day 309: 柳园 (liuyuan) = 0km

This is the last place on this trip that I have been to before.

It was in the summer of 2006, and I wanted to get to 敦煌 (dunhuang), but 敦煌 didn’t have a train station at that time.

So I had to take a train to here and then get in a car for the rest of the way:

I remember laughing out loud when I saw it:

The whole place seemed to consist only of taxi cabs!

…

The ride through the desert took about two hours:

Or four days of walking this time.

…

So here I am in 柳园 again:

And one thing has definitely changed:

There aren’t as many cabs anymore:

Well, 敦煌 has a train station and an own airport now.

They tell me 柳园 is not an oasis, so it has to get its water mainly from other places.

“Why is it there then, this little town?” I ask a cabbie who drives me around:

“There are some stone pits in the area” he says, “and a lot of people actually come from other places to work here!”

Hmm…

While grocery shopping I noticed some underwear brands that I found enjoyable – there’s the manga-panties…

…and the boxer briefs for big tattooed guys:

If you look closer, you can probably see the fat dude next to the tattooed one. His undies are called “老板库” – “the boss’s pants”, and there is a small sign indicating that they are “特大” – “extra large”.

PS: Anybody else have problems accessing the pictures hosted at picasa? Please let me know.

Soundtrack: The Temptations – “Don’t Let The Joneses Get You Down”

—total: 3688,5