day 242: 嘉峪关 (jiayuguan) = 0km

I had been to this place before, in the summer of 2006, although that time, I had comfortably taken the train:

There’s a direct train from Beijing, and it takes only about 30 hours.

I had stayed in a small, run-down guesthouse near the train-station:

I remember thinking: why are there no people in this place?

And then there was the shower house outside (the building on the left of the picture):

I went in once to take a shower, and everyone was staring at me.

Anyways it’s weird - the 嘉峪关 (jiayuguan) of 2006 and the 嘉峪关 of today don’t feel alike at all:

…

I spent today hanging out and taking care of some things with my friend 谢老师 (Teacher Xie - June 18th 2008):

The desert is out there waiting, and it feels good to be in the known/unknown city.

Soundtrack: Gentleman - “Children Of Tomorrow”

—total: 3146,6km