Sitting in Silence
Nomadic Gatherings by
Michel Guntern
.
Chapter Six: Northern Capitals - Sitting in Silence.
If the three Chinese men in my compartment refused to talk to each other, then I had very little chance of striking up any sort of meaning with them.
The man opposite me wore glasses and hid himself behind one of his three papers; a man with a blue cap beside me snatched one of the other papers from the table, without appearing to ask the owner's permission; and the third stranger was somewhat overweight and had trouble breathing.
He pumped some hot water into his tea jar, and intermittently slurped at the brew.
The train squeaked its way into the night, and soon the compartment sounded asleep.
South of Shanghaiguan, where The Great Wall meets the sea, patches of green appeared in the otherwise dry, brown landscape.
A lone dog wandered away from its master; a father with his child. The little child had a red coat on, and I could clearly see it squatting.
This reminded me of a little girl I had seen in the Harbin waiting-room. She could have been no more than three or four years old. She had on three pairs of woollen trousers, each pair had a purpose-made crutch hole; the girl could squat wherever and whenever she needed.
It was certainly convenient for the parents, but a little chilly for the child - I thought.
There is a complete lack of privacy when you want a shit in China; it seems the ultimate leveller of the people.
How can anyone have any pretensions, squatting over a hole without a door to close off the space, and a head on view of the straining person opposite?
More From Travel Notes
Travel Notes Online Guide to Travel
The Travel Notes Online Guide to Travel helps visitors plan their trip with country and city travel guides, local tourist information, reviewed web sites, and regular travel articles.
Turn The Page:
Wake, Eat,
Sleep.
Travel Notes
> Meta-Travel Tourism Association
About
Travel and Tourism promotion and online Destination Marketing.
Travel writers and photographers seeking to expand their local contacts and travel networks can easily connect with others interested in travel or living abroad.
Verified Members can even create and manage their own Social Group.
Listings
Owners with Business Listings on Meta-Travel can add events, embed videos, send out news to their registered fans, and encourage discussion in their own dedicated forum.
Lodging
All Accommodation Entries have their own integrated forum where owners can interact with fans. Potential guests can also make an inquiry direct from the lodging listing page.
Tourist Info
Add value to your destination by sharing cool travel tips about hot tourist attractions, places to visit and how to travel around your Favourite Places.
Travel Sites
Connecting some of the best Travel and Tourism websites and Travel Blogs with travel fans through social media channels on Facebook and Twitter.
Travel and Tourism with Industry Professionals
If you enjoy Nomadic Gatherings, please take a moment to share it with your friends on social media.
Increase Bookings & Reach
More Customers.