#3: [07-Feb-07]

#1: [04-Jan-04]

22-Jun-2004 -- This is a continuation from 23°N 106°E and the last of a four-confluence hunt made in Guangxi province by Targ Parsons and Peter Snow Cao in June 2004.

After a good night's sleep in the four-star Phoenix Hotel, we felt human again. We decided to get the early morning bus to Nalongkuang. This was a trawler bus of the most insidious kind. Once leaving the bus station it zoomed up to the corner where it inched along for 10 minutes going 100 meters before turning to go around to go around the block again. The confluence point was only 35 km away, but it took more than two hours to get to the town where it was located. Once we got there, we wandered through town and viewed the statue of the Unknown Miner. The confluence point was less that 200 meters away and an easy walk through banana plant fields and next to a red brick building.

Getting the perfect reading was a piece of cake.

While we were making our notes and taking photos in the area. a couple of confluence point residents met us and agreed to have there picture taken. I thought that if some foreigners showed up in my yard with fancy electronic equipment and digital cameras taking photos around my home I would be a bit suspicious and surely wouldn’t posed for pictures. But this is one of the great things about China.

After recording all the details, we wandered over to take a look at the mine. The entrance had been recently bricked up and a chart of chemical measurements indicated high concentration methane and carbon monoxide. The building around the mine were all under the process of being destroyed, probably having something to do with the concentration of dangerous chemicals.

We finished our tour and got a motor-trike back to Nalong where we got the trawler bus back to Nanning. I was optimistic about getting back quicker than it took to get there. However, on the way back, the bus got a flat tire. I demanded our money back and surprisingly, the conductress returned the remaining portion, albeit reluctantly. We got the next passing bus and returned to the big city where Targ had designs on doing so serious shopping for himself as well as others. Co-worker, co-conspirator and confluencer, Tony Basoglu, had made a request to bring back as much jackfruit as Targ could carry. In addition, Targ needed some new confluencing cotton shirts that button down the front so he can open them up without removing his backpack and shirt. Perfect for on the go temperature control. As it was about 34C and nearly 100% humidity, I opted to stay in the hotel lobby and suck slowly on a bottle of water while I worked on my confluence notes from the previous days.

This was the easiest confluence I had done to date and Targ said it was Tony Basoglu’s favorite given the lack of any hardship whatsoever in reaching it. Targ, Tong and Richard Jones visited this confluence earlier this year (see visit #1).

This was the end of another wonderful confluence hunt. I wish to express my appreciation to Targ Parsons for inviting me to join him and doing all the research for the points we visited.

I christened this the "Unknown Miner" and dedicate these reports to my wife and the wonderful people we meet in Guangxi province during this trip.

Targ’s stats:
Coordinates: 23°N 108°E
Visit date: 22 June 2004
Visit time: 9:26 a.m.
Elevation: 110 metres