So Long, Farewell...

Auf wiedersehen, Goodbye!

T-Minus 3-hours and counting.

Ah, the countdown. Nothing better to get the adrenaline pumping, realizing that you have no idea what you are going to cram into the bag that seems to shrink every time you look at it. Not that this trip is going to be especially easy to pack for.

Guyuan local temperature, 0° C. Sweaters, jackets and a pair of gloves.

Hong Kong local temperature, 22° C. T-Shirts and a pair of pants.

Ho Chi Minh City local temperature, 33° C. Shorts and as little else as possible.

I was denied the opportunity to travel by train to Guangzhou - everybody here said that waiting in line at the Xian train station for a ticket from there onward for 3 days probably wouldn’t be a good use of my time - so taking the bus was recommended to me. A bus across China. Now that doesn’t sound half bad. I will get to see life from the ground level in a fairly complete cross-section of North-Western China, straight through the heartland and down into Southern China.

36 hours of bus ride doesn’t quite strike my fancy however.

The actual departure will have very little else in common with a shuttle launch other than a countdown. My ticket says 2:00PM. Fine, but the fact that the bus will not stop at the bus station is key. Method for catching said bus? Standing on the side of the road for two hours and waiting. I’m ok with that as long as I don’t have to sleep on a crate of chickens.

I’ll do my best to keep in touch, regular programming is scheduled to resume in early March.

The Wheedle

As many of you know I had a bit of a break-in.

A bit, ha. The wankers (excuse me) took my camera and computer. I have been limping along with internet bars and borrowed Windows machines since.

This rather annoying situation may be resolved in Hong Kong, electronics capital of the world, but not cheaply.

Aha, you say, he’s getting to his point!

I am, I am.

To the sidebar, right under the navigation, I have added a nifty little button with the wonderfully pointed words “Make a Donation” on it. If you have enjoyed looking at, mocking, squandering work time with or for other masochistic reasons visiting afarther, please consider throwing a few coppers my way.

The shiny little bugger looks something like this. Go ahead, give it a try, click, click!

This isn’t National Public Radio Pledge Week, I’m not going to withhold my sporadic posts, but your karma will swing ever so slightly further in the… well, frankly, I’m not sure what direction.

Thank you.