day 32: 旧关 (jiuguan) – 柏井 (baijing) = 21km

Everything was white, and it was… SNOW!!

I said goodbye to the friendly farmers where I had spent the night:

Then I rushed out the door.

G307 was mine today:

I didn’t really expect this kind of weather would be a problem for anybody, but really absolutely nothing moved on the street – except for me.

So I strolled around, sometimes right of the road, sometimes left of the road, sometimes in the middle of the road – and nobody was there to honk my exotic ass out of the way, ha!

Then I saw my first bit of the Great Wall (长城) on this trip:

This section is called 固关 (guguan), and has been restored and opened up as a park. You’d have to buy a ticket to get in. That is, during the tourist season you would.

Since everything was closed and I was desperate to go in anyways, a kind soul showed me a way around the main gate:

Tell you something personal: I love the Great Wall.

…

Eventually I had to climb back down and continue walking, though.

People had been telling me that I would find a lot of traditional things in Shanxi province (山西), and it’s true:

These guys from a tiny stone village called 柏木井 (baimujing) were so kind as to open up their temple for me, so I could have a look and take pictures:

Now this is not a tourist attraction. Nor is it dedicated to Buddhism, Taoism or Confucianism. It’s just the private temple of a small mountain village. What I really liked about it was the feeling of lived spirituality and living tradition that I found here.

It’s their temple. I like that thought.

Further down the road I got the kid-shot for the day:

Like a strawberry in all the black&white outside, she was a bit shy, but her friend was having all the more fun.

And I found something else interesting:

This was in a small restaurant next to my hotel. The hand belongs to the pretty girl that was waiting tables.

me: “What’s that?”

girl: “Oh, that’s a tattoo!”

me: “A Buddhist symbol?”

girl: “I don’t know.”

me: “…or is it from Germany?”

girl: “Ah?”

me: “You don’t know?”

girl: blushes.

me: “Well, what is it then?”

girl: “…I just thought it looked nice!”

I liked the rest about her A LOT better.

Now it’s 23:05. My hands are freezing. Typing is not much fun that way.

You might have already guessed it:

I have managed to find a hotel without heating – again.

It’s not that they don’t HAVE a radiator here. Two guys in blue collars have been running about the place trying to fix the damn thing for the last three hours.

Now they’re telling me the job is done.

It should get warmer in a while.

I really hope it will.

Soundtrack: 成龙 (Jackie Chan) & 金喜善 (jin xishan) – “美丽的神话” (“Endless Love”)

—total: 469,3km