Thursday
June 19, Jinye Binguan Hotel, Jiayuguan
Zhangye to Jiayuguan. Getting to the station,
working out the info system and finding my seat a breeze and the set up is even
better than last time. I have two seats to myself, plenty of leg room and I
wouldn't have minded a longer trip! Take some good video footage of the
landscape as we gradually go along from irrigated green valley to desert.
Dunhuang landscape is not unlike the desert road - eroded canyons, tussock
grasses and big mountains in the background.
So I get out of the station, the guides say
that there is a grid layout and it's 2 blocks east and 2 blocks north and I'm there.
How hard can it be? Well, I get comprehensively lost, probably ended up walking
all around the centre, but there seemed to be no roads in to the centre. I get
picked up by a taxi after about 30 minutes of looking silly and get back on
track like I should have at the start. I do get to go into a gated community,
however! Pretty run-down medium-rise apartments, pretty sorry looking, lots of
old people sitting down playing games and doing not very much at all (probably
some gambling?).
So we go on the meter, visiting a sack of
places and then I get dropped off at the hotel.
Here's what I saw in the order I saw it:
§
First Beacon Platform of the Great Wall
- amazing views over a gorge from the 'underground valley' (tourist
installation, quite nicely done) and I get up close to a bit of Ming-era great
wall and a beacon, which really is just a huge lump of dirt. That's what the
desert does to you I guess!
§
Jiayuguan Fort - all really manicured
and pristine and in many ways a disappointment but this is how the chinese like
their history. I dunno - ruin or restoration - which do you like?
§
In the fort are various gates and
towers and a horse pathway
§
Overhanging Great Wall - first
constructed in 1539 but these towers and walls were done in 1987! Not bad, nice
pictures. Meet an Israeli tour group of oldies doing Kazakhstan to Beijing!
They can't believe I'm doing this by myself! I'm pleased to not be on a tour,
but it would be so easy, so safe, and so expensive!
§
It is great to see things that have
only been pictures in books. I'm enjoying this!
Back to hotel for a good price, I check out
the bus stand and have a drink - first of the day just about and I am dry as a
bone. Then to the Yuan Zhong Yuan Restaurant for more than I can eat pork, rice
and beer. It's delicious! I'm rolling out of there, they just don't do/get
dining for one! I would have stayed longer if there hadn't been so many
smokers. Yuk. While I'm at it, the bedroom stinks of it too and I have no
aircon to get rid of it. Or towels for that matter. Or internet. However, it is
very close to the bus station, and cheap enough and I'm only here for one
night.
Friday
June 20, Mogao Hotel, Dunhuang
Jiayuguan to Dunhuang, as far as I go on the
silk road this trip. And yes, I think I can safely say that we are now in the
desert! Whilst there are oasis towns, we are in desert - mountains on one side,
though smaller and without snow, and unrelenting flat to the horizon on the
other. The only thing going on is the transport and communications
infrasructure. Huge support structures for a motorway (I think) crossing dried
up river valleys (I think). All new. Must cost gazillions. There was a brand
new oasis town called Ganzhou, almost mid-USA kinda place with lovely
tree-lined streets and shops and all very civilised. Guess they're trying to
attract Han chinese out here? It's noticeably hotter than Jiayuguan, which was
at 1500m, although it is the middle of the day. The traffic is really light,
and I think at least in part to the fact that people take a siesta. Returning
from Mogao tomorrow, the place was practically deserted at 1.30pm.
Eventually we get to Dunhuang, I'm pretty much
straight out of the bus, into a taxi, into the hotel and watching England get
beaten. How's that?! From there I get a beer and some chips and onion rings at
Charlie Johngs Cafe and, just as importantly, get myself sorted for here -
Yardan trip, Mogao Caves tomorrow, camel tour sorted, overnight train sorted,
it's all go. Only big problem is no internet in the room, which is a major
hassle, given how much of everything else is perfect (supermarket just down the
road, did I mention?). Dunhuang is a very attractive town - not too much
traffic, BIG footpaths, tree-lined streets, modern shops, everything close at
hand, signs in english. Wow! Apparently one of the wealthiest regions in China
due to renewable energy technologies.
The hotel is good and super cheap. Some of the
reasons are no lifts and no internet (although that might just be for my agoda
room?) and a suspicion of no hot water, but this is a perfectly decent room and
it's costing me $10 a night to walk up to the 4th floor. I'm very happy.
I go to the night market in search of food and
internet. I find the Oasis cafe, with internet, so try and give Mary and ring
and I just have to buy the peanut butter milkshake. Lots of stalls selling
kitsch and the odd decent art piece and then rows and rows of benches and
tables and stalls selling kebabs, there was a whole goat roasting, some nice
breads, no doubt chicken. It's all a bit touristy but fun. There was also a
pretty decent bookshop and I landed some really nice portfolios of Tibetan
bronzes. Then back to Charlie Johngs for a beer and an omelette (and call it
tea), manage to give Mary a ring and a catch up and then it's listening to Close
to the Edge before bed at 11am. Pretty solid day, I'd say!
Saturday
June 21, Mogao Hotel, Dunhuang
A visit to world-heritage listed Mogao Caves.
Dunhuang seems to have been the main entry point for 'mainstream' buddhism
coming to China from India. Whilst there were other strains - from Nepal and
Tibet and from Sri Lanka to Hunan, this is where most of it happened. And, also
very interesting, this was a place not too far from western influences (Greeks
in northern Pakistan, 7th century Nestorian Christians from who knows where,
silk road traders and so on). So, a real melting pot of the west and south,
central and east asia all meeting at a place where tolerance of diversity was
clearly part of the modus operandi, probably because it made good economics!
I was interesting looking at the stylistic
diversity of faces, in particular, some showing the more european/grecian
style, others more chinese. Also interesting that the 'restorers' who came in
later centuries (eg 10th c) saw that the buddha was coloured brown or black and
so reproduced that colour when, in fact, they were originally painted pink but
had oxidated! There are 300 caves, of which 20 are open at one time, and guides
choose which caves they take their group to, usually around 10 (I don't think we
got through that many). There was quite a lot of the 'important' stuff that you
see in books that we didn't see, but I didn't mind to be honest, because it was
the stories and the setting that made it interesting rather than any one image.
None of them were like mona lisas, to be honest.
I'm the only round eye, but then am joined by
a small tour group (something like dagestan tours) who are in a 'truck', some
of them doing Beijing to Istanbul overland! A bit keen I think! I meet a
Liverpudlian who was just doing Beijing to Kashgar, and they had 6 weeks to do
that. You'd see a lot, but you'd miss a lot too I think. All about balancing
time and money, security and risk. There were a good mix of people on that
trip, both younger and older. An Aussie chick was running the show, although it
was only obvious that she was the leader at the very end when she did a
briefing. It was nice to talk english again.
So a good look at the caves. There were some
interesting sylistic things - a female buddah (is this unique?), who was an
empress who wanted to use buddhism to to generate power and control
(interesting story about how she was a concubine who become empress); also a
buddha with crossed legs, which I think is pretty unique, and the giant
sleeping buddah was cool as well. I'm interested in whether the sleeping
buddhas I've seen have their eyes open? Have
a climb up to a hill above the caves and take a few shots of this and that, but
nothing special. Then a wait for the bus, a chat to an 11 year old boy and dad
and friend while we wait. Lots of Santana taxis!
Back home for a siesta and to put last night's
washing out for a final dry before proceeding to the lobby and maybe a chat.
Watch Costa Rica beat Italy. Yes, the chat happens. Tracey the hairdresser and
I talk for well over a couple of hours about all sorts of things. I think she
wanted some get-away time from her group travel. She's been everywhere, man,
amazing! She's in her 40s, single, no kids, doesn't own a house, and picks up
hairdressing jobs as she needs them to fund her travel. Interesting that she
lives off the smell of an oily rag (6 bowls of rice for breakfast, fruit and
veg all the time and that's it) but books an expensive group tour to do her
travelling/transportation. Sounded like an interesting concept, though, mix of
camping and hotels, relatively small groups, choose where you get on and get
off. Lots of oldies, including people in their 70s, so that's something for us
to consider down the line. And the fact that you're travelling with a group would
be quite cool. Going overland means you can't go TOO fast! Interesting what she
had to say about Tibet, which is that it was over-rated, and she thought Ladakh
and Leh would be better. She had been to Nepal several times, I think. I should
have asked her where she hasn't been!
On a whim, I decide to go out to the Silk Road
Dunhuang, I think the top hotel in town. The rooftop restaurant keeps its best
tables for people who are going to spend $100 USD or more, and the ones next to
those cost $30USD.The rest of us have a secondary balcony or we can go indoors.
Needless to say, in this huge restaurant that seats hundreds there are only two
dining groups, one of which is me, and we are both in the cheap seats. I doubt
I could spend that much at this place - my main was about $8 USD. What would it
have hurt for them to have us in the nice ones, spreading the word about the
marvellous view! I've not seen this done anywhere else, although I guess it
must happen at prestigious places, but in low season? And there's a good reason
for it I guess - people buying one drink and hogging the space, but really I
don't think this is the issue here!
OK, that's the rant for the day. It was nice
chatting with Tracey. I think we are worlds apart in many ways, but I like her
travelling philosophy. She has no roots, though, and I need roots (haunts of
ancient peace!) and to feel rooted and grounded somewhere. In that sense I feel
sorry for her that she hasn't made that connection, but on the other hand she
is a true global citizen, with friends in all countries, places to hang her hat
and she takes a message of peace and love wherever she goes. Nice! The world
needs people like her to do that, but it's not for everybody. Sometimes you
wonder why people travel, but I think it is good to see it as "well, at
least you made the effort to leave what was comfortable and go and experience
something else that is different". I also think people have tolerances in
different directions. I can tolerate looking silly in different languages,
shoddy hotel rooms and late transport, where others choose not to. On the other
hand, they have tolerances for other kinds of crazy (me, let's say!) that would
drive me spare. Ain't it great that we are all different!
Sunday
June 22, Mogao Hotel, Dunhuang
Well this was an action-packed day in the
desert! Left my room at 6.50am and back at 5, could have been 6 but the group
voted not to go to the movie set just out of town. Wah!
I'll try and describe the places we went to.
It was a wee bit unexpected to bascially pay just to be taken to places and to
then have to front up to all kinds of entry fees for all kinds of places. In
the end quite an expensive journey - the Jade Gate (70), Yadan Geological Park
(120), Buddha caves (30), plus the 76 trip. Anyways, through the Jade Gate we go and, in order, went to:
§
A Castle that guarded the Yumenguan Pass - kind of a stark
reminder of the lonely existence out here in the desert. I meet Kai and
Crystal, who are from Shanghai. They are Buddhists and going to a number of
sites because of their religion. Nice young things. He is a financial analyst,
we didn't get to her, but she had the money to pay for things! They were really
nice and invited me to join them for lunch and they also took my photo for me.
§
Yadan
national park. The main event, really, and it was
fantastic! We get dropped off and then put into other buses and taken to a few
sites to then wander around. It's kept the place really nice and there is a
great kind of wilderness experience here, despite the numbers. The landforms
are known as yardangs (I think) and are the result of folded hills that have
exposed hard and soft layers that are then worn down in one direction by water
currents and then also by wind, at right angles. I'd like to learn more. The
place was spectacular, the texture of the rocks with their layers of gravels,
the smooth grey lake bed and the blue sky. As good as the Danxia Park I think,
and that's saying something! The ticket description says it all: "The
landforms were superlatively marvellous with different size of areas, and
varied forms of topography you will find varied landstructures here like
animals, personal images, pagodae, temples, buses and boats, and you will
acclaim the natural arts as the acme of perfection."
Coming back I really get chatting to Christina
and, especially, Jenny, who are from Chengdu, doing a graduation holiday.
Christina is in IT and going to work in Ghanzhou, Jenny working for Johnson
& Johnson in Shanghai (she has a Masters degree in literature!). She tells
me that all kids in schools learn english from an early age, but that their
writing and reading are much better than their listening and speaking. She is a
member of a minority group in Yunan ("I am not Han Chinese") and
comes originally from Lujian, which had a
big earthquake in 1996.
§
Then to part of the Great Wall of Han Dynasty Fire Beacons and
Piled Firewoods, built in 101BC. It's low (3m high at best and frequently
less0 and you can tell by faces in the van that this is pretty unimpressive
stuff. I'm asked what I think of it - for me it's cool, and nice that it's not
restored and it is what it is. In big contrast to NZ, many of the tourist sites
here are manicured to the max. Groups are tightly controlled, there is no free
range wandering, in the sense that you can only walk so far in 30 minutes in
the desert!
§
Finally to the West Thousand Buddah Caves, hidden in a cliff face of the Dang He
gorge. By this time the little chicky babes have had enough and you can hear
the moans, "Do we really have to go here?" etc etc. To be fair they
weren't that special, but worth a look I would have thought.
§
And then what should have been the
final stop, a trip to the outdoor movie studios with a rebuilt Jiayuguan fort
and all kinds of sets for all kinds of movies. Well the women weren't having
it. They were tired, they were thirsty, it was getting late for their baths and
their lips were getting cracked, so who really wants to visit? Well, me, but
I'm the one foreigner, so I'm not going to hold everyone up. Power of the
group!
Having said that, it was a really good trip,
and I was tired as well, to be fair. Come back to watch West Germany and Ghana
play a great second half with 4 goals shared. Eat something and recharge the
batteries, ready for an assault on the night market around 7.30. Do a bit of
washing and chores et and I'm good to go!
Well I have a bit of fun tonight, I guess. The
plan was to go down and shoot the night market, get some kebabs and come home
and drink my remaining beer. Well, didn't quite work out like that. Bought the
remaining Tibetan Buddhist statue books (a set of 5 which I now own) along with
one on the Silk Road and Dunhuang. Yes, I would like to know a lot more about
this and how it went on.
So I fart around a bit trying to find a place
to have a beer and watch the entertainment. There are some fabulous stall
titles (maybe photo tomorrow?) and I decide I want to be in the central square
where there is a stage and some dudes playing guitar. Prices for kebabs
considerably higher, but I'm feeling lucky. So I'm in the belly of the beast
and the beer price is my yardstick. Chance upon some gals who speak a bit of
english who are selling beer for Y15 not 20, so decide to hang out there for
the night. There are two singers, one is really good and the other one is doing
it for a living (Sorry seems to be the
hardest word in Mandarin? Lots of songs in Am and Em). I think he's an
ethnic minority (they tell me that most of the cookers are Uighars) kind of
looks Tibetan, anyway I like the look of him and briefly, madly, fantasise
about cutting in and singing Life is so Sweet. Wonder what they'd make of that.
However I don't but as the evening goes on, he has stopped and I ask him about
his songlist and whatever. Long story short, I end up telling the dude that I
play a bit of guitar, he hands it over straight away and before you know it I'm
teaching him some chords and whatnot. He keeps buying me beers and before you
know it, it's midnight, and passed most pleasantly thankyou!
I meet the crew - there are two young women -
one who got me with her english, the other one does the money. Another dude who
hangs around, cuts up some meat and does some deals (the owner's son?). And all
kinds of others - stall holders and waitresses - come around and have a listen.
It's nice. I'm not quite the centre of attention, but yes there is a bit of
that going on. Plus it passes the time.
The music being played is minor pentatonic and
very 'straight', no blues notes, no sass no nothing. I hope I haven't messed
him up by showing him some variations of chords, but he was a quick learner and
gave me a long bow at the end. He definitely wanted more! He writes "I'm
Wang Wei" into my diary. I liked him a lot! He was very keen to meet up
again, but it didn't work out. Would have been quite a nice way to pass the
time, since I have some to kill today.
Monday
June 23, somewhere in the desert, Dunhuang
So I check out all OK, and in the lobby are
two dudes from Perth! Miles (the talker) and Jeffrey (the thoughtful) and we
end up chatting for a good hour and a half about all sorts of stuff. He left
their guide book behind in Oz, so I give him my photocopied pages. They're
interesting people - Miles is 68 and retired, did South America last year with
his wife; she's in England so he and Jeffrey are spending an indeterminate
amount of time (a month he thinks?) travelling in China. Without a guide! Nice
guys and we had a lot of fun talking about wives, intercultural marriages,
hiding money overseas, his dream to travel overland Singapore to London, saving
pennies to spend pounds, chinese women, relationshps, you know, the usual
subjects!
So now I'm at Charlie Johngs, where I'm gonna
hang out as long as I can stand it. In walks 4 German kids, so that's 6
round-eyes I've seen in one morning! More than combined on the whole trip. Are
we just starting to come into the tourist season? Brunch is the set breakfast
plus some french fries. It's $9. First coffee (even if it is instant) I've had
for 2 weeks and boy does it taste good! Some toast and jam, an omelette with
tomato and onion, it's all good dude!
I'm sitting in the square next to the mosque
listening to my music. A group of old women sit next to me with seat padding -
obviously a regular haunt - and boy
do they talk loud! They don't mind you knowing their business, which I guess
then gives them the right to inquire into yours!
So on to the camel trip. It was fun. I meet a
couple of Germans, Lukas and Lisa. He's studying law in Munich and she's doing
'management' at Munich but on a 3-month exchange in Shanghai. They're nice kids
and it would not have been anything like as much fun if they hadn't been there
(in fact, not much at all, since our guide and camel leader speaks very little
little english.
So we get driven out to the start point by charlie
and load up. We're basically in the city dump, between a line of trees and the
line of sand dunes, just along but away from Mingsha Shan, the big
tourist-attraction sand dune system that you pay 120 to get into. [I may do
this tomorrow?]. There's three camels for us, although there are 5 owned by
this guy. A few photos and before you know it, we're loaded up and off. Lisa at
the back, Lukas gets the 'pretty one' [this is a relative term, but not all
camels are butt-ugly!]. I get the one at the front, which is the strong one,
since I've probably got a good 30 kilos on each of the others, maybe more. The
silk road video series I've been watching suggests that camels can carry up to
150kg, so in a way this was kind of a walk in the park for them.
So it's about 20+ minutes through piles of
litter and holes in the ground where the litter is going to (in theory?) go,
then another 20+ minutes through a cemetery, all the while with a fence between
us and the dunes. As we go through the cemetery, the dunes open up and increase
in size and before you know it, we're through the fence and into the open, the
sun is shining, the shadows on the dunes are incredible and we're having fun!
This is kind of how you imagine dunes to be!
I'm amazed at how much litter there is along
the way. I know an amount of it is wind-blown and you can't stop it, but really
it's appalling and detracts from the experience (mind you, a rubbish dump and a
cemetery to start things off is not exactly the grand entrance!). There's
orange bags (which are filled with sand and used to hold down tents), there are
water bottles, lots of plastic, tiles, items of clothing, and on it goes.
It's probaby another 40 minutes to our camp
site and the dunes really are amazing. Sharp, smooth lines, the sun creating
shadows and light. Nice. There's one photo stop but really not much awareness
of what we might want to do as tourists. I initially regret (but later am very
pleased that I did) holding my camera, which means I only have one hand to hold
on to the handle which makes for very difficult riding and also very difficult
shooting (worst of both worlds!). Coming back in the morning, no photos and two
hands. Better riding, no photos.
The tent site has storage of water, tents and
equipment and all we do is bring in some food. We're there for 5 minutes and
then we're setting off for the very top of the dune system. Boy, it's hard work
and a very steep climb, made much worse because for every 3 steps forward,
you're going 2 backwards. The Germans seem to make light work of it, I'm
seriously straining after not too long and at the very end it takes a lot of
willpower to get to the top. To be honest, it's not that great a view, although
pretty good, it's more about making it there. The sun is out, but there are plenty
of clouds and there's no big sunset to go 'aah' at. Takes me about 10 minutes
to catch my breath! Lisa is keen and goes ridge-walking and I see what a big
lens can do (in that environment, not much wide angle much more use). We're
kind of in a wilderness but the city is in sight, so it's not really there is
it. Even in the middle of the night, the lights of the city are shining over
the line of the dunes. Mind you, an hour and a half on a camel was enough for
me, it wasn't too bad, but it's slow work. I would not enjoy days of it, this
trip was perfect in that sense.
Anways, so we are at the very top of the
highest dune. We have taken toboggans to the top and after about half an hour
at the top use them to float down. It's very steep but they have a lot of drag
and it's a slow and pleasant sail down. Have to do some walking to get onto
another slope and in the end it's a pretty tame experience. I have to also
confess that our guide Li lugged my toboggan up, but I guess that's what you
get when you are the oldie on the block. He also thinks that I'm the one that
needs help with the noodle container which is our dinner. Laugh! I really do
not enjoy being treated like an idiot but I suppose he might feel that he is
giving good service to the older member?.
As above, dinner is a seriously stale bread
roll and (surprisingly delicious) large noodle container, filled with hot
water, you know the drill. Not quite the camel train with the specialist cook
spit-roasting lamb or kebabs with fresh pita bread, a fresh desert salad washed
down with beer, but there you go. There was a bottle of wine to make the
company convivial, and we do chat for a few hours about life as the stars do
their thing.
I decide to sleep under the stars and I must
have been asleep pretty quick, although no pillow (there were some, our guide
didn't put them out or tell us). There was a space blanket on the ground, a
blanket and a very small sleeping bag with not a lot of legroom. I try and stay
awake, but it's not like it's a big sky - all very underwhelming actually - and
so I'm nodding off. Not a great night's sleep - the wind comes up and it gets
colder so I get inside the bag, sand in my face that kind of thing. But still
fun to do and I would like to do it again on a clear night, so I can
contemplate my existence in the face of the undeniable evidence of my complete
insigificance to anyone and anything other than what I have been lucky enough
to experience in my life [yes, I am talking family and friends]. However, no
great insights, no peak moments, it was just that kind of a trip!
Tuesday
June 24, Silk Road Dunhuang, Dunhuang
I'm up at about 6 and I kind of think, OK,
let's get packed. Some very welcome coffee, I think the bread is fresh but I'm
not game to try it, and before you know it, we're back in the saddle and on our
way. My first night in the desert. Worth it, but an uneventful, underwhelming
experience.
Back we go through the cemetery and tip and
I'm back from the trip at 9.00am at Charlie Johngs (Charlie picks us up) and
there is Miles and Jeffrey in the cafe to greet me! I've enjoyed talking to
them! One of them asks did I get the phone call for a 'massage'! I realise that
just about every hotel I have been in I have had a phone call and I have had no
idea why (I've just said 'sorry wrong number and hung up)?! Now I realise.
Hehe...
Also meet a young couple from the Netherlands
and they were also interesting to talk to. They will be on the road for a good
year and a half I'd say (already 10.5 months). They took the trans-Siberian
across Russia, organised a group trip for 3 weeks in Mongolia, then down to
some other places in central eastern China and then back up the Silk Road. They
have had two previous trips to Yunan and some other places I haven't heard of.
They're a bit done with China, they say. From here they head to Kashgar, take
one of the border crossings to Osh and then to Bishkek the capital where they
apply for visas to Uzbekistan and Iran and then I think they fly to Armenia and
make their way back to Europe. They must have a decent stash of money to do
that one thinks. They just quit their jobs and are travelling for an
indeterminate amount of time.
After that I'm at the museum - new and pretty
good really. Probably spend an hour there, then load up with some beers, ice
tea and snacks and a re-pack and a taxi and nek minute I'm in a very
comfortable hotel having a hot shower and watching the football with a beer and
snax on the go. And I have a day of
indulgence - watch 3 football games and have a couple of beers, type up this,
get myself clean and sort out my plans to get home packing wise (it will not be
simple!). I am so looking forward to
coming home. Having said that, I could easily keep travelling for a month or
two more and I am envious of those who are doing just that. What's also made a
big difference is that I've met people here in Dunhuang, just like old times.
You go to those cafes and before you know it, there are people like you, doing
trips like you, and very happy to talk about it and share info.
I'm eating at the same restaurant as last time
and have very different service:
§
this time the table is set with the
special soft toy camel, nice table cloths and placemats
§
this time I'm allowed to sit at the
expensive table and, I have to say, I have the best seat in the house!
§
this time I get some water
§
this time my beer is not poured
§
and there's music playing - some kind
of flute and orchestra which then turns into some entertainment with a group of
girls, a solo boy and a calligrapher.
Here's a trip list:
§
Best hotel - easy, this one
§
Best meal - very tough, but the kebabs
at Zhangye win by a whisker from the eggplant and kebabs in Lanzhou
§
Best journey - so far the train to
Dunhuang, but maybe the sleeper back
§
Best place - Dunhuang
§
Best attraction - Danxia Geological
Park
§
Biggest disappointment - Langmusi Namo
Gorge walk, although the temples more than made up for it
§
Best connection with people - great
chatting with Miles and Jeffery, but also the student I met at Danxia and Jenny
on the minibus to Yardan
§
Best moment that says who I am and want
to be - probably fewer of these moments than I would have liked, but it was
nice offering the China dude my email addy with a promise of some hospitality
and same with the German couple - I don't do this lightly but felt that was a
really nice connection there.
