Chapter 2: the real travel begins

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After too many hours spent yearning to travel without any obligations or responsibilities I replace:
- an oversized apartment
- celebrity status with hundreds of adoring fans
- a personal driver, and
- the most generous friends
with:
- a backpack
- 3 sets of clothes
- two pairs of shoes
- a bag of toiletries, and
- a lonely planet guide to china.

Teaching in Tianjin for three months (in a nutshell) was an experience that taught me so much more than just the limited mandarin i can now speak today. I am thankful for the experience, however I have the most itchy feet and need to move on. There is so much I need to see that wouldn't be possible if I stayed. I have said my last "bye bye" and am catching a 22 hour train to the south of china.

The backpacker diaries begin...

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