Category Archives: diary

That night, I used my thin sleeping bag again, as the blanket looked like a bedspread. I think it’s worth bringing, even if you’re a backpacker (which I currently am) trying to optimize your pack. I wasn’t sure whether to … Continue reading →

Almaty would have been another stopover to meet a friend (who is now in Italy). Ultimately, I had planned too tightly to stay there for more than one night, as I needed three trains to Bukhara instead of one, and … Continue reading →

This day is crucial for me, as this is my first trip to an unfamiliar country, and it involves a long bus journey that has been shrouded in mystery ever since I first heard about it. So I’m just hoping … Continue reading →

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 →