Todd receives acupuncture from a wise old Chinaman and his helpful daughter.

[Photo by Nancy Olson]

Journal by Todd Borgie

August 4

We are still in Dali. Although touristy (primarily Chinese tourists), this is probably one of the most accessible traditional areas that I have been to in China. It is still able to keep sort of a small town feel, despite all the venders and the interesting types of individuals that roam the streets here.

Anytime I roam the streets here, I have to beware of “Shoe Guy.” I should have gotten a picture of him, but I think he has turned in for the night. Anyway, “Shoe Guy” can spot a flawed shoe from a click (one kilometer is a click) away. When a flawed shoe has been spotted on his radar, he quickly closes in on his target. Once at the target, I believe he tells you exactly what is wrong (but I don’t speak Chinese), or he tugs on the problematic area. I have rebuffed him several times, but this hasn’t stopped him.

The sole is peeling away from my flip-flops, and this seems to bother Shoe Guy. I guess letting a shoe go un-repaired is like Superman not capturing a bad guy. Anyway, later, while I was having a conversation with Neil in the street, Shoe Guy stealthily swung in with glue in-hand and fixed the problem with my sole; amazing! Dumbstruck, I looked at Neil and began to laugh, and shoe guy looked proud!

Such is life here in Dali.

So far, life in China has been great. This has been my best experience yet in China (this is my third time here). People have been very friendly, our guide, Mr. Ma, has been beyond helpful; he will sleep well when we are gone, as he has been busy helping out with all of our work, including hospital visits, border visits, negotiating, translating, and answering all of our questions about China.

What transcends our feeling that all is well here is our looming question of what is going to happen tomorrow. Although Nick has done everything in his power to deal with the situation, paperwork sometimes takes a life of its own. This is the case with Myanmar. Although the permits have been issued for India, the Myanmar permits will not be issued by the time we get to the border, because the Myanmar permits were contingent upon the India Permits, and the India permits where just issued. However, the China permits, which are currently in motion, depend upon the Myanmar permits, which depend upon the India permits. Each department wants exact dates of arrival and departure, so the task is difficult. We now find ourselves needing to check out of China, but not being able to enter Myanmar. Our wait may last up to a week, hmm. We are hoping that we will be able to check out of China but stay in the area between the border (so we won’t have to officially check into Myanmar) until our permits are ready and our guide is at the border. I hope that explanation is confusing, because that is how it is: confusing. This is the life and times of traveling with a vehicle expedition: we are hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. People are buying movies in case the wait is long; we have thought about the idea of each car choosing a night to entertain the team. Who knows what will happen?

With this looming over our heads, the team is spending the day preparing, buying food, researching the floods in Assam, and uploading information…a typical workday.

The day closed with a trip to the acupuncture doctor. Despite my fear of needles in my younger days, something I inherited from my own experiences plus a gene from my father, I have been intrigued with acupuncture. I mean, how did someone come up with the idea that sticking needles in someone would make them feel better? The Chinese have been doing this for thousands of years, so I am assuming it is doing something. Generally, time weeds out most bad ideas.

Here in China, I have been wondering what type of role Chinese medicine will play in the search for a Parkinson’s cure or even treatment of Parkinson’s disease. In terms of acupuncture, I figured I have to try it to see what it is all about in order to look into how it might affect Parkinson’s. I really didn’t have any ailments, so I figured I would have it done to improve my energy levels.

I was lying on my stomach, so I didn’t see the needles get stuck in my back, but according to Nancy, they stuck a couple of needles at least 3 inches into my shoulder. I can tell you that these hurt! After completing the sticking process (about 10 different needles), the doctor took my pulse and told me to relax for about ½ hour. Nancy and Chanda, who were guiding Justin and me in our experience, figured out that he and the majority of his family were deaf and mute.

After relaxing as much as I could with an arm that was falling asleep and with needles stuck in my back, the doctor returned. Once the needles were pulled out, I got a serious massage. I mean serious, because the lady worked me! I felt like a wet towel that was being wrung out!

After everything was done, the doctor was trying to communicate with me about something he found during my session, but communication was difficult. Apparently this session will cure some ailments I have had for a long time, and he kept on pointing to my arms. Hmmm, I don’t know what that means, but I am looking forward to feeling better.

Help support our cause: The LONGITUDE Expedition is the longest journey ever attempted with a focus on Parkinson's Disease. The Drive Around the World team aims to raise money for Parkinson’s Disease research by driving four Certified, Pre-Owned Land Rover Discoverys around the globe following lines of longitude. Readers are encouraged to pledge small amounts of money per expedition-kilometer via a pledge form that can be found on our Parkinson’s page by clicking HERE. One hundred percent of donations received go directly to Parkinson's research, and all who donate $10 or more will be entered into a raffle to win an expedition-equipped Land Rover Discovery.