We're half an hour away from xian so the train has docked at xianyang train station. Somewhere along the way, the buildings have decidedly grown almost like a jack and the beanstalk tale. There is massive construction at each bend, there are wailing banners billowing in the wind about how construction is the seed of civilization. The barren landscape of sandy desert and withered shrubbery has given way to colorful and opulent housing estates, each sprawling on it...

"Your cold mornings are filled with the heartache about the fact that although we are not at ease in this world, it is all we have, that it is ours but that it is full of strife, so that all we can call our own is strife; but even that is better than nothing at all, isn't it? And as you split frost-laced wood with numb hands, rejoice that your uncertainty is God's will and His grace toward you and that...that is beautiful, and part of a greater certainty, as your...

Oh im on the train again. It's a 24 hour ride this time. And the interesting thing is, there is some serious s*** going on. Yes I'm referring to the intestinal kind. So I'm pretty much on a liquid diet, except for the odd bowl of noodles here and there. not because I'm saving money or anything, it's just that the heat makes me not hungry. I should stay here for a good 6 months and I should be on my way to losing a good 20 kg. so yesterday I drank about 9 bottles ...

Perhaps It was for the best that I stayed in Turpan for the day. Dunhuang was relatively doable in a day, even on a relaxed schedule. Dunhuang is a small town, it's main attractions are the Mogao caves, The crescent moon lake, and the Yumen pass. I would really recommend crescent moon lake, it was really really awesome especially at sunset and you'd find it a good workout to climb up the sand dune for a good photo op. too bad I wasn't eating anything yesterday a...

Train stations evoke a very odd sensation in me. It's a mixture of wonder, impatience, sadness, and disgust. Sitting in a corner seat, I seem to sink into the walls as I see everyone else around me process the little nitty gritties of life like chewing on their pistachios or entertaining their children with things happening outside the window. Men from the countryside, grilled to a shiny mud brown stand around scratching their crotches, clearing their phlegm. Wom...