• home
  • portfolio
  • blog
  • about
  • contact
Menu

Memento Mori

  • home
  • portfolio
  • blog
  • about
  • contact
×
YW9A9709.jpg

Asia Trip 023 - Zhangye 张掖 - 001

Nick Hogan December 9, 2019

Asia Trip: Day 172 - Xi’an 西安 => Lanzhou 兰州 (7/4/19)

Daily Highlights:

  • Woke up so early, had brekkie and went to train station

    • SO MANY PEOPLE - HORDS

  • Yelled “paidui” and felt so good 排队!

    • Heads turned, people obeyed and were in shock

  • Took an eight hour hard seat train

    • We were packed in like sardines, I had an old guy talking shit to me the entire train ride, another one staring at me the whole time and another with his ass in my face for eight hours

  • ARRIVED IN LANZHOU

  • Took 5ever to find wifi, but got a cab to my place

  • In the taxi, some guy was talking shit about me in Chinese and the driver laughed and said I understood. The guy was v uncomfortable and embarrased

  • Took me a solid twenty minutes to try and find my hostel

    • It’s on the fifth floor of what looks like a condemned building down two back alleyways

  • Slept horribly

    • No A/C, mouth was v dry and in the process of getting sick


Asia Trip: Day 173 - Lanzhou 兰州 (7/5/19)

Daily Highlights:

  • Woke up and felt like shit (slept in until 11:30am)

    • Tired, sore, stuffed up, and sore throat

  • Got vitamin C and jianbing

  • Watched fury and then napped

  • Looked, schemed and planned job searching for four hours

    • Made good progress

    • Really stoked on operations - just feels good

    • Dealing with all of the insecurities of going back to work, time spent traveling, and re-acclimating into normal life

  • Got noodles and a splintering headache for dinner

  • Watched Expendables 2, mediated and then passed out

晚安!


Asia Trip: Day 174 - Lanzhou 兰州 => Zhangye 张掖 (7/6/19)

Daily Highlights:

  • Woke up at 6:30am to catch my train

    • SOFT SEAT IS SO MUCH BETTER

  • Listened to Neil DeGrasse Tyson JR podcast and Michael Pollan JR podcast

  • Got to Zhangye, crammed into a cab, and got to the hostel

    • Snagged some snacks and passed out until 8:00pm

I ate a bowl of noodles and a snickers for the whole day, had a massive fever, and a crippling headache. Not the best day, but the sleep helped so much.

IT AIN’T WHAT YOU GOT; IT’S WHAT YOU DO WITH WHAT YOU HAVE.

&

IT’S NOT WHAT YOU DO, BUT HOW YOU DO IT.


Asia Trip: Day 175 - Zhangye 张掖 (7/7/19)

Daily Highlights:

  • WOKE UP AND FELT WAY BETTER

  • Watched the Expendables movies

    • So many good nugs - Wesley Snipes tax evasion and Dolph Lundgren chemistry at MIT

  • Met Sophie - cool Aussie girl whose Chinese

    • We walked around then went to DANXIA :)

  • DANXIA WAS SO GOD DAMNED COOL- felt like Mars

    • Got so many good shots, definitely don’t need three days here lol

    • Got a little rocked out - after four hours of looking at rocks, no matter how beautiful, they all start to look the same

    • On the drive back, Anthony - another Chinese Aussie guy - was getting so annoyed at this little girl laughing and playing loudly. He was glaring at her, complaining to the driver and even yelling at the family.

      • He’s just finished a meditation course and is about to do another Vipassana meditation course again and even did teacher training. Looks like this guy needs all the help he can get lol

晚安!

YW9A9656.jpg
YW9A9642.jpg
YW9A9764-2.jpg
YW9A9687.jpg
YW9A9709.jpg


Asia Trip: Day 176 - Zhangye 张掖 (7/8/19)

Daily Highlights:

  • Woke up and chilled the whole day

  • Went to the local park

    • Did burpees

    • Meditated in the park

  • Came back watched a movie and took a nap

  • BOOKED A TICKET TO HOHHOT

  • Met this British guy who teaches English in China

    • Had a really good chat

  • Passed out!


Asia Trip: Day 176 - Zhangye 张掖 => Hohhot 呼和浩特 (7/8/19)

Daily Highlights:

  • Woke up and chilled before the train came

  • The quiet kid in the dorm room gave me watermelon, dragon fruit and chatted with his group of friends for about an hour

  • Embarked on the eighteen hour train ride

    • Listened to the Jesse Itzler JR podcast, Macaulay Culkin JR podcast, and Alex Honnald JR podcast

    • Seemed to by very quickly

  • Before the train, I bought a big cup o’ ramen and sausage, went full china

  • Also I hawked and spit in front of a group of Chinese guys and they laughed so hard and lost it

  • I also bought a tea setup (glass mug with a filter and tea)

In Asia Trip Tags danxia, rainbow mountains, china
← SF Trip 001 - First Quarantine Roll of Film Developed - 35mmAsia Trip - 022 Xi'an 西安 -001 →

Search Posts

No results found
Archive
  • 35mm
  • Asia Trip
  • Photoshop
  • Shower Thoughts
  • Weekly Updates
  • West Coast Moto Project
  • adventures
  • graduation
  • ideas
  • sf
  • travel
  • vermont
 

Featured Posts

Featured
2125430956-R1-058-27A.jpg
June 22, 2025
Portugal Trip
June 22, 2025

Some photos and thoughts from a trip to Portugal in April 2025. Finally wrote everything down and cobbled it together. This is my first time in mainland Europe and went to Amsterdam, Lisbon, and Porto.

Learning more about the bittersweet curse of nothing feels as good as leaving home, and nothing feels as good as coming back home.

Read more →
June 22, 2025
0008593_0008593-R1-036-16A.jpg
May 6, 2023
Costa Rica Trip
May 6, 2023

So it’s been about a month since I went to Costa Rica with Connor for about ten days. Apart from the flight and the first nights accommodation, everything else was booked last minute or an hour or two in advance. There was no pressure and it felt nice to have the freedom to change things if we needed, which we did frequently.

Read more →
May 6, 2023
4917023939-R1-032-14A.jpg
October 18, 2022
Oaxaca City Trip
October 18, 2022

Last minute trip to Oaxaca City spent wandering and getting lost, taking photos, making new friends, eating great food, drinking great mezcal, and constantly being surprised by both happy and sad fireworks.

Read more →
October 18, 2022
8639019459-R1-049-23.jpg
July 30, 2022
Mexico City Trip
July 30, 2022

Last minute to Mexico City spent eating great food, wandering around the city, meeting up with old friends and making new ones, and drinking up the city.

Read more →
July 30, 2022
4893015063-R1-073-35.jpg
April 23, 2022
Film 005 - Portra 800
April 23, 2022

These are photos from a roll of Kodak Portra 800 shot over the past few months.

Read more →
April 23, 2022
YW9A0702.jpg
June 26, 2021
Utah Camping Trip 002 - Bryce Canyon National Park
June 26, 2021

This is the second leg of our camping trip in Utah where we hiked and stayed around Bryce Canyon National Park. We camped in a wonderful upscale glamping tent and slept in beds above the ground. The days were hot at around 105 degrees and the nights were chilly at around 40 degrees.


Read more →
June 26, 2021
YW9A0560.jpg
June 26, 2021
Utah Camping Trip 001 - Zion National Park
June 26, 2021

This is the first leg of our camping trip in Utah where we hiked and stayed around Zion National Park. We camped on a large family owned ranch, technically located within the parks limits, which was B-E-A-U-tiful.

Read more →
June 26, 2021
000079630022.jpg
September 13, 2020
SF Trip 003 - Third Quarantine Roll of Film Developed - 35mm
September 13, 2020

Just got a third roll of quarantine film back. The past couple weeks have been spent relaxing outside as much as possible, day trips along the coast, and just getting lost zigzagging in the city. These are some scenes from living life a little more slowly and six feet apart.

Read more →
September 13, 2020
000006270015.jpg
July 29, 2020
SF Trip 002 - Second Quarantine Roll of Film - 35mm
July 29, 2020

This is my second roll of film developed in quarantine. These past few months have been filled with strange times that feel like they keep getting stranger. One of the things that has kept me calm and has been a great release has been continuing to wander around the city in the quiet hours of the day. Waking up early in the morning to bike or wander around the city with no real goal other than getting out of the house and breathing fresh air. These are some subdued scenes from the past few months.

Read more →
July 29, 2020
000067870023.jpg
May 22, 2020
SF Trip 001 - First Quarantine Roll of Film Developed - 35mm
May 22, 2020

I just got my first roll of film developed in quarantine. I have been staying sane by running all over Golden Gate Park, reading mountains of books, and being one of the few people still wandering around the city. These are some scenes from living life a little slower and staying six feet apart.

Read more →
May 22, 2020
YW9A9709.jpg
December 9, 2019
Asia Trip 023 - Zhangye 张掖 - 001
December 9, 2019

FINALLY WENT TO DANXIA! The rainbow mountain from my dreams.

Read more →
December 9, 2019
YW9A9510.jpg
December 9, 2019
Asia Trip - 022 Xi'an 西安 -001
December 9, 2019

Short little stop over in Xi’an, which is where I stayed for two months in high school. I also met up with Frank, who was my host and friend during my stay.

Read more →
December 9, 2019
YW9A9314-2.jpg
October 17, 2019
Asia Trip 021 - Western Sichuan 川西 - 002
October 17, 2019

I absolutely LOVE TAGONG! It feels so unique, foreign, genuine, and real. It feels like the wild west here. Everyone has cowboy hats on, rides horses, there are big grasslands and it really feels like you’re living life on the fringes.

This place has a certain ineffable quality to it, that people can’t quite figure out. It feels like an old western way station town with monasteries, filled with so much Buddhist culture. The people here are gruff but unusually friendly, more wild and very rough. Everyone you talk to is usually Buddhist and are dressed in either normal clothes or traditional robes.

Read more →
October 17, 2019
YW9A9204.jpg
October 10, 2019
Asia Trip 021 - Western Sichuan 川西 - 001
October 10, 2019

The bus ride here was absolutely incredible! The vastness of the landscape, the sky scrapping mountains and driving into and through the fog. This area truly feels foreign, unique and holy. I can tell I’m going to love this place!

Read more →
October 10, 2019
YW9A9136-3.jpg
October 10, 2019
Asia Trip 020 - Chengdu 成都 - 001
October 10, 2019

I had a picture of this giant Buddha on my PC ever since I was sixteen and have dreamed of coming here for a decade. It’s a pretty wild feeling to see something online, want to venture there for years and one moment be standing right under a place you’ve always imagined.

Read more →
October 10, 2019

Powered by Squarespace