Officially Speaking
Well, shit. It's official: i'm boarding a train thursday afternoon, 21 hours afterwhich i will magically pop up in shanghai. That trainride is the end of my travels and when i walk out of the station someone will be there to escort me to an apartment with a writing desk full of worries and responsibilities stuffed in the drawers. I'm having a panic attack, but it's normal and expected.
For the past 10 months i've scooted across india, nepal, thailand, laos, cambodia, vietnam and southern china. How many thousands of miles i've gone by plane, boat, train, bus, car, foot and donkeycart i can't even say... but it's all history the second i step on that platform. On some days i woke up, looked out the window and decided i couldn't be bothered to leave town for another week. On other days i woke up and decided to cross the entire goddamn country immediately. Starting on saturday i will wake up and decide to go to work... hence anxiety.
Maybe i'll cultivate crocus and orchids on the balcony. Familiarize myself with calligraphy or pick up that beat up old Urdu book i have and get back to work. Maybe i'll put those mandarin grammar books to use. Buy a fake persian rug and a shisha pipe and a tea set and not move for the entire weekend. What if i run off to beijing to see some funky gallery, or get fanciful and decide that proper sichuanese food can be had only in sichuan... clear across china? I guess i'm not in the right frame of mind for working; hong kong has totally dazzled me and i'm ready to take on the rest of china.
I'm also having anxiety attacks because the most bitchin exhibition of the fucking CENTURY is being held in hong kong RIGHT NOW... and i have no idea how to get there. No metro access. No communter rail access. Maybe a bus, though no one seems to know. Anyway, it's a look at chinese art since mao and has some AMAZING artists contributing to it. One of my newfound favs, Zhang Xiaogang, has some stuff hanging there. My god, just typing anything about the exhibit makes me have to cut this short for a smoke break.
I also have to admit i'm bitchy -- i ran out of tea and can't find anything better than tourist-grade shit in Hong Kong. DAYS of SCOURING for decent oolong and pu-erh has made me very very BITTER. Even the jasmine teas... you can't really go wrong with that... ugh, i won't even get started on jasmine teas here.
3-2-1 smoke!
For the past 10 months i've scooted across india, nepal, thailand, laos, cambodia, vietnam and southern china. How many thousands of miles i've gone by plane, boat, train, bus, car, foot and donkeycart i can't even say... but it's all history the second i step on that platform. On some days i woke up, looked out the window and decided i couldn't be bothered to leave town for another week. On other days i woke up and decided to cross the entire goddamn country immediately. Starting on saturday i will wake up and decide to go to work... hence anxiety.
Maybe i'll cultivate crocus and orchids on the balcony. Familiarize myself with calligraphy or pick up that beat up old Urdu book i have and get back to work. Maybe i'll put those mandarin grammar books to use. Buy a fake persian rug and a shisha pipe and a tea set and not move for the entire weekend. What if i run off to beijing to see some funky gallery, or get fanciful and decide that proper sichuanese food can be had only in sichuan... clear across china? I guess i'm not in the right frame of mind for working; hong kong has totally dazzled me and i'm ready to take on the rest of china.
I'm also having anxiety attacks because the most bitchin exhibition of the fucking CENTURY is being held in hong kong RIGHT NOW... and i have no idea how to get there. No metro access. No communter rail access. Maybe a bus, though no one seems to know. Anyway, it's a look at chinese art since mao and has some AMAZING artists contributing to it. One of my newfound favs, Zhang Xiaogang, has some stuff hanging there. My god, just typing anything about the exhibit makes me have to cut this short for a smoke break.
I also have to admit i'm bitchy -- i ran out of tea and can't find anything better than tourist-grade shit in Hong Kong. DAYS of SCOURING for decent oolong and pu-erh has made me very very BITTER. Even the jasmine teas... you can't really go wrong with that... ugh, i won't even get started on jasmine teas here.
3-2-1 smoke!