Monthly Archives: October 2025

It was a pleasant night; my neighbors were silent. Since China has only one time zone, sunrise is at 8:30 a.m. (sunset: 7:13 p.m., compared to Burgas or Rome—at the same latitude: 7:30 a.m.–6:15 p.m.). Ben had told me that … Continue reading →

Good news for me: The arrival time was 8:55 a.m., not 8:55 p.m.! I had used amap to determine the stopovers on the way, and after 24 hours, I more and more suspected we might arrive earlier. This morning, the … Continue reading →

The first time something inside me told me it was time to get up was at 3 a.m. I attribute this partly to the fact that I seemed to have been sleeping soundly quite early. But when it’s all about … Continue reading →

Today marks the start of my 50-hour (addendum from the 22nd: no, only 38.5 hours!) train journey, so I can’t continue uploading until I’m back in Urumqi (October 22nd). At 10:00 a.m., Han started her free guided tour for Charlotte … Continue reading →

At breakfast, I heard the Austrian dialect for the first time since Yunnan, and in this case, it reminded me of everything I DON’T miss about Austria… The food was 50% Chinese-Western (I myself chose to 90% Chinese), and the … Continue reading →

Let’s say I fled from Hosam to the lounge yesterday, but he promised to follow me after I showered, and he did. A Mexican professor was also there, and she was desperate because she couldn’t do anything on her laptop, … Continue reading →

Hosam wanted to exchange money, and since Zotter didn’t open until 11:00, I had time to accompany him. A bank we’d seen on various maps didn’t exist, and even the locals didn’t know it. The Bank of Shanghai was still … Continue reading →

The night was short, although it had started promisingly, as I was alone in the room until midnight. But then, between midnight and 1:30 a.m., the door opened several times, sometimes for no apparent reason, sometimes it seemed as if … Continue reading →

Han, Peter, and I started at a pagoda on West Lake and my struggles what to tell here and what to skip also start here, because both of them could tell so much about the historical and cultural background that … Continue reading →

“This time” I woke up early 😉. Ben’s magic file had worked again yesterday after the hotel receptionist helped me with (better?) internet access. At least the procedure was different than in the room. So I could continue looking for … Continue reading →