We began our overnight journey at an early hour, leaving behind old Chang'an. Between quiet smiles and our worldly possessions tightly in our backpacks, we tucked into one of those nutritious breakfast at our local joint down the alley as we had almost every morning. It would be our last moment of solitude before the madness of a busy train station blew upon us like a fervent storm.
As with all things (generally anything Big Brother China has their hands on) here, they worked mostly in clockwork fashion. We pushed off the platform at exactly 0842 hours and much to our delight, we found ourselves on car No. 2 bed 19 and 20, with four sleepy heads greeting us. Bed No. 19 seemed to have been slept on by one of the suspects as this train had departed from Beijing. The whole train shook in a slow rumba dance as its passengers got busy with their instant noodles, preserved chicken feet, tea, and biscuits while we settled our things during this breakfast slot. Our berth was playing neighbours with the toilet compartment (which doubled as smoking room and spittoon) as I braved myself for a long journey of local tobacco smoke, elephant trunk clearing nose snorts, and really bad rendition of Tibetan songs.
Who could have known? A little over a year ago, we began our walking the Earth when we landed in Paris, hungry for some pain au chocolat and a shower. In between that, I had learned to downgrade my backpack to a smaller one, (finally) learned to do a decent headstand, saw real snow for the first time in my life, and perhaps grew up a little bit more. And a year later, we're on our way to Tibet... to maybe cheekily think that's how we could stand over everyone, by just that, getting to the roof of the world.
As with all things (generally anything Big Brother China has their hands on) here, they worked mostly in clockwork fashion. We pushed off the platform at exactly 0842 hours and much to our delight, we found ourselves on car No. 2 bed 19 and 20, with four sleepy heads greeting us. Bed No. 19 seemed to have been slept on by one of the suspects as this train had departed from Beijing. The whole train shook in a slow rumba dance as its passengers got busy with their instant noodles, preserved chicken feet, tea, and biscuits while we settled our things during this breakfast slot. Our berth was playing neighbours with the toilet compartment (which doubled as smoking room and spittoon) as I braved myself for a long journey of local tobacco smoke, elephant trunk clearing nose snorts, and really bad rendition of Tibetan songs.
Who could have known? A little over a year ago, we began our walking the Earth when we landed in Paris, hungry for some pain au chocolat and a shower. In between that, I had learned to downgrade my backpack to a smaller one, (finally) learned to do a decent headstand, saw real snow for the first time in my life, and perhaps grew up a little bit more. And a year later, we're on our way to Tibet... to maybe cheekily think that's how we could stand over everyone, by just that, getting to the roof of the world.
My mind was a complete blank. I attempted a bit of sewing but quietly prayed an utter of gratitude that I didn't have to rely on this profession to pay my rent as I would probably have been kicked out enough to last ten lifetimes of reincarnation. Maybe I was also purposely avoiding looking too much outside as I didn't want to feed any expectation that might had arisen. Passengers around me were chatting excitedly about the yaks, yellow-haired deers, and the odd stupa. Okay, I may had been victim of temptation a few times but for a good reason! Somehow I "knew" that I would spot a large hare. Actually there were two of them. And also to shoot some of the most amazing scenery I had encountered so far.
Hence, after much survival-inducing moments, we had endured foul bad yoghurt-smelling shoes, expensive train dinner, a toilet flush that nearly gave way, and an almost alarming catastrophe of an over-flowing squatter, we arrived in Lhasa, the "Sacred Land". We followed a human tidal wave that descended on a very well maintained station, only to be welcomed by our Tibetan guide, T.D. (not his real name). A real joker, the three of us took an instant liking to each other. He hung on us the traditional welcome of the Khandar white scarf. My lungs were squeezing with all their might to grasp at every last molecule of oxygen while I felt my heart beating in between my ears.
We were finally here.
Hence, after much survival-inducing moments, we had endured foul bad yoghurt-smelling shoes, expensive train dinner, a toilet flush that nearly gave way, and an almost alarming catastrophe of an over-flowing squatter, we arrived in Lhasa, the "Sacred Land". We followed a human tidal wave that descended on a very well maintained station, only to be welcomed by our Tibetan guide, T.D. (not his real name). A real joker, the three of us took an instant liking to each other. He hung on us the traditional welcome of the Khandar white scarf. My lungs were squeezing with all their might to grasp at every last molecule of oxygen while I felt my heart beating in between my ears.
We were finally here.
