Date: Mon, Jan 9, 2017 at 10:39 PM
Subject: Re: World walk blog China 7
To: Tony <theworldjog@gmail.com>



I had a couple of glorious days walking on route R108 and clocked up 44 and then 33 kilometres to finish about an hours walk north of Lingshi. It's a four-lane divided dual carriage-way with a nice wide shoulder for me. I crossed from Shanxi province to Shaanxi province. Two neighbouring provinces with just one letter in the difference. Sometimes I wonder if the Chinese deliberately try to confuse. I have heard people commenting on forums and on travel podcasts that there is nothing in central China, just desert. Well, not in this part, for I am regularly walking past the entrances to cities, towns and villages.
People continue to look at me in amazement. Even though I am reasonably well groomed and shaved. When I go into a shop I am often watched carefully. Sometimes I am asked if I have any money. Occasionally, I hand them a few Yuans as though I thought they were begging from me! Then when my offering is refused I offer them more! This is greeted with great hilarity by their friends. Another time I took out a bunch of 100 Yuan notes when I arrived at the counter and told him I had no small change! It's less embarrassing to just take my money out before I enter. I often feel like an escaped convict from a Holywood 60's movie. Like a man on the run, with hungry eyes looking for a chicken coop to raid. Or like I'm on the look out for a liquor store to hold up! I have lots of fun playing up to all of this for when I go inside a small supermarket I cause mayhem looking for the chocolate and saying hello to everyone! I am hopeless at the language and usually yell out... " Chocolate! Chocalayo! Chocco! Chicilat! Chocolat! " Attendants like search parties run with me around the isles. As I go I wave and blow kisses at everyone, even the grandmothers who get a laugh when I hug them for many people seem pretty reserved to me.
I shout " Ah! Hello miss, or mister or Mrs." I have got into the habit of calling strangers 'Mister' since Indonesia on my world run. There it was a common greeting as I ran through villages. I responded with the same greeting as I figured if they called me that then they would understand me. It's become such a hard habit to kick that I have gotten a few funny looks when saying it in Dublin where it's not common!
And then there are the countless photo shoots, for I am told that the Chinese think that western noses are monumental. Shorty Chrissy Herring is coming out to join me on the walk. 👣👣She plans to walk until it becomes too embarrassing. 😂 I hope to get some of the fun on video!
Daytime and evenings continue to be mild, at least for me for the Chinese seem to wrap themselves up in about half their body weight of clothing. I don't think they are tough people, not like the Mongolians or Siberians.   Yesterday I didn't even wear gloves. I don't usually start early but this morning I was kicked out onto the road at 8:20. However,  at that hour it was cold, even with two pairs of gloves and woollen socks. I stopped after only four kms at a petrol station and am waiting for a blast of sunshine.
Last night I had a delicious chop suey and asked the nice people in the restaurant if I could lay my sleeping bag out in an empty back room. Instead I was brought next door where a security guard and allowed to sleep on a sofa.


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