A few hours ago I put my good friend, Josh, on an overnight train from Shanghai to Beijing.  He only knows a few words in Chinese (i.e. he can say "hello/thank-you/I’m stufed" and has nearly mastered his numbers from 1-10.) He is alone in a strange country, left to fend and find for himself, for the first time–perhaps, ever?

What kind of friend am I?!

Answer: the kind of friend who doesn’t want to add another 14 hours onto the whopping 40-hour train ride I already have ahead of me tomorrow when I depart Shanghai and head back to Xining.

Answer: the kind of friend who went to much conscious-free effort to grab both donuts and a Papa Johns’ pizza before returning to my comfortable hotel room.

Answer: the kind of friend who knows his friend well and has asolutely no fear of the unknown…except when it pertains to the shady street vendors approaching me in droves on the Shanghai streets.

Hey, this is what adventures are all about!  Two guys without itineraries roaming around China with no forethought for the ifs-ands-or-buts.  Two MEN not afraid to endure painfully long train time because they just couldn’t be bothered to consult with a travel agent two months in advance.  (OK, so we opted for the soft sleeper on the train, but that just screams "innovative," not soft…) Two GUYS who don’t just talk about all the places they want to go, but who put their money where their mouths are and pick up and go there on the slightest whim.

And let me tell you Josh is capable.  He’s proven himself China-savvy.  He man-handled the Great Wall.  He traipsed through the Forbidden City.  He climbed (with the help of the elevator) to the top of the 4th tallest building in the world here in Shanghai.  He artfully ignored deceptive con men pawning fake Rolex watches, he out-bartered crafty merchants selling Chinese paintings, he slept through a raucous chorus of chain-saw like snoring on the train, and he ate a cornucopia of strange noodles and rice dishes without breaking a sweat (although we never found anyone selling TUMS like we might have hoped…)  Josh rode in river boats, taxis, planes, trains, and automobiles.  He even survived the Poseidon Adventure.  The guy is a stud.  I witnessed it all.  I have no doubts about his capabilities to once again conquer Beijing tomorrow before flying back to Seattle on Saturday.  (I just hope he doesn’t miss the World Cup Finals in the process!)

Suffice it to say our adventure has been a good one.  I don’t want to steal Bayles’ thunder so I won’t give any more details for a while.  We successfully hit two of China’s big metropolitan cities (Beijing/Shanghai)…and we HIT’EM HARD!

I don’t have any pictures to show you from our trip because Josh had the camera and my digital camera is in Seattle with my wife.  I guess these words will have to do the job for now.  You’ll be hearing from me again in a couple days.

Josh it was a great journey, man.  Hope retelling it to friends/family back home will bring all the memories back to life again.  As you’re flying back over the Pacific I’ll be filling in my last few chapters on that LOOONG train ride home.  This was a once-in-a-lifetime thing and I’m really happy that you gave me the chance to do it—why—well, just because.  Cheers, brother.  Much agape love. Until the next adventure…shalom.