountain ridges. Nikolai has bought or caught about 400 snakes so far. We are housed in a small hotel at the entrance of a high valley, just downslope from a field station where we will prepare specimens and the Russians are sleeping. After dark we walk a road around the upper edge of town, Lycop 2009 Pl., between mount pond & stream #17 x 950m el., and Dave spots an adult Trimeresurus stejnegeri in an arbush posture on a root across a trail that comes out of forest to the road - snake is at top of an embankment x1m above road, but only <=8 cm above gravel adjacent to root. Dense bamboo, trees, understory on either side of trail.