day 361: 呼图壁 (Hutubi) = 0km

The medication doesn’t seem to help. Maybe I don’t have a cold at all. Could it be that I am allergic to something out here?

To walking…?

…

Anyway, I ordered some food and decided to get on the road again the next day, no matter what:

I forget what this dish was called, but there was eggplant in it, which is basically a guarantee for tastiness in this country.

On my third or second day in China, when I was standing at the counter of our school cafeteria, not sure what to pick, my Irish friend David pointed at something and said: “Get that one, the fried eggplant! If there is one thing that the Chinese can do, it’s eggplant.”

Eggplant has been my favorite ever since.

I bought a 月饼 (moon cake) as well today:

This is intended for the celebration of 中秋节 (Mid-Autumn Festival) on September 22nd, but I figured I might as well sneak one in when I’m on the road.

Oh, and I learned a poem:

《咏鹅》骆宾王 (初唐) Ode to a Goose, by Luo Binwang (640-684)

鹅，鹅，鹅 Goose, goose, goose
曲项向天歌 Curved necks singing towards the sky
白毛浮绿水 White feathers floating on green water
红掌拨清波 Red feet stirring clear waves

Two things I find remarkable about this poem:

1) The author was apparently only seven years old when he composed this poem more than 1300 years ago.

2) The first line does not fit the standard 5-character parameter. Instead, it is made up of only 3 characters, which can also be understood as an onomatopoeia: é, é, é…

The cry of the goose.

Soundtrack: David Bowie – “Space Oddity”

—total: 4723,8km