The Road Ahead: Lawrence to Kaifeng, China

“Free to those that can afford it, very expensive to those that can’t.”

–Withnail and I

After a blissful few weeks back in Australia I will again be hitting the road later this week. This time I will be going to Kaifeng, China to teach English at Henan University. The academic course I am teaching lasts for ten weeks and I should return back to Australia just before New Year’s Eve. After the course is finished, I have about a nine day block of time before I come back which hopefully allow me to cross a much publicized border for a few days.

Why China? As the above quote mentioned, the good life really isn’t free. The ugly beast that I call monetary necessity has woken and has started nibbling around my ankles. This will be my third trip to China. My two previous trips were focused on Xinjiang, so this will be my first time to live and experience the more ‘typical’ China. To be honest, I am not a huge fan of the Middle Kingdom. In my previous trips I found the food oily, the air dirty, and the toilets to be a direct pathway to Hades itself. I am hoping on this trip my mind will be a bit expanded and I can turn a few of my negative impressions into positive ones.

My work schedule, as it appears, should allow me quite a lot of free time which I am planning being buckled down in my room writing away. I am pretty confident though that I will find the time to climb a holy mountain or walk around a ghost city or two.