From the last stop, Xinyang in Henan, the country road G107 took me further south. A horrible road with fantastic view. I pass the tiny farm villages Xiaochang and Xiaogan and Guangshui, where I met a young guy born in 1989. The same year that I was born in. Talking to him makes me aware that the contrast between us couldnt be any bigger. While he is supporting his whole family and providing medical treatment for his disabled father on his own by doing farm work, I hardly take any responsibilities except for myself. And while he tells me that he admires me in some kind for traveling wherever I want, the respect that I feel for him can’t be expressed with my language skills.
Wuhan Waterpark
By the end of the this episode, I reached the mega city of Wuhan, which by that time was about to turn into a water park. It rained since weeks, the Yangtse overflowed and flooded the whole city. When I arrived in Hankou it rained so heavy, that even rain clothes were absolutely useless. So I just did what everybody seemed to do in that situation, I put on shorts, a smile and together with the residents of Wuhan, happily walked through the totally flooded streets of Wuhan. Fully drenched, I took shelter in a youth hostel.On this special occasion, people interestingly found ways to entertain themselves, such as standing on bridges while observing cars passing through flooded roads. I mean, what else is there to do than standing and waiting for the apocalypse?Only some 24 hours later, the water vanished from the city completely and left nothing but dirt and devastated shop fronts. But as usual in China, life goes on. And so does my journey.
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