Dream Trip 2008: August

Great Travel Moment

One day in a small remote village in Yunnan Province, I wandered down a quiet, deserted alley and came across a beautiful woman slowly getting up from her chair. As I watched her unfold, I wondered if I would be as lucky to live so long and then I remembered; I was in China and I began to think about what she must have experienced and endured in her lifetime. Had she always lived in this bucolic town or had she gotten caught up in the Chinese Cultural Revolution? Did she once live in a city only to be abruptly uprooted and shipped to a work farm in the country? Was she separated from her family? if so, did they reunite? And as I wondered how much her life must have changed - or maybe not - and how she felt about it, I came to the realization that sometimes, having a photo and not knowing is even more powerful and thought-provoking than knowing.