Somewhere between the baby goats who gingerly sniffed my hand before allowing me to pet them (like puppies do!), the baby cow which did the same, the little snorting yaks, village kids who put their hands together to say “namaste” (hello), the amazingly beautiful mountains that framed every moment, and the daily chai masala teas, […]
China: The Awesome, the Annoying, and the Downright Scary
“She charged us to wrap our bowls in plastic? But I don’t even want plastic around my bowl,” I said to Lynn after paying my portion of our lunch bill. “I know, but it costs them money to clean the bowl for us,” she explained. “Yeah but, that’s sort of an occupational hazard that comes […]
Hitchhiking in China (Part 4): The Bone Bracelet Gift
<— Part 3 Patchu is a hiking guide who took it upon himself to see to it that I made it to Moxi and back from Kangding, near the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan province of China, all in one piece. Once he realized I could speak a bit of Mandarin, also a second language […]
Hitchhiking in China (Part 3): The Solo Adventure
“If I saw you hitchhiking, I’d smile and return your thumbs up, just for you doing such a great job of being a positive roadside influence.” ― Jarod Kintz <— Part 2 After nearly two glorious weeks adventuring around Yunnan province together, the time came for Ya Ting and me to part ways. I had grand […]
Hitchhiking in China (Part Two): Flat Tires and Unimaginable Kindness
“…and I shambled after as I’ve been doing all my life after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones that never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, […]