July 2018: Erenhot, Inner Mongolia

Curiosity Central

After a tedious drive to Beijing’s airport, I was already tired from a journey that hadn’t even begun yet. I fastened my
backpack and yanked my jacket defiantly as the driver insisted I should take it with me, felt more like an argument truthfully.
Boarding the plane was rather effortless without a glut of luggage, as I strolled to my seat I received some rather strange
glances from the passengers aboard; their puzzled looks amused me a little as I must have been a rare entity to them.


What business would a South African born Indian possibly have in Erenhot, anyway? On tenterhooks, they curiously peeped over their shoulders to catch a glimpse of my passport, judging by their body language and dialect; they were definitely
dissimilar compared to the average Beijinger. As I sat down; I was greeted with a cordial smile from the guy sitting alongside me.


The departure had been a little delayed, so the guy casually started a conversation…”South Africa?”, he asked
inquisitively as he looked at my passport in awe, “Aren’t you a little Asian?...I mean, your hair?...” and that’s when I met
Jason Bay, a local from the...