Clarifications

You might be thinking (as I read from a friend) that we are not enjoying the trip, as the last few post about China were negative. Traveling is not only about enjoying things, but mostly discovering things. We have been discovering that most of China cities are unbearable because of pollution, way of driving and lack of respect among others.

However today we did 8 hours of bus to arrive to a 50% Tibetan village at 2600m altitude where, for the first time, we can see the sky and breath some fresh air. Before here we have been discovering most known villages of China, using public transports, being in environments where the mob of Chinese people just suffocates you (and we are not talking about India, where we believe it is much worst). This does not give pleasure of traveling. However at same time you want to discover, you want to feel, you want to visit world heritage sites which are near big cities like Beijing or Xi'an.

We are enjoying the trip and no way to return soon. Just that there are parts of the world where you loose your patience because things are difficult to handle and, in tight budget together with long trips it makes heavy. It is the "and again, and again, and again syndrome".

Another friend wrote yesterday that for most people travel is: way of escape; way of distraction (holidays); way of laziness; way of avoidance (of reality).

Long travel for me is, however, a way of continuous reborn; way of confrontation with the (others) reality; way of getting lost and way of rethinking about life and, a way of true freedom. Enough. And argh, I cannot see the youtube videos of the Portuguese party leaders being joked by commediants... Eva cannot access and update her facebook.

(the picture, if it appears in the blog, it is Chengdu downtown. The weather was fine and it was day. The gray is not fog, it is the pollution).