day 28: 石家庄 (shijiazhuang) – 鹿泉 (luquan) = 18,6km

I walked west today. That’s a good thing, because west is where my home is.

No more walking south for a while.

On the way out from the city I found out something I thought was interesting: why were there so many hookers in this place?

The answer: 石家庄 is a major military base, there are single men everywhere.

I didn’t bother taking pictures of any armed forces, basically just because I didn’t want to get into trouble. So I tried to keep a low profile and walk by unnoticed (as unnoticed as I can be).

Then THE FIRST street sign caught my attention:

Note: This is saying 太原 (taiyuan) is another 235km ahead. Everything’s cool, I thought.

Well, what do you know, I keep walking for two hours, and what do I see? ANOTHER street sign:

I’m like, WTF?! Now 太原 has suddenly shifted another 80km out of the way or what?

Don’t know what’s up with that. I’m just going to keep walking and taking notes I guess. Someone has got to be proven wrong!

Some more colorful impressions from today’s road:

(I have this thing for bridges lately. Particularly the light situations are often enjoyable.)

“漫步一足” – basically this means “take a walk” – kind of caught my attention. I didn’t go in though. I just kept doing what I was doing: taking a walk.

Then I entered some serious countryside:

Now if I have called the city “civilization” before – then this must be the “wild”, right?

I was weighing this thought in my mind with thoroughness and care, when I looked up and…

…saw my first mountain!

So far, the road has been at a very steady altitude of about 50m above sea level.

太原 sits at a sky-high 1500m.

There is a lot of countryside ahead. And a lot of mountains.

I am nervous.

Soundtrack: Willie D – “I’m Goin’ Out Lika Soldier”

—total: 380,8km