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In November, I wrote about my good friend and fellow adventurer, Albert Lin, who kept an email journal of his five-week journey all over China. Once again, Albert has returned to his homeland for the holiday season and this time, there seems to be a deeper and more intimate connection to his land. Please read the latest installment to Albert in China.

Nearly two months after my return from the road I found myself once again crossing the pacific towards asia. This time to visit my aging Grandparents in Hong Kong. Christmas and Newyears in the city had become a bit of a tradition in the previous years.

I walked beside my gong gong (Grandfather in chinese). He had decided to get out of his wheel chair and was now slowly strolling down the pathway which bent around the Hong Kong harbor. We talked in mandarin about our mutual adventures, his over 50 years ago, and mine barely more then 50 days past. A light breeze passed through the park, its peaceful embrace hidden away from the bustling streets in this sanctuary of serenity. It carried along with it the scent of a small cropping of Gui trees which had been planted within a garden in the middle of the park. The beautiful smell wafted into my nose and traveled deep into my mind, extracting the most subtle of memories from the darkness of time. As thoughts of the road swirled through my head my heart began to pound with the excitement and longing one gets from seeing a long lost lover pass by in the street. The realization that the past is never with in reach strikes painfully at the sweet sanguinity of hindsight. The faintness of those beautiful memories being weathered by the hands of time, only grow more precious with age. I stood struck in my steps, taking in the fragrance of Guilin. Before a word was spoken I turned to my gong gong only to find the same distant stare in his eyes. The same breeze had transported our souls, if only for a moment, to the tree lined streets of Guilin. And for a brief second the hands of time had been thrown to the side, and my grandfather and I were on the Big Road together. The rising limestone camel back mountains, the voices of food stand owners, the winding canals, and the spirit of the city danced through our minds. We stood for a few minutes and reminisced over the town which had captured both our hearts. He had spent over two years in Guilin, escaping the Japanese solders during world war II and being one of the last men to evacuate the city as it fell into enemy hands. I had spent only a few wandering days in this magical city, exploring its many parks and streets via the back of a motorcycle cabbie. Yet in the end we had a chance in this lifetime to walk that road together, and if even for a couple of minutes, it was incredible. For although time inevitably changes all things, the road is constant, and it is in front of us all.

Albert Yu-Min Naching Lin

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My good friend and fellow adventurer, Albert Lin, recently returned from a five-week journey through China and Mongolia. Every few days during his travels, Albert's friends and family received an email journal entry. Each story overflowed with a detailed description of a foreign land few westerners have ever dared to explore.

Albert is a fascinating individual who feels as much at home teaching graduate level engineering classes at UCSD as he does in Mongolia eating sheep's carcass and drinking fermented horse's milk with his nomadic Mongolian ancestors.

Upon Albert's safe and highly anticipated return to San Diego, he organized his photos, stories and sound bites into a blog. His collection of photographs is impressive, but the adventurous spirit that radiates through his stories is one of a kind.

With Albert's permission, I present to you, Albert in China.