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what is walking?
day 160: 静宁 (jingning) – 界石铺 (jieshipu) = 24,5km
I finally left 静宁 (jingning) behind:
Before, I had to fill up on water and soft drinks in a small shop, and it was there that I found something to share with you:
I have a standard answer when little Chinese kids get big eyes and say: “好高啊!” (“So tall!”)
It goes: “喝牛奶!” (“Drink milk!”)
Cuz that’s what we do in the West. We drink milk (see pic above).
Today I don’t need to drink any more milk though, since I’m already tall enough:
So I can have ice-cream instead.
…
Walking was peaceful today:
I didn’t really talk to anybody.
Once, there was a group of cyclists that rushed by:
They didn’t say a word, and neither did I.
Then there were some more beautiful landscapes:
I kind of just walked from here to there and took pictures of flowery blossoms, breathing in the beauty and the air of a perfect spring day:
My allergies had somehow disappeared.
There was a lake:
And then the cyclists rushed by again – this time from the opposite direction:
They had a dude in a car with a bullhorn following them, and they looked tired and stressed out. Being on the high horse of someone who was walking everywhere, I pitied the poor cyclists.
They are just rushing through these places, it’s like they haven’t ever really been here, I thought.
Realizing at the same time that I was wrong.
Walking is walking. It doesn’t constitute anything else besides that. One can walk and still be a ignorant – a walking idiot. Not even a hard thing to do.
Like, what do I know about power poles?
Everybody needs them, everybody knows them, and there they are, glaring in the sun.
When I was taking this picture, I was so obsessed with getting the moon in the right place in the composition, that I didn’t even notice one important detail: the poles were naked – there were no power supply lines.
There were construction dudes getting off work everywhere:
…but I didn’t try to make any sense out of it.
Instead, I got obsessed with shooting a night scene at a gas station:
When I finally arrived at my destination, it took me a while to find a tiny hotel in the dark streets:
The place was full of people who already seemed to know me.
“It’s you” they’d say: “the dude who was taking our picture before!”
That’s right, the construction workers were staying in the same hotel, and we decided to sit down for a nice and friendly chat.
About power poles. China. Germany. Politics. History. Food. Nature. Development. The future. The past…
Later that night, when everyone had gone to their separate rooms, and I was trying to clear my mind from the tobacco smoke, I realized something:
Walking doesn’t make head good.
Instead, it makes feet bad.
Soundtrack: Erick Sermon – “Music”
—total: 2052km
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April 17th, 2008 at 14:13
又开始上路了…
呼~
说什么呢!
那冰淇淋很遭小孩子的喜欢,因为模样可爱.
睡了,安~
April 17th, 2008 at 18:14
Foto 4 & v.a. 6 (vor und nach dem Radfahrer) sind einfach genial! (ebenso das letzte) Danke und gute Reise!
April 17th, 2008 at 23:12
very nice cherry blossoms u found. i just got back from japan and saw a sea of them there. they were everywhere! i didn't realize we have some in china too.
April 18th, 2008 at 00:14
Tough guy, walking all day long without talking to somebody seems very bad.
As long as u see someone along your journey, u try to talk to them.
I suppose that would definitely help u a lot.
Well done, my man. YOU made another 20+ kilometers.
April 18th, 2008 at 01:54
I enjoy the pictures of the spring most. :)
April 18th, 2008 at 03:14
Wer läuft, macht sich die Welt untertan. Wer läuft, sitzt nicht still. Wer nicht still sitzt, kann viele Gründe haben. Einer wäre: Hyperaktivität. Insofern könnte Laufen zur Heilung beitragen. Laufen ist aber auch eine hervorragende Tarnung für Nichtstun. Nicht umsonst die Laufmeditationen der Benediktiner. Laufen ist wundervoll. Dir beim Laufen zuzuschauen, ist sehr schön, dann muss ich es nicht tun und erfahre dennoch sehr viel. Dafür: 1000 Dank.
PS. Auch hier macht sich Frühling breit. Take care
April 18th, 2008 at 05:22
Hi,
it is pretty interesting to read about your trip…kind of mad, somehow, being on your own all the time, but damn interesting. China is somehow always so far away and we know so little about it that your trip is so very informative….!
Yeah, you are obviously having a great experience and, believe me, it will be soooo different to be back home again someday. After having so less for such a long time you will realize that your live suddenly has changed and some things matter that have not mattered before…but, this is what you might have even realized by now. I guess, you like it…!
Take care, great to read your story,
greetings from Cologne! ;-)
Sme
April 18th, 2008 at 08:17
Hello Christoph, I really enjoy reading your blog. Wish you a good journey.
ATARAXIA， it's for you.
加油
April 18th, 2008 at 12:34
scream: 我最喜欢吃的冰淇淋叫“四个圈”，那个好！
andy: immer doch!
c: I just love the countryside here, very pretty!
Achille: Sometimes it's okay not to talk…
Maggie: How's spring coming along in the South?
Hermann: Ha, bei so viel Philosophie kann ich nicht mithalten. Meine Füße tun auch zu weh! ;)
Sme: China is definitely a place worth visiting; beautiful people, a rich cultural heritage and magnificent landscapes. Cheers to Cologne from the Chinese countryside!
ataraxia: Hey, happy to hear you like reading this! :)
April 19th, 2008 at 05:22
~是冰淇淋我都爱。
某段时间迷和路雪可爱多。因为里面送Pooh系列小玩具。
今天发现改新包装,送Mickey 。Pooh都还没凑齐一套的….
对,就是美国的那个电影!
之前以为能给自己带来勇气,却发现那样的结局。
他都打算回去好好面对了…
So you must be safe…
Give us more courage to blaze its own courage…
April 21st, 2008 at 04:25
scream: 冰淇淋理论哈！那个电影没看过，好看不？
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:52
How hard is it to find lodging in those little towns? Does every little town have a hotel? Are they ever reluctant to have a foreigner stay? About 10 years ago I had the experience of being turned away from some hotels in China.
April 23rd, 2008 at 09:27
kevin: The little places are almost always very welcoming towards me. Sometimes hotels in larger towns turn foreigners away though. Happened to me 3 or 4 times, and I got mad every single time!