hiding it
At around 10 in the morning, I said goodbye to Uncle Shen and got on the train to Kuytun.
We gently rolled on, and the Gobi desert passed by the window:
It felt weird to be there:
A few hours later, I had arrived at my destination:
Kuytun. The place where I had many friends, and the place where my own stupidity had caused a disaster the last time I was here.
Lei Sheng picked me up from the station and took me to get something to eat. I was surprised to find out that Kvass, the drink that I had so much enjoyed in Russia, was a popular beverage over here too:
Then we went and saw the Caboose. She was in a storage room:
Lei Sheng had been keeping her there for me. It was very moving for me to see her after all this time:
And she looked like she was feeling the same:
To me, she looked like she wanted to be on the road.
…
Then some reporters showed up:
I was a bit reluctant at first, because I didn’t want to draw any attention to myself (not after what had happened last time), but they were very nice, so I just played along.
That night, we went out to dinner with some of the same people of two years ago. Friends. And we even went to the same place:
Glasses were raised and toasts were given out, there was laughter in the air and the smell of good food. I had some pomegranate wine that was pretty tasty. And I think I more or less managed to hide my fear.
My fear of tomorrow. Of Usu, the place that was waiting for me out there.
Steven
You got a new MarkIII….!
and a new lens?
Neil Sandage
The TV reporter is holding THREE reporting devices? Stereo microphones and some sort of digital recorder in her palm. Professional technique even though she is dresses like a student.
It’s great that you ate at that same place. It has the most genuine old world feel.
KBAC and Pomegranate Wine? Thank you for introducing them to me.