For Patrick-Yangguizi (page 3 of 19)

What terrible news! It’s hard to add anything to everything that’s already been said here... I’m one of the many silent, anonymous people who never missed one of his new travel journals.

Thoughts to his loved ones.

Patrick,

You searched for Love and found it. You didn’t search for Death, but Death found you.

We’ll miss you, along with your warm, funny stories packed with delicious anecdotes. May this final journey let you meet your "friend" Kim Jong Il. You really pulled a fast one on us. Why make us cry when you knew so well how to make us laugh?

Farewell, my friend.

Timouss

A really sad return... Yanguizzi was a familiar presence and an iconic writer on VF. My warmest thoughts go out to his loved ones.

Do you know the circumstances of his passing in Uganda?

I didn’t know Patrick. In July, he had just replied to a recent post of mine, and that’s how I discovered his travel journal about the Amur. I really liked it. He was certainly a great traveler and no doubt a lover of life. My thoughts go out to his family and loved ones.

Safe travels,

Fabrice

MY CONDOLENCES, PATRICK!

I’m so sorry. My deepest condolences to his loved ones.

Unbelievable...

I remember his message so well, where he told us about his plans to travel to Africa for the first time in his life...

Ala ka hinè a la !

It was the announcement of his passing that led me to discover his amazing travel journals. I just finished reading all of them over the past two days, and I still can’t believe there won’t be any more.

I assume and hope (following François’s question) that they’ll remain permanently available for everyone on this site. A note about his passing on his profile could clear up any ambiguity about unanswered questions.

From now on, I won’t be able to resist bringing back one of those propaganda items he loved so much—a new passion has been born thanks to him 😉

M... Too bad. A new trip. And, while we're at it, dying while traveling isn't so bad, right? Even if later would be better.

Sending big thoughts to his loved ones... He was one of the most endearing members of the forum. His adventure stories and witty remarks will be missed... Hasta pronto, guapetón... Tina

😊 oh dear ... ohh ... ohhh ... Yangguizi!? Patrick!?

I loved his talent. His humor, his mischief, his self-deprecation, his ability to sniff out the absurd and the ridiculous everywhere ... I think I’m gonna make a compilation of his posts, print them out, and bind this anthology between two beautiful grilled steaks. As a special edition, I think he would’ve liked that ... 🏴‍☠️ With a beer too (forgive me ...)

Chris.

........shit............I reread this message several times before realizing.......

Sad news. May he rest in peace, and condolences to his family and friends from VF. May the earth rest lightly upon him. Jamna

It's been a long time since I last came to the forum... so sad.

Barely in his thirties and already off on that long, eternal journey!!!

Having only known Yangguizy through his messages and writings on this site, VF loses a distinguished member for his talent as a travel writer and storyteller!!

Safe travels, Yangguizy!!

in your post “my stomach made a layover in Munich” that I thought was excellent, seniorCH said it was better to have you in a photo than at the table... now we have your photo! But how we’d all love to have you at the table. Have a great trip, YANGGUIZI francia

Hello everyone,

This is my first post on VF. I would have preferred to do it under different circumstances. I was a close friend of Patrick’s. We met in ’97 during our first trip to China, in Beijing. We didn’t realize it at the time, but it would be the first of many. We saw each other regularly since then, in France or China, since I lived in Shanghai at the same time as him and have been going back regularly for over 2 years.

The news of his passing is a shock to me, just as it is to his close friends. For now, the information we’ve received indicates that he passed away in a hospital in Uganda on Monday, August 4, 2008, due to pulmonary edema. These travel stories on VF are a final surprise, as he never mentioned them to anyone around him. We knew he was active online—who hasn’t seen his website and his GIFs of himself as Mao Zedong and other historical figures—but we had no idea about these stories. It’s true that we had the privilege of hearing them firsthand during the dinners we’d organize every time he returned. We’d laugh a lot each time, especially since Patrick had an incredible knack for getting into absurd situations. I’m starting to think he actually enjoyed it. We saw each other (always with the same group) for dinner before his trip to Uganda. We warned him, as we always did, but he was already in travel mode, eager to discover the country of *The Last King of Scotland*. We were supposed to meet up in Shanghai when he got back, before I left for France. None of us would have thought this would be his last trip.

He leaves a huge void, and I think my next trip to Shanghai will have a very bitter taste. I was used to emailing him about my arrival and calling him from the taxi on my way back from the airport. I think everything has been said in the other posts, and these expressions of affection are a great comfort, especially for his family, his parents. He was exceptionally intelligent, endlessly curious, capable of the most outrageous gluttony (the only person I know who could do two all-you-can-eat buffets in the same day), always funny (who doesn’t know L’AARRCC?), and completely different from the image people had of him.

As mentioned in the first post, we’d like to gather as many photos as possible to give to his parents (the guy hated being photographed and almost always traveled alone, so it won’t be easy...). I think these stories on VF would be the perfect complement to those photos—a final testament to their son.

I’ll stop here.

Franck

Hi there,

One day I came across a site about some of the biggest dictators with offbeat humor(?) ... and I thought, I know exactly who I’m sending this to. I remembered you’d have loved to visit Equatorial Guinea too, after I told you some random anecdote about it that you found "brilliant—if you’ve got more like that" ... but I didn’t have any others. Here’s the site in question and the test you’d "pass with flying colors": http://tresofficiel.free.fr/kimilsungist.php3... And in the Top 10, there’s *The Last King of Scotland*! You probably couldn’t read it all since I think free.fr doesn’t work too well in China. So here’s one last laugh for you: http://tresofficiel.free.fr/photodict/amin.html

Hi,

Thanks for telling us a bit about Yangguizi. And to pick up on one of your sentences, it seems he really kept his countless activities separate, even online.

Because I think I wasn’t the only one who only knew him by his username, and the website is in his name. Personally, I found it—though I wish I’d never had the chance.

Since you’re his friend, if you feel everyone here who cares about him should know about his site, please share the link.

Thanks. Danielle

Hi Danielle,

It was really moving to read his friend Franck’s tribute just now... I knew Patrick had a website—I even knew the address—and I’d left a few words on his guestbook. Back in 2005, he made me promise not to reveal it, keeping his presence on the VF forum separate from what he shared on that site...

Now that he’s no longer with us, I think it would be good for everyone who loved him—especially his parents and friends—to know about the "double life" of our Patrick-Yangguizi.

Still, I’ll let his friend Franck (Faconi9708) take the lead in sharing that "..." where I spent so many moments laughing at his irresistible jokes.

Sending you a big hug, and one for your sweet dog too.

hi Tatra, hello everyone, I just wanted to add my sadness to yours! Life can sometimes play cruel tricks! Fortunately, thanks to VF and François, we’ll be able to keep his memory alive by thinking he’s just crossed to the other side of the horizon... Thoughts to his family Best wishes to all dany