Life in China / Diary of an expedition dog
Me in the Mongolian Gobi desert.
(Photos of the diary entry can be found at the end of the text).
Admittedly, I’ve been a little lazy over the last few months. “Uuuuuhhhhh!” I didn’t think about writing my diary because of all the experiences. “Pfffrrrr.” But now, after so many kilometers and adventures, I’ve become a real travel pro and can focus more on writing down my stories again. I promise… “Uuuuuhhhhuuu!”
My entry into China alone was literally like walking through a magic door. I was hit by the divine ray of not having to go into quarantine. Quite the opposite. What I love right away is the fact that there are beautiful parks in China. This is how lemon became lemonade, or rather, a living chicken became a dead chicken… And that brings me to the topic. Chicken sausages are my great passion here in China. Unseasoned and always in your luggage. Rice, oatmeal, eggs, soy and olive oil, vegetables and bananas. Dog food is also available in really big cities. Tanja says that since I’ve been on the trip, my prey pattern has changed considerably. In the past, I wouldn’t have been interested in many of the smells of human food, but nowadays it can happen that I haphazardly pick up something from the street. This gets me reprimanded by my humans and I have to spit it out if I can’t choke it out quickly enough.
Before the trip, my people had wondered whether I was prey for the locals in terms of Chinese eating habits. Denis said; “Not every German wears lederhosen.” He probably meant that not every Chinese person eats dogs. I only get to see a chef from a small restaurant trying to buy me outright once. An absolutely indisputable question for my people. My two explained to the Chinese man that I was family and that you don’t eat family members!
Unfortunately, there are a few Chinese who wear leather pants. By which I mean they eat my colleagues. I’ll never forget the time I caught a glimpse of my fellow species as I drove past. He lay helplessly on his back and was cut open like a sheep. Just thinking about it makes me feel sick.
At the moment we mostly stay in accommodation and hotels. Actually, we all prefer to camp, but my humans have explained to me that it’s not so easy to find a place around here where we can pitch a tent. It’s also getting cold and the bikes’ batteries need to be charged. It’s fine with me as long as I’m always allowed in the night-time accommodation. At one point it seems quite hopeless. We reached the city of Datong. There were hotels, but they didn’t want to take us. Sometimes it’s because there is no space for the bikes. Other times, foreigners are not allowed. People are often worried that I would do Pi or Pu in the room, bark or bite. For this reason, Tanja has started a booklet. Here she sticks in the business cards of the hotels we have stayed in and asks the staff to write something about my commendable behavior. Apparently, she was able to convince the manager of the large hotel in Datong with these very words of praise about me. We were allowed to stay. My humans were happy to be so well accommodated after an exhausting day. As there was a big sign at the entrance saying “No dogs allowed”, we left the noble house via the fire escape to go for a walk. So the other hotel guests didn’t see us. A country full of surprises, this China…
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