BootsnAll Travel Network



Archive for the 'China and South East Asia' Category

« Home

Place of Rebirth:India, Year:00, Day:1

Monday, March 3rd, 2008

Indian icon: The Hindustan Ambassador
http://blogs.bootsnall.com/vynckemichelle/files/2008/03/rimg1714.JPG

Every time you enter a new country alone and anonymous you are being reborn. The vigorous thud of the immigration stamp is the labour groan which propels you into a new life, passing through customs is the final passage through the cervix, the arrival hall with its bright lights and clamorous strangers, is the maternity ward before you alight into the real world. The stamp in your passport is your new birth date. The slate is wiped clean again, whatever came before has no relevance, regrets merely a lingering aftertaste of a previously consumed and digested life. You possess the burning clarity of an Old Testament prophet. Nobody knows you, nobody cares, anything is possible.

The feeling of abandoning yourself to the terrifying present can only be compared to jumping off a cliff. And yes, before you ask, I’ve done it, the knee scar is there as embarrassing reminder. Most people wisely decide against throwing themselves off cliffs, and instead take drugs to attain the same heady cocktail of fear and exhilaration.

Always one looking for bigger kicks, peaks and rushes, I buy a one way ticket to the unknown, and I’m high for months. In the long run it’s probably a cheaper, less harmful addiction, although just as socially unacceptable, especially if your habit continues after the grace period of your 20’s.

[read on]

Chengdu to Burma

Thursday, October 25th, 2007

Streetsign in Chengdu
Streetsign in Chengdu, China

Think of France and you have more cultural associations than you can wave a baguette at. The same goes for Italy; the cheek pinching Mamma, pizza, or maybe its most famous export, the Mafia. Each country has its emblems, cultural or not (just stay with me here). China is no exception. Mao’s flabby profile, dancing dragons and pandas, are probably some of the images which come to mind. For me personally, the reigning emblem of China is something far more humble. Enter the Thermos Flask. The people’s flask contains the mother’s milk of the biggest nation on earth, namely hot water.

[read on]

Sleeping with the beasts

Friday, August 10th, 2007
The morning I left Litang the industrious street cleaners were already at work: two tubby pot-bellied pigs sniffing at the pavement curb and meticulously consuming all the rubbish in their way. It gives recycling a whole new dimension... The bus dropped ... [Continue reading this entry]

The sound of an endangered people

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007
Thurs-Sunday, 14-17 June The hope of an easy day's ride to Xiancheng vanished with the end of the paved road, just outside Zhongdian. The lady selling tickets to Xiancheng, under 200km from Zhongdian , informed me it would take 9 hours. ... [Continue reading this entry]

Not finding Shangri-la

Tuesday, June 19th, 2007
Sun-Wed, 10-13 June 2007 I never thought I'd miss Vietnamese men in any way. But I was wrong. On the bus to Zhongdian I fervently longed for their compact, small frames. In comparison, Chinese blokes match their country when it comes ... [Continue reading this entry]

Lugu Lake: the last outpost of matriarchy?

Wednesday, June 13th, 2007
Sun-Thur, 3-7 June 2007 I decided to go to Lugu Lake on a whim. I was paging through a book in a tiny bookshop in Lijiang, and saw a picture of the lake. It seemed like the ideal place to get ... [Continue reading this entry]

Tiger Leaping Gorge: The fleeting scent of happiness

Friday, June 8th, 2007
Fri-Sat, 1-2 June 2007 I heard about the Tiger Leaping Gorge before even setting foot in China. So has everyone else it seems. It's one of the deepest gorges in the world, measuring 3900m from the waters of the Yangzi River ... [Continue reading this entry]

Lijiang: A storm in a buttered tea cup

Friday, June 8th, 2007
Wed-Thurs, May 30-31 2007 I left Dali under a cloud of controversy. During my stay at the "Friends Guesthouse", I had been setting two cats free. I found them chained up to their 'cat houses' with a chain so short they ... [Continue reading this entry]

Dali: Ancient city of dreadlocks and pancakes

Wednesday, May 30th, 2007
[caption id="attachment_42" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="a hybrid religious building, Dali. A chemple?"][/caption]Sat-Tues, May 26-29 2007 A frightening thing is happening...I'm beginning to sound more and more like a reborn Christian. The amount of times ... [Continue reading this entry]

Kunming: City of Bling

Tuesday, May 29th, 2007
Gateway to the new Gateway to the new Thurs-Friday (24-25 May 2007) The smutty “guesthouse” (frankly, it would make a crack den look stylish) where I crashed for my first night in Kunming, overlooked one of the busiest roads. Strangely, ... [Continue reading this entry]