A runner's diary

I don't know if any of you have ever brought your running shoes on a vacation. If not this is an encouragement to do so next time you go.

At first it might sound a bit self-torturing to bring running shoes on a vacation. It might be, but my experience is that it also allows you to get a different impression of the places you visit. It offers some unique experiences which you would not get had it not been for the running shoes.

Here are some snap shots of what I have experienced by running during our trip - often in the early morning:

1. I went running with Morten, the Danish guy whith whom we stayed in Beijing. We ran in a nearby park and had a good talk about living in Beijing. Furthermore, I got to experience the air in Beijing on my own body... (Actually I think I was more healthy before we went running than afterwards due to the pollution levels in Beijing!)

2. The ancient town of Dali has a city wall surrounding the entire city. Running on the wall one early morning, I had a fantastic view of the city, the nearby lake, the mountains and the sunrise. I also happened to interrupt a group of old Chinese people doing tai-chi on the city wall. It was a tough run, however, but I ended up blaming it on the elevation of the city of Dali: 2000 m - rather than on bad shape.

3. The Dragon Pool Park in Lijiang is an excellent place to run. I went in bright sunshine one morning and besides from the view of the snow mountain I saw how the old men of the Naxi tripe gather in the park - each with a falcon on their right arm. I guess the falcons were once used as hunters by the locals. The park turned out to be a popular place for the locals to work out as well. Imagine a 80 year old man doing leg bends at 7 a.m. - that's inspiring for us young folks...

4. Ahh Yangshuo. Running around among the otherwordly topography of Yangshuo. Do I have to say more?? By the way I don't think the locals outside Yangshuo see that many white guys running around in shorts in the early morning. They were staring and a guy on a motorbike even offered me a ride - I declined since that kind of undermines the idea of running ;-)

5. Victoria Park in Hong Kong is very popular with locals in the morning. As in the rest of China it is popular to do tai-chi outside before going to work. In Victoria park I saw a lot of tai-chi but also groups of people doing some kind of exercise, maybe tai-chi, with a sword or a fan in hand. Pretty nice entertainment when you are running on your own!

6. And how does a white guy know that he is in Asia? Well, try running into a street sign in Taipei... Those Asian fellows are not that tall are they?? (I actually got a scar as you can probably see from the picture).