http://blogs.bootsnall.com/vynckemichelle Life on the other side of the fence Thu, 15 May 2008 09:15:48 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en During the French revolution some demented aristocrats insisted on lying face up, so they could see the guillotine blade coming down. Look death in its gleaming eye. Meet it head-on (no pun intended). Confront and embrace the final moment. I think I would be of that persuasion. Sitting on an ... http://blogs.bootsnall.com/vynckemichelle/wash-my-soul.html Indian icon: The Hindustan Ambassador 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 ... http://blogs.bootsnall.com/vynckemichelle/place-of-rebirthindia-year00-day1.html Streetsign in Chengdu 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. (yeah alright, most guys would argue that Monica Belluci's breasts are Italian icons). ... http://blogs.bootsnall.com/vynckemichelle/chengdu-to-burma-the-good-the-bad-and-the-grotesque.html 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 me off in Kangding, a forgetable but convenient cross roads ... http://blogs.bootsnall.com/vynckemichelle/sleeping-with-the-beasts.html 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. I naturally assumed there was a misunderstanding. But an hour ... http://blogs.bootsnall.com/vynckemichelle/the-sound-of-an-endangered-people.html 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 to taking up space, firmly lodging themselves with the same ... http://blogs.bootsnall.com/vynckemichelle/not-finding-shangri-la.html 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 away when you're already away. I needed some quiet time ... http://blogs.bootsnall.com/vynckemichelle/lugu-lake-the-last-outpost-of-matriarchy.html 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 to the snow capped mountains. So, on the morning of ... http://blogs.bootsnall.com/vynckemichelle/tiger-leaping-gorge-the-fleeting-scent-of-happiness.html 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 could hardly reach the plate of fly encrusted food outside. ... http://blogs.bootsnall.com/vynckemichelle/lijang-a-storm-in-a-buttered-tea-cup-2.html Sunset in Dali 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 I've uttered "THANK YOU JESUS!" has reached evangelical proportions. Every time I find the bus station, manage to get on the right bus, sit next to ... http://blogs.bootsnall.com/vynckemichelle/dali-ancient-city-of-dreadlocks-and-pancakes.html