We are rolling down a road that snakes down the mountain, bamboo forests on both sides. Lances of warm yellow light from the low hanging sun cut through the forest, gilding the slender stalks of the bamboo and making the leaves glow golden. An insignificant moment of beauty but precious all the same.… Read the rest
The water envelopes me in its warmth, steam rising up from its surface, mingling with the mists that swirl around the surrounding mountains. Little cascades of water are thrown into the air wherever the the rain drops hit the otherwise smooth surface of the pool. The rain falls on my head and shoulders, little spikes of cold mixing in with the heat of the water, the feeling is quite sublime – total relaxation.… Read the rest
I’m speeding along towards the high speed rail station, the meter showing 80 kilometers an hour and a cool wind washing over me. Suddenly the buildings on my right give way to a large open space, and I wonder for a moment how that can be, before realizing that it is most likely one of the fish farming ponds. I take a longer look, and sure enough, beyond a low concrete barrier, the perfectly smooth surface of the water spreading out towards the horizon. It reflects the infinity of space above, so dark blue that it’s almost back. At the far … Read the rest
The rope in my hand is taut, pulling me forward. My board skips across the surface of the pond, leaving a wake gurgling and splashing behind it. I’m surfing towards the setting sun, it hangs low over far away green hills, streaking the grey green water with lustrous gold; my right hand stretched out behind me, the fingers forming the rock and roll sign of the devil. I let out a scream of exhilaration, it’s a perfect moment.… Read the rest
The air is cool, not fully cold, just…crisp. The sky is clear, save for a few veils of cloud too thin to catch any of the light pollution from the city. It’ dark enough that I can see a few stars, Orion’s Belt off to the south. A brilliant silver white moon is competing with the street lights. It’s quiet, just the sound of a few cars in the distance and the wind rustling the leaves of a nearby palm tree. It feels wrong, like I’m not in Hsinchu anymore, it feels… like Gotheburg in September.… Read the rest
Twilight, just before dusk, the sky overcast. It doesn’t seem to matter if I have my headlights on or not. I switch them off for a second, I see just fine without them, then turn them back on for safety. There is a continuous drizzle, almost unnoticeable when standing still but speed compacts it, I can feel a constant spray on the lower half of my face and the spattering on my visor blurs my vision and diffuses incoming light into glittering halo’s around its sources. It is cold, my face feels numb and a few moments without gloves is … Read the rest
I’ve got the ear buds stuck in at angle to get the bass notes better, Volbeat blasting away, all electric guitars and garbled English. The air conditioning is set to a comfortable level and despite not being able to see the ground I still enjoy the view. It turns out our cruising altitude is such that we are flying just above a layer of clouds. Hills and valleys, crags, boulders and ravines all formed of pristine white vapor bathed in sunlight against a backdrop of clear blue sky and even a few lighter tufts of cloud above. It really is … Read the rest
I am passing the point where the street lights end, behind me the street is desolate and gloomy, no people around and but few lights in the windows, in front of me just murky darkness. As I leave the light a feeling rises within me, I don’t think it’s fear, no its not strong enough for that, but rather apprehension. In my mind I can rationalize it, I highly doubt some ill doer would be waiting on a dark road at the edge of a rural German town with the intent to accost a chance jogger. Neither do I think … Read the rest
I am crossing a small wooden bridge, the sound of the river rushing past beneath my feet is very visceral. It surges by with a noisome gurgling that drowns out the only other sound to be heard this early, that of my own feet treading the ground. At this hour, the vanity lights of the town church, the small castle and the bridge itself are all out and there are no tourists awake to take pictures of the night vista. Mists hang like a veil in front the grey mountains in the distance and the churning river is a dark … Read the rest
I’m sweating despite the early autumn chill, my heat is thumping in my chest and my breathing is labored. I’m running on a small path along the river, everything is damp from the rain, my steps squelch in the mud. To my right a single row of trees and beyond that the dim turquoise waters of the Rhein, ever flowing past me in the opposite direction. To my left a field of corn, the green stalks rising up to meet the milky sky that covers everything in the distance. I look up for a moment to see a mountain rising … Read the rest
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