Altitudinae

So obviously I was feeling at my very best the next morning. But it didn’t really matter, because I would be able to sleep on the bus. Only… there was a very negative Israeli guy next to me the entire ride. He felt annoyed about literally everything that happened, from switching the bus because the big one wasn’t strong enough to go up the steepest hills, to the food, to the amount it cost (25 kuai, about 3 euro, for a full lunch), to… well, you get the picture. When the bus ride started, the driver gave a 5-minute speech. I still have no idea what he said, because when he finished and I asked a girl who looked to be around 20, meaning she had had English lessons, she said “You come to China and don’t speak Chinese? Well then I don’t speak English”, which was of course a lovely experience of the local hatred against foreigners. It seems like 90% of Chinese are extremely well-willing and good-natured, wanting to help even if they can’t communicate with you in any other way than hand signals, and 10% just hate anyone who’s not fluent in Mandarin. Then I hit my head on the trunk of the bus I got my bag out of, and this day couldn’t really turn out ok anymore…

And it didn’t, really. By the time we got to Lugu Lake, it was beautiful – even more beautiful than the scenery on the way there – but I had a horrible headache and couldn’t enjoy it that much. I thought it was still from hitting my head, but it actually was altitude sickness. I had to go to the other side of the lake for my bus onwards to Xichang, so I decided to try to get there this evening and then stay there for the night. Lucky for me, the guy sitting behind me spoke some English and had to go to the other side too. And there was a couple who also wanted to go there, so we could take a private car together. I asked him if it would take me to the bus station on that side, and he said yes. A couple minutes later, I asked him again, because his response had been a bit weird. Eventually he said “yes, to the bus station”, so I was satisfied.

We got in the car, a beautiful ride, we stopped to take some pictures of the beautiful environment, and then got back in, finally dropping us off close to the lake. So I asked him where the bus station was, and he said “you just walk in that direction, an hour walk, and enjoy beautiful environment”. So there I was, in the middle of nowhere, with a total of 15 kg (I had some water with me too), and the best option was to walk for an hour? I told him that with the altitude – I was actually out of breath from getting out of the car and getting my bags out – I wouldn’t be able to do that. So instead of saying “tough luck buddy”, he actually got me a ride in a ************** with a dad and his daughters, who took me to the bus station, and when that turned out to be closed already, to a hotel next to it.

The hotel was too expensive, but the driver of that hotel was staying at a cheaper one, a little ways down the road, so I walked about 200m (which was doable, but I was actually straining by the time we got there) to the old, dilapidated building where he was staying. On the left side, I saw a number of windowless and doorless rooms made of bare concrete, containing food. The hotel room looked very old, but clean, and it was less than 8 euro for a double bed and my own ensuite bathroom.

In the next paragraph, whenever I say anything about communication, it was done in sign language. I asked about getting food, and they said they didn’t have any and I had to go down the road, so I planned on doing that, but had to get the key first. When I walked to the “Reception”, the woman handing me the key invited me into their home. I walked into a single room, containing 4 beds and a stove, plus some storage with food. There, I was handed a pomegranate and an apple. I accepted the pomegranate and declined the apple, rubbing my throat. She told me to sit down, gave me some hot water and went to find tea, but I said the water was fine. Seeing how little they had, I didn’t want to use more of their resources than absolutely necessary. They brought me a big container of sunflower seeds, plus walnuts… I thanked them every time but didn’t take much. Then the woman who’d offered me the apple brought me candied sugar, for my throat ache. At this point, some tears actually rolled down my face for all the kindness I was receiving. I tried not to, since I know it’s not socially accepted to show emotion in public, but I couldn’t help myself…

I went to bed at 7 and they insisted I take a full 4-liter thermos of hot water with me. I drank quite a lot before sleep, since it should help altitude sickness. I woke up twice, once to go to the bathroom and once gasping for breath. Apparently that’s normal the first couple of days. I left the wonderful hosts at 7.30 the next morning, to get on the bus to Xichang.

I went back to the bus station. On my way there, there were fireworks going off and people burning huge bushes of thyme and walking in a kind of polonaise around it, grunting. Local culture was interesting. When I got to the bus station it was completely dark, half an hour before my bus should leave. I went in since the door was unlocked and I’d seen other people walk in, and asked about Xichang. The guy ran off, saying “wait here” and then came back and said “follow me”. We got onto his electric scooter (yes, with my huge backpack and slightly smaller daypack) and he drove me back in the direction of the hotel. We were almost halfway there when he started shouting and the bus on the other side of the road stopped. He pointed and said “Xichang!”. So I got on the bus and was off to Xichang!