For Patrick-Yangguizi (page 12 of 19)

I just got back from Iran, and it was his travel journal—read when I heard this terrible news—that inspired me to go. Every day, I’d read the page about the stage we were on, and I hope his writing will keep accompanying travelers for a long time to come.

Hi,

I just got back from a trip to South Korea; after visiting the DMZ and Panmunjom, I looked up "North Korea" on VF and came across his travel journal, which I devoured in one sitting. It made me want to go there. I was about to contact him when I saw Tatra’s message... Damn... sometimes the big wheel spins backward🙁🙁🙁 So long, buddy... @lain

Hello,

Yes. Patrick left us on August 4, 2008, just a year ago.

Michel

What a shock that day when I came across this message! A year already, and his memory remains so vivid.

Like many silent readers, I used to enjoy his anecdotes that Patrick posted at very late hours.

So sad...

Thoughts to his family and loved ones.

It’s been a year already, and I still can’t get enough of rereading your travel journals. Every time, some detail I’d forgotten comes back, and I laugh or smile—it depends.

I don’t even feel like reading other stories anymore; the pleasure just isn’t there. They feel dull, lifeless, often just a dry account. You had us so hooked, waiting for the next day to read what happened next. And there were 40,000 of us who read every single one of your posts about North Korea.

Yangguizi, I could easily be your grandmother, but in our relationship, it’s you who told *me* beautiful stories. I just wish there were more...

Danielle

It was so ever-present that I hadn’t really noticed it until today...

Hi

It’s been a year already—I think of you often! (Especially when the news clashes with your takes.) I’m writing to you from London, one of the cities you were proud to have never visited!

I still drop by your private site regularly—what a joy every time...

All the best, my friend!

Philobate

A year... it’s both short and long. We accumulate experiences and life’s little things. I often wander around Nice and revisit the places where we’d gather around a table... I feel the little winks you send me from up there, and I smile—or even laugh—every time.

Take care, my friend, and look after yourself and all of us...

See you soon,

Rest in peace, Patrick. It’s been a year since I heard about your passing in Africa. I’ve read so many of your travel journals. You were an enlightened man, a good man. I understand why everyone loved you and misses you. Take care of us, because the Great Computer has provided for you.

How time flies—it’s been a year already, and it feels like it was just yesterday. I think about you so often, Patrick. We all miss you. You’ll never be forgotten, a true traveler through and through, with your amazing stories that you left us in your travel journals, so rich in writing and sprinkled with that humor you had such a knack for. Rest in peace, my friend from VF with the big heart.

A thought for your family, your partner, and friends.

A sad anniversary... we miss his writings, we miss his messages

Thoughts for those who were dear to him...

Me too, in this mid-August, I’m thinking of YANG... It’s been a whole year since you left us in the Ruwenzori Mountains. Every time I hear UGANDA and the Ruwenzori Mountains, my thoughts go to your writings...

I’m joining you all in thinking about this sad anniversary. Last year, Patrick was following my trip to Iran from Rwanda, and I was really looking forward to sharing our impressions... Like Vazyvite, he was one of those who inspired me to take this Persian journey—I even dedicated my travel journal to him.

I guess he would’ve followed my trip to Yemen this year... I miss his comments so much...

Thoughts from Yemen for you, Patrick

I’m joining you all in thinking about this sad anniversary. It was thanks to his stories about Lake Baikal that I wanted to go there, and it was that desire to go that got me learning Russian. I haven’t made it to Lake Baikal yet, but Russian has been really useful elsewhere, and Yangguzi’s stories and presence on this forum are missed by me just as much as by all of you.

I’m also thinking of everyone who loved him, especially Nicole. One of my sons is Patrick’s age, and I can barely imagine her pain.

I often think of Patrick too—he’s sorely missed, just like by everyone who appreciated him.

Yangguizi, it's your birthday today. Damn mountain...

Danielle

A little thought on this day...

So his stories live on for the great joy of travelers... and readers.

Thoughts to his mom and his family.

It’s after a very long absence that I learned this sad news.

Shangaipat, I was there at the start of your journey on this site. I followed your adventures regularly, read and reread your beautiful travel journals, and I wanted to be here to say goodbye and THANK YOU, wherever you are...

Your spirit will linger on this site forever.

* *** My thoughts are with your family and loved ones.

Yangguizi was still in this world when I read his unforgettable travel journal about his trip to North Korea. I thought of him every time I saw Air Koryo’s IL-62 parked at Beijing Terminal 2, not knowing he had already left for an even stranger country from which no one returns. It was the phrase "the late Yangguizi" in a post that made me jump tonight, reading this message so long after.

Why leave so soon?

What bitter irony in VF’s automatic warning!

"The message you are about to reply to was posted over a year ago (August 10, 2008) and may no longer be relevant for a response."

Humans have been searching in vain for millennia to answer that question. I’m thinking of all the strangers who knew him and who probably haven’t forgotten him.