I left my room around 4AM and waited for another 30 minutes before the caretaker opened the door. The wind was cold and it was still dark. I was deciding if I’m going to walk from my hostel to the bus station or not which was a bit far. I took a taxi instead and I arrived at the bus station around 5AM. There were a few backpackers at that time lounging around the waiting area.
I waited for a couple more hours and we were finally called to board the bus. I was afraid that I might be the only tourist inside the bus but I was wrong. Half of the bus was occupied by backpackers from different countries.
We stopped after a couple of hours for a bathroom break. The bus didn’t have any portable toilet inside. I went out the bus and I was surprised. I just saw the most amazing landscape that I’ve ever seen in my life. China is the most beautiful country that I have ever seen in my life. Seeing China’s Southwestern area was like watching National Geographic live.
After the break we went on again, as we crisscrossed different mountains, I couldn’t help but smile. The world is really beautiful and I feel so lucky that I could travel. I felt that this was the best decision that I’ve ever made in my life.
After two or three hours we stopped again. I looked outside the window to check what’s going on. It seemed that there were a couple more local buses in front of us. Some of the passengers got off to check what’s going on. Curious as I was, I also went down.
A small bus got stuck in the mud. Everyone’s helping to dug up the bus and pulled it to a more stable ground. After half an hour, they were able to pull the bus out. Our bus overtook the two local buses and drove thru the muddy dirt road.
And it got stuck as well. The piled stones that were used to help the other bus were no use to our bus, maybe because our bus is bigger and heavier.
Most of us helped to dig the bus out of the mud. We were all gathering stones and throwing it to the dirt road so that the bus’s tires could have something solid to grasp on. It was a funny and tiring moment. After almost an hour, the bus was able to pass by. Everyone who helped was full of dirt, mud and small debris.
It was funny inside the bus. The local Tibetans and Chinese were teasing us because we’re full of mud and dirt. And we were all laughing. It was surreal because no one was using the same language and yet we could understand what’s going on. It was another perfect moment of human harmony, I was thinking. The language barrier didn’t block us from communicating what we felt. The smiles and laughter made the experience very memorable.
It was almost dark when we arrived in Xiangcheng. The town is like a city in the making. Even though it’s pretty inaccessible due to remoteness, there were a lot of new buildings already. The road inside the county is paved and there were commercial shops and banks.
We all checked in the same hostel. I found out that all backpackers inside the bus were heading to Chengdu, same as my itinerary. But we’re stopping to some Tibetan villages along the way for some tourist sightseeing.
This Chinese road trip was turning out to be a very good experience.
Here are some pictures from my bus trip from Shangri-La to Xiangcheng
