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China, Travel Words

Notes from a Bus to Jiuzhaigou

7:55am Enter bus.  There are no more window seats.  This 12 hour ride will not involve sleep.  Already wishing I’d at least considered a plane. 8:43am 1st movie started.  There is a construction worker with a bullied but ambitious son.  The father dies in an accident at work, and the […]

China, Travel Words

Leshan Big Buddha

The largest carved stone Buddha in the world, I didn’t visit Leshan’s Big Buddha the first time I was in Chengdu because the sky had that China-haze going on.  On this round, with a day to kill before I really wanted to head to Jiuzhaigou, I decided to give it […]

China, Travel Words

Kuqa: Aden

“The Chinese are all pigs.  This is why we do not let them into our mosques.”  Aden was mad, and understandably so.  Whether justified or not, the Uigher people felt like the oppressed minority, and the riots in the capital city of Urumqi could only serve to strengthen such sentiments. […]

China, Travel Words

Sichuan: Villages

Because she was still on vacation for the Spring Festival holiday, Carmen and I hung out for the next few days I was in Chengdu.  Eventually, she invited me to go with her to visit several areas near where she grew up. The two of us spent one day in […]

China, Travel Words

Sichuan: Bamboo Sea

In order to get away from the Spring Festival crowds in Chengdu, I left town towards the Bamboo Sea.  On the way I met a girl, Carmen, who had gotten tired of cooking for her family for the holidays and decided to do the same. After walking around the park […]