is this the end?

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The Yu family I was staying with was very friendly, and they wouldn’t let me go unless I had breakfast with them:

They told me that the largest stretches of Gobi desert now were behind me, and that I could look forward to walking through more populated areas from now on.

The end of the Gobi? Oh, how I enjoyed hearing that!

I stayed around watching a TV broadcast in honor of the disaster relief workers in Sichuan:

…but it just seemed like lots of suits that were very important-looking.

Then I got on my way.

Another two days of walking ahead of me:

First it was 20km of nothingness:

Then suddenly, the oasis of Shanshan appeared…

…and everything was suddenly cool and green.

Well, almost everything:

I wonder what kind of people would just throw away their dogs as if they were garbage?

What a sad thought.

…

I walked into the evening light…

…past quiet mosques…

…and past bustling gas stations…

I wasn’t alone on the last 5km – this guy was walking with me:

Wu Jiang 吴江, 24-year old medical student from Yan’an 延安 in the province of Shaanxi, had come all the way to Western China to fulfill a childhood dream: to see the beautiful crystal waters of the Tianchi 天池 40km east of Ürümqi with his own eyes.

Upon having done that, he figured it might be fun to walk with me for a day.

Well, given that this could very well be the end of the Gobi desert, we shall see tomorrow if it’s fun.