It was July 31st 2010.  I have no photographic proof of this place, it was just one of those moments that a photograph could never explain this experience.  I have a snapshot from the road.

This town is, according to my records, is Abag Qi 阿巴嘎旗, Xilin Gol 锡林郭勒盟off Route 101 in Inner Mongolia on the way from Chifeng to the Mongolian/China border.

We stopped here for lunch.  We had been making good time against the headwinds of Northern China.  I learned that the wind comes down full force after 5 pm and will whack you around until very early dawn.

You can spot these towns in the middle of nowhere, from about 25km away.  In Xilin Gol, there is NOTHING.  Just a lot of up and down and up and down and up and down.  Nothing substantial…slight incline with an unexciting decline with a slight headwind to take ALL the joy out of it.  Your still putting in force going down…I hate that.

I’m sure there were growls of hunger in my stomach as I was approaching this town.  Usually, at the first sighting of life, if alone, I let out a big ass sigh of relief and murmur something motivational under my breath like, “just a little more” or “you can do it”.  But with company, there is usually an exchange of smiles, or a thumbs up, or a pointing into the horizon, and maybe even a “hell’s yeah!”

This town probably got a “Thank god” or “You hungry?” or “We’d better stop”.  More than like it was a mixture of all three with the stress on stopping.  If you take a look at Google Maps you can see there are very few towns/villages through Xilin Gol.  It’s Grasslands, some Desert, and some salt lakes.

Upon approaching, I can see new hotels being built along 101, the typical mid tone smooth grey shell that is ever present in growing China.  In the middle of nowhere I see an inkling of life improving, and inkling of hope, a glistening of capitalism and wealth.

Taking a right turn into the city, we are greeted with freshly paved roads, new looking houses, building cranes, and big poster of Deng Xiaoping.  Something similar to this

It’s one of those towns where you ride down a big hill to arrive in this little gem of a place.

This place is strange.  Very new, clean, pleasant, quiet…I think, this is a little undiscovered wonderful place.  It’s very similar looking to a city in the US.  There aren’t many people out and (I believe) its Saturday or Sunday afternoon.

Jason tells me to choose the place to eat.  I walk in, and in 3 months touring, and a year and a half of living in China, this is the first time “the record skipped” when I walked through the beaded curtain.  They love the beaded curtains in the North.  I hate beaded curtains because they love to get stuck in your spokes.

The place is packed, people go back to their business and the waitress attempts to speak English to me.  She’s high school age and of course absolutely adorable.

I remember the congee was AMAZING!

After a nice hearty, early lunch, we cross the street to sit in the shade in the city square.  There is a fountain, flowers, fresh benches with awnings.  In the North the mid sun is intense.  It’s a dry heat so it’s not so bad but that sun will burn you right up.  It’s decided, I will eat some additional snacks of chocolate and ice cream…do a little organizing and repacking and just chill’lax until about 2:30.  So we have about 3 more hours until the wind will blow us nearly backwards.

I’ve finished applying sunscreen to my pasty, now extra pasty, body and hear something.  A sound that perks my ears up and sharpens my eyes instantaneously!  There are 2 old ladies sitting near us talking quietly…it’s not them…I hear it again.

“Jason, do you hear THAT!?!?”

“What?”

I look ahead and see a group of 3 boys near the fountain.  The fountain is filled with water…they are doing something in the water.  Laughing, pointing, pushing one another to look at something.  They pull something out and set it down….

I hear the most painful and heart breaking “meeww meewww meewwww meewww….” not even a “meow” but little painful chirps.

The boys…I know boys will be boys…especially 5-7 year old boys with nothing better to do…

Standing up with more purpose than I have felt in awhile, I walk over and see a black kitten the size of my fist wobbling along the edge of the fountain…SOAKING WET.  The boys look at me, grinning, point to the kitten and say “Cat”.

My hands go right on my hips and comes out “What are you doing?!  Cat’s don’t like water, you shouldn’t be doing this.  Where are your mothers?”  The grins turn to a horizontal line and they know from my tone I am not pleased.  Now, in Chinese, “cats don’t like water, don’t do this”.  I don’t know what to do…I can’t grab it and take it with me.  If I returned with a kitten to where Jason was sitting he would not be happy with my choice.  What would we do with it.

I have to turn away and walk, furiously, with tears building up in my eyes.  “They are torturing a kitten over there”.  I sit there, watching them lift her back up and dunk her in the water.  I count the seconds before I hear her cry again.  It’s too long.  They are pushing her to her limits.   I can’t do this…”Jason, we have to leave, I can’t do this.”

(If I had been alone, by myself…I PROBABLY would of taken her with me.  Either I would of gone back to the restaurant to ask for help from the waitress or I would of gotten on my bike, rode up to them, snatched the kitten and ride off as fast as possible.  After that, maybe find a lu dian to feed and dry her and just let her go on her way.)

A man approaches to tell them to leave.  Jason goes up to the man and explains what they are doing.  The man explains he knows they are evil kids but it’s out of his control because he isn’t not their father.  Two boys pack the kitten up in a shoe box and walk across the street with their arms around each other, like long time cronies.

I can hear the crying.

We ride away and I see the boys hiding behind a SUV snickering as I ride by and I slow down to scream “you are NAUGHTY NAUGHTY LITTLE BOYS!!!!”

The crying rings through my head for hours.

A headwind from hell…or rather, North.

We can’t ride much more during the day.  I’m getting sun burned with my poor choice in a sleeveless jersey and not enough sunscreen.

Camp.

My reasoning for camping next to power lines is because too many motorcycles ride through the Grasslands, all willy nilly, or maybe worst, a jeep.  I figure a telephone pole will prevent me from getting accidentally flattened once the sun sets.

It’s a predictable cold and windy night.  As I fall asleep I wonder about that kitten.

When I wake…the first thought…”I hope she died”.  No more torture.

3 Weeks ago, my bike love has been replaced with Laoshu.  She found us with missing patches of hair, snotty nose, and mucous from her eyes.  At night, curled up around my neck or on my pillow, she would sneeze and cough.  Always little snot bubbles from her nose when she would wake up (she’s sleeping in a box right now that contains steel for bike building).  I nursed her with antibiotics and we bathed her once a week.  I’m nursing my ringworm away.

The pharmacist here has not seen something like this and we were awarded with a tube of Herpes medicine.  Nothing like pure strength bleach to knock out the 7 ringworm patches I have.

Laoshu may be her name for now, but I want to name her “Abag Qi”.  She especially loves having her paws rubbed and played with.  I swear they have more webbing than other cats, I bet she can swim too!

When I was lounging on the couch with her one night, I looked into her eyes, and  I KNOW I wanted to save her 4 months ago.  It sounds silly and all new age and stuff…but this kitten…we’ve crossed paths before.  She follows me where ever I walk, with me accidentally kicking her, sleeping on my lap whenever she gets a chance.

Her balance isn’t too good…but her fur has grown back, her sickness has disappeared, and she gets crazier than I have ever seen a kitten.  She’ll take a ribbon and run up and down the hall with it.  I can’t figure out if she’s cat, monkey, puppy, horse, mouse…I thought she looked a little hyena when I first met her.