Having spent most of the evening listening to Michael Jackson CDs on repeat it was a little too late when some of us attempted to party hard in Beijing.
Considering it was almost 3am and without anything vaguely resembling a ‘club’ near our hostel, we headed home and called it quits as we had an adventurous day starting at Summer Palace planned for the next morning.
8th AUGUST:
After a sleepless night on what was effectively a metal tube tied together with some wire, we arrive in Hailar, Inner Mongolia, and I swear it is hotter than Haerbin which is strange considering we are further north! It was after this train ride I decided sleeping on any bunk other than the bottom was not wise! The view from the train is predominantly grassy, although we did get very excited when we saw some horses!
Having studied about this remarkable place in my Native Philosophy class at UNM I couldn’t wait to get out and see it for real. How it sounded on paper and in the documentary ‘The Mystery of Chaco Canyon’ narrated by Robert Redford was pretty magical, but nothing could prepare me for actually seeing it first hand.
Having seen how these crazy Americans do their own Guy-Fawkes-esque celebrations at Zozobra festival (even tho, obviously, it’s nothing to do with Guy Fawkes) it was now time to see how to throw the ultimate Hallowe’en party, American-stylie.
New Mexico really is a one-of-a-kind state. There aren’t any other states where you get quite such a potent mix of Mexican, Native American, Afro American and Old World American culture, all in the same state. Zozobra is one of those fine examples of historical and cultural superstition mixed in with the American avant-garde arts scene. Think Burning Man, just on a much smaller scale.
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The Adventures of Elle Coco 