xiamen blog!

to run my finger along the walls

cracked, overrun with creepers and jutting at the corners

laden with dust from years before

and deformed by the weight of time

 

to stand on the old cobbled pathways

which were paved by the hands of early labourers

and stepped upon by sedan carriers,

rickshaw riders and little girls selling sandalwood fans

 

to close my eyes and feel

the energy,

the verve, the spirit,

the essence, the mood, the atmosphere,of times long gone.

 

yesterday and today

the same wall, the same road, the same pathway

but a different cacophony of noises and sights

and a beholder of its charm.

 

 

I am such a sucker for old worldly charm, for the romantic ideal of a lone explorer, for being an observer in a foreign land.

I seem not to care about being totally integrated into a place; rather, it is being in transit that excites me.

In transit - like being in a film, actually being part of the film yet the other characters are not aware of my presence. they just go about their usual routine and i just observe.

 

and eat.

 

hahaha

 

Taking a bus to nowhere in order to "get lost" and see the city is one of my favourite activity. Buses wind through big bustling districts, quiet neighbourhoods, and interesting alleys. Not being in a rush is such a luxury that I treasure here, so there's no need to take the bus merely to get from place to place. garish signboards and dusty shops aside,  i'm starting to uncover some nooks and crannies of the city which are charming. the colonial mansions, the chinese roofs, the pre-war shophouses which line the streets...

 

I can't wait to get lost again.