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Published: October 20th 2012
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I think i'm fairly hardy when it comes to the ol' 8 hour ride on local long distance buses in developing countries – In Argentina they are positive luxury; in Guatemala they are referred to as “chicken buses” because of the company you may keep - however in China they really have begun to push even my happy go lucky back to basic traveller ways. Its a small 15 seater minivan – and admittedly its only cost about a tenner to get half way up the province – but at first I am sharing it with a huge slab of raw purply meat – that sits in the aisle – all stripey red and greasy fat. There is no toilet and i'm sharing with just Chinese. An hour in and I already need the loo and know they won't make a stop for another hour and a half – luckily we are changing buses so I use the opportunity to gesticulate to find a toilet while we pause. When we change buses I have to sit near the back. It fills up, the windows open, the Chinese start smoking, and occassionally spitting. A man gets on with a huge barrel taped
up. I see that it has air holes at the top. It lodges in the aisleway and I see the shadows of eels nudging at the top for air. Yikes. I feel sorry for the ill placed guy in front of me who gets the "eel water" slopped over him about three times when the bus lurches.
About five hours in and there has been a crash further up ahead. As always with these situations (it happened outside Oaxaca in Mexico and outside Xiamen Fujian province as well) I think "there but for the grace of God go I" and try not to complain about the delay. The driver gets off in a huff and I attempt to get off and am faced with huge sunflowers poking through the door of the bus. The little village that is seeing the backlog of traffic jam has come out to hawk its wares. There are little stalls by the wayside of bright red chilis marinating in jars and a kid comes around with huge Chinese pears – that are pale green and taste like a juicy cross between a pear and an apple. One of the women on the bus has bought some and offers me one. The bus i'm on is heading for Shangri la – and although its supposed to take 7 and a half hours its almost 8 hours in by the time I get off early at the village at the start of the trek -Qiatou. The scenery changes as we get further North, the mountains rise and slowly in the distance I can see the white and granite slopes of snow capped peaks. A coffee coloured river flows below us. Suddenly the bus stops and everyone gestures at me to leave. It must be time for me to get off!
I walk up to the Visitor Centre and pay the fee for the trek which is 65YUAN and then continue walking to Jane's Guest House which is just at the start of the trek. The dorms are very basic – an 8 bed dorm sets me back a - not exactly bank breaking - 2 pounds fifty. The toilet is filthy, the shower is cold, but the saving grace is the restaurant run by (in “Jane's” absence) some helpful Tibetans who happen to be good cooks. I eat lettuce and peanuts and beef with fried rice and have a beer – and as I decide I should be more adventurous try the local plum wine. It comes with a sealed cap and then I realise its about 45% - whoops.
I've been advised not to do the trek alone – by friends that have done it and the guide books. I was hoping to meet some other travellers on the bus or failing that the hostel but its empty apart from me and two Polish boys who have already completed it and are heading off tomorrow. We stay up chatting, they are sweet and friendly and very funny ( I like the Polish.) One of them – copper haired, freckly with grey eyes and quite cute is obviously interested. But i'm afraid i'm not. Its not that I don't find him attractive...just not attractive enough to be bothered to do anything about for one night. And these days I don't really like the idea of one night stands (unless they are super super hot and I just want to rip their clothes off obviously....😉 ) He has worked as a train host for a train company in Britain and got beaten up in Brighton just before leaving to head back to Poland. He tells me its understandably flavoured his impression of the UK, Apparently he was stepping in to help some guy that was being beaten up – and in Poland there is an ethical code of conduct – if you intervene to help someone else then you are immune from being attacked yourself. Oh dear – no such chivalry exists amongst British men -i could have told him that. They tell me that Tiger Leaping Gorge is exhausting (they have practically sprinted it in 5 hours) and that I should just get a cab up and then do the downward bit to the gorge itself. Because the views are nothing special until you arrive anyway. I know that I really want to do the trek even if the thought of doing it by myself with my terrible sense of direction is a bit scary but I can't beleve the views are that bad are they? I have a feeling its terrible advice!
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