2015 China

19 March, Yushan to Likeng
Lijia Khezan Guesthouse 110CNY

We saw a knife-wielding man arrested in a road rage incident while sitting in our second bus of the day waiting to depart the Wuyuan bus station. We do not know what triggered his rage, but Charl, who could see considerably more than I, saw him first yelling at a second man, then grappling with him while the gathering crowd tried to separate the two. The man then reached into his car and retrieved a sizeable knife with which he threatened the second man, the small crowd either looking on or trying to intervene. The man then called the police who arrived shortly thereafter and took statements from the two engaged in the altercation as well as several others; and then arrested the first man, presumably because of the weapon-wielding. We had bussed from Yushan to Wuyuan through lovely hilly terrain, fields glowing rapeseed- yellow under an overcast sky. In Wuyuan we drew cash from an ATM and located a hotel willing to let us sit in their lobby and access their high-speed internet connection. This I needed to download a program which circumvents the Chinese government’s attempts to block access to Google, Gmail, Facebook and YouTube – all essential to my wellbeing. Back in touch with my world, we departed Wuyuan for the pretty village of Likeng in good spirits.