happiness

By loading the map, you agree to Google's privacy policy.
Learn more

Load map

Always unblock Google Maps

I had no idea that today was going to be my last happy day for a while.

…

I walked through the little village…

…to the Ancient Graveyard of Astana 阿斯塔纳古墓:

Nothing much to see here, just a few graves from a bunch of centuries back, some with murals, others complete with mummified corpses in them:

I didn’t find it all that exciting…

…so I left soon.

Then it was a couple of hours on a desert road until I got to the official site of Huoyanshan 火焰山:

What a weird tourist attraction: there’s the mountain, and it’s just sitting there. Then there’s a museum recounting the mentions of the mountain within the old 西游记 (Journey to the West – history lessons, Muslims and water fountains, revenge of the prime target). And besides all that, there is a huge thermometer that has once measured a blasting 49,7°C out here and has also made some kind of world record just for its sheer size:

There was a travel group from Hong Kong, and I was very happy to take a picture with them, mainly because I liked their cute yellow caps:

It felt good, happy. You know.

Then I walked past some more mountain scenery…

…always following the desert road…

…until the sun was about to settle down behind the distant trees…

…and I could see the hazy shape of the city from afar:

That’s when I got another very urgent visit from my old friend Paul (Paul says: constipation is bliss, please stop me when I get into a frenzy), but luckily I made it to a gas station in time:

These friendly guys offered water and medication, and most importantly, they let me use their loo:

Oh, what a relieving moment!

Happiness.