The Rousing Dragon

China, the last country on my itenarary, tis also the least that I would visit. On this day, I unloaded the burdon on my back and setoff to search for my roots (if it truely were). Well, my grandpa was from Taiwan and Taiwan being part of China, naturally the correlation manifests here.

A pack of 11 to go, a pack of 11 to return. Each of which soul has a unique destination. On the surface, all appeared concurrent. Peel away the onion skins and u will see 11 naked souls, each seeking for a destination.

For this trip, I did not really find a new heart. Rather, I get to understand the amount of knowledge I deciphered from everyday living is perceived as the bible. When u hear an elderly reiterating the same gospel to ur ears during those 8 days, u know u have arrived before ur age. On a thought, it's quite scary. Or so Jeff thought.

In a word to describe this trip, I would say it almost feels like a tribulation. In a place that's dry and cold, the gregarious humans seem to think otherwise and tis these folks that added that extra warmth in a foreign land. To them, a big thank u. U know who u r.

On the first day, the Jade Dragon Snow mountain welcomed Jeff with open arms in the chilly morning sun. All was fine, with the exception of one. A distant headache began to develop. In his glee, Jeff banished that nagging feeling to the dark fluid in his brain.

3000m ASL and climbing.

At the foot of the mountain, the ancient forest beckoned. My heart opened for that briefest moments and the shutter melted into the background.

With each frame, my breath caught and released. The air was so thin that every step was a screaming agony for my deflated lungs. The first signs of high altitude sickness set in.

Mother was near. She gave Jeff a lull, filled his lungs and in an instant, recharged. The next moment, she peeled back the veil and revealed her artwork, for Jeff transformed it into eternity.