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Klaatu
Vacation time!
I felt very grateful for a chance to visit Inner Mongolia (内蒙古) over the holidays:
There was public transportation, so I didn’t have to walk much.
Travel with friends, blissful happiness.
…
Just upon arrival, I noticed something interesting, or maybe it wasn’t really that interesting. Maybe it was just dumb:
I guess some things will always remain incomprehensible to me (“Achromatic – again”).
But then I noticed something that seemed ever more justified and expected:
“娃回来吧 – 我错了!” (“baby come back – I was wrong!“)
Someone had plastered these all over a bridge in 海拉尔 (Hailar). People were walking by. Someone was selling lambsticks. Maybe 娃 (“baby”) never crossed this bridge anymore, or maybe she had stopped reading the stickers?
At the foot of the bridge, I witnessed a man and a woman fighting. Someone else would have to print stickers soon.
…
All of this wasn’t what I was looking for though.
I was happy when I found the cows:
Out on the yellow-turned grasslands, there were even some yurts with cows on them:
There were earth mounds with decorations that seemed fascinating:
And there rested the elegant marshlands of 额尔古纳 (Ergun):
It was good.
Then on one evening, when our hats and gloves were protecting us from the night, while the the streets were asleep and the chimneys were filling the air with the scent of distant warmth…
…I could suddenly feel the walking winter nights of 河北 (Hebei) and 山西 (Shanxi) within me, crystalizing out of every breath of this cold charcoal air.
The night became an endless night.
The street became a street to walk on.
It was so beautiful it hurt.
Soundtrack: Simon & Garfunkel – “Sound Of Silence”
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October 19th, 2009 at 19:10
I've just finished reading all this wonderful blog…
good luck Chris!
=)
October 19th, 2009 at 20:52
Nice perspective on the last picture ! It sure makes you wanna walk down this road.
– Woods
October 20th, 2009 at 00:06
like those pictures, esp the last one. considering make it my wallpaper. lol
October 20th, 2009 at 17:48
I´M FROM ARGENTINA. MENNNN YOU ROCK IT!!!, I WISH SOME DAY IN MY POOR LIFEEEE I COULD DO SOMETHING LIKE YOU DO. PLEASE SEND ME NEWS ABOUT YOUR TRIP.
October 21st, 2009 at 12:24
Still not quite fixed inside, huh? :-/
If you ever come to Oslo, let me know. Screw the city, get out into the mountains. Lakes, berries, and so few people…
October 21st, 2009 at 19:39
@ Daniel
I think Chris is quite there already, "Time" is the only thing he needs!
October 22nd, 2009 at 02:36
Souljan: I feel very honored that you have taken the time to read it all. I hope you had as much fun reading it as I had writing it!
Woods: So many nice roads everywhere…
ZMH: Hehe, I made it my wallpaper after reading your comment. Then noticed it made me wanna go out and walk every time I looked at it. ;)
Lucas: Hey, I am sure that Maradona's home country has lots and lots of nice places to walk around doesn't it?
Daniel: Hm… berries…
Steven: And berries!!
October 23rd, 2009 at 06:54
I watched the landscape slowly change as it clung to the last hours of sunlight, before leaving me to get another sleepless night.
Two weeks ago I started reading random posts on your side. (After the youtube video of the day on my ipod – your video). This led me to a strong feeling of – I cannot put into words but it made me read it from day 1 every free minute I had watching every picture you took. It was a relief – it had put me away from here into your world. And…
Yeah, I tend to talk way to much. After I finished reading I think every word would delute the thing I would like to say: Vielen Dank das Du Dir alle die Mühe gemacht hast Deine Reise so zu dokumentieren, das man daran teilhaben kann. Danke, vielen lieben Dank!
PS: Falls ich Dir irgendwie helfen kann – ich könnte mir vorstellen wenn Du Deinen Laptop mit seiner Software auf einen oder mehrere USB-Sticks sicherst würde Dir das das Neuinstallieren ersparen. Zum anderen – Es gibt auch Provider die keine Beschränkungen im Traffic haben und die Seite ist dennoch schnell im Aufbau. Wenn Du da was suchst lass es mich wissen.
Ingo
October 29th, 2009 at 02:23
Hello, welcome to back.
November 2nd, 2009 at 21:14
Wow. Those pictures are just beautiful. You are quite a photographer. What kind of camera are you using ? The color is great! Are they fairly out of camera or did you play with them alot with editing software? They make me want to be right there. Thanks brother.
November 5th, 2009 at 13:48
Ingo: Hey, danke für deine Nachricht, ich stehe definitiv mit meinem Rechner auf Kriegsfuß, aber langsam wird's anscheinend etwas besser! :)
tan cheng: Welcome back to you too!
Dave MacV: I use a digital SLR, usually don't do too much editing, just some basic adjustments. Glad you like them! :)
December 7th, 2009 at 19:00
Hey Chris, that sticker in one of the above photos was the first time I'd seen 娃 and I assumed it was a guy calling his girlfriend "babe". But I just showed that picture to a Chinese friend and he said it means infant. He translated it as "My child, come back". If that's true then it's a much sadder picture :( .