Sunday, 12 May 2007.
Woke up at 5.30am to a sleeping Cheng Du and having freshened up to a cup of 3-in-1 coffee, I made my way out of the sleeping teahouse-guesthouse with my bagpack, my camera slingbag, my tripod stand bag and my day pack strapped over every possible leverage on my body. The administrator at Sam's travel agency cum guest-reception was buzzing about, trying to assign another group of travellers to their buses. It was 5.45am. I was on time but my driver was not in sight. And so I placed my burden on the sofa and became witness to the commotion that was heating up in the cold Cheng Du air.
The administrator wanted to return the deposit for the room (RMB100, about SGD20) but couldn't until the room attendants had checked the room is not missing of any item, and because of that, she kept saying "jussaminit" to the agitated man. She tried to explain to the European man in his fifties but he kept snapping back at her. He clearly wanted to leave to catch the plane.
"Oh keep it, keep it!". Angrily, he stormed out of the shop and boarded the van.
As I sat there watching the drama in the early morning, I wondered how conflicts such as these can be avoided? Clearly, the adminstrator was doing her job. She wanted to return the deposit so she wanted him to wait "jussaminit". And clearly, the man wanted to leave and couldn't care very much about the RMB100.
Therein lies a conflict of interest. But is the misalignment of two wants the source of this conflict? When two parties want very things, which is often the case, does it always have to end in conflict? Are conflicts necessarily bad? And if they are not, what can be done to resolve things amicably?
The administrator gave chase and though they were about some 10 metres away, I could hear her giving instructions to the driver: hang on to the 100RMB and when she calls him on his mobile, to hand it to the man. With a resigned tone, she explained to the traveller through the window once again in broken English and wished him bon voyage, then waved goodbye to the back of a departing van and ran back to the shop to attend to me.
I felt the administrator handled the situation as best as she could. She certainly had her heart and mind in the right places. All she wanted was to ensure he had his refund, but what she got was ingratitude and a snobbish attitude. Sure, RMB100 may mean a lot more to her than to him, but is this the way we relate to a fellow human being? Broken English or not. She didn't deserve his tone of voice.
So is the traveller really snobbish just because he wanted to have his way? Yes, he certainly didn't have to raise his voice at her. But could he have tried really hard to explain his situation before but all that he got was "jussaminit"? Is it fair to judge him based on his derogatory tone of voice, and asking her to "oh, keep it", and think of him as being an arrogant rich Eurpoean talking down to a poorer wage-earner? Besides, it would be really silly to miss a flight because of a RMB100 refund.
What will be your point of view?
5.50am - My driver finally showed up. He was waiting at another hotel and only realised his error when the administrator gave him a call. I got my RMB100 refund without incident and left Sam's Guesthouse.
6.20am - Checked in at Cheng Du airport and made my way through the customs. I note the many duty-free shops lining the way from immigration to the boarding gate.
7.10am - Took China Airline flight CA4253 to Xining. Had white porridge with pickled vegetables served in an aluminium tray for breakfast.
9.08am - Touch down. Clearing customs was easy - there was only one hall and the moment I picked up my luggage, I was out. Amist the small crowd, I saw a man holding a placard that read "Mr Terence". It was my guide for the expedition - Mr Pema Gyatso, 36, Tibetan, and standing next to him was my driver - Mr Shi Yi Shen, 40, Chinese. We departed in a four wheeler and headed straight into Xining.
Along the way, Pema pointed out to architecture and gave me a quick brief on Xining and its surroundings. I didn't register very much as I was beginning to feel the dizzying heights. Xining (or Ziling) city stands at 2,200m and if you just came from sea level and intend to head anyway in Tibet, Xining is a good place to acclimatise.
After a quick drive, we arrived at Qinghai Overseas Building which is in the heart of town along No.30 Bei Da Jie. Pema checked me into a twin-sharing room with an attached toilet. The receipt read RMB120 per night. I said goodbye to Mr Shi, went to dump my stuff in the room and headed back down to meet Pema to go for lunch.
Along the way, I caught sight of a departmental store opening. They had all the staff outside the building playing tug of war. I'm not sure if there was a prize but it seemed everyone took the fun seriously.
10.30am - We made a turn off the road and headed for a Tibetan restaurant called "The Black Tent" along Wen Hua Jie (Cultural Street). There, Pema ordered traditional Tibetan cuisine.
I tried the infamous Yak Butter Tea (it's really from Dru - the female of the Yak. The Yak does NOT give milk. Hmmm, reminds me of a conversation I once had with a friend about the difference between Ox and Bull... but I digress). The tea tasted salty and buttery and certainly that takes some getting use to. We also had "Chori" (or meat dumplings), "shamdi" (porridge with minced beef and vegetables) and the Tibetan staple - Tsampa (grounded toasted barley powder mixed into a dough with cheese, butter and tea water), which Pema kneaded with his hands.
Throughout lunch, we chatted about my inspiration to visit the source of the Mekong river while he shared his sentiments about how life is like for a Tibetan living in a Chinese-ruled land. We discussed at greater lengths the actual source of the river - and it was then that my greatest fear was confirmed - he didn't know.
Through my research, I came to discover that the source of the Mekong River (Dzachu or Zaqu in Tibetian, or Lang Cang Jiang in Chinese) was widely contested and it was not till the late nineties and in early 2000 that the geographical source of the river was declared. There remain, however, many other sources, including spiritual ones revered by the Tibetans. One thing for sure, they are all located in Dzato County in Kham.
And through my discussion with him, as well as with CK of X-Trekkers, my travel agency, I came to realise that few tourists make a visit to the source of the Mekong a part of their itinerary. In fact, I was told that I am the first Singaporean to make such requests of X-trekkers, and Pema confirmed it. His travel agency - Windhorse Travel - had never taken anyone there before in their 6 years of existence.
I was naturally a little disturbed. I didn't want my trip to be a wasted one. I wouldn't mind the geographical source asserted by Tamotsu Nakamura (Director of Japanese Alphine Club) and Pete Winn (Science Director of Earth Science Expeditions) in their 1991 letter to the Editor of Geographic Journal of RGS - which tells of a glacial spring at the head of Lasagongma Creek (which can't be found in any of my guide books) - or any of the spiritual sources believed to be the true source by ancient Tibetans. I just didn't want the trip to end up being a wild goose chase. Yet amidst the noisy conversations in my head, I felt Pema's reassuring aura. I had the sense that things would go well with this Tibetan and what I needed to do was to surrender to what was to unfold and flow with the elements. It was a blind leap of faith but I decided to trust him.
"If you choose to follow someone, then trust him."
I mused to myself as I remember saying this to someone before. Now I need to practise what I preached.
1 2.30pm - I felt a headache gnawing. This has got to be the altitude sickness setting in. I recalled a passing remark made by the taxi driver in Chengdu who drove me from the airport to Sam's guesthouse:
"If you sense something's amiss, you got to go. Don't just stay there"
I decided I had better return to my room and rest. So I bade farewell to Pema and arranged to meet him for dinner at 6.30pm.
5pm - I woke up earlier as I didn't want to be late for my appointment with Pema. I was glad I did as I felt much better after the sleep. And since I was already up, I decided to roam the streets. The temperature was about 25degrees with a slight breeze and it was refreshing to take a stroll.
Major crossroad junction at end of Bei Da Jie
View from under the circular overhead pass
Vendors along Ren Ming Marketplace
Smells flooding all senses at Ren Ming Marketplace
6.30pm - Pema took me to several Chinese restaurants but they were all full, so we ended up in Boronia Cafe, on a street next to Bei Da Jie. It was a restaurant serving western food but there was just a strange imitation atmosphere about it. He had a steak while I decided on a bowl of noodles soup. We shared a salad which came with prawns - and since Pema didn't take them (he says Tibetans think they are insects and they don't eat insects) - I had them all to myself.
9.00pm - After dinner, I felt the headache coming back and so I told Pema I'd return to the hotel to rest. We arranged to pick me up at 5.45am the next morning and I headed straight for bed. By then, I felt as if my head felt like a pressure cooker that was slowly but surely being pressurised. I waste no time in popping two panadols to ensure a good night's rest. After ten minutes, the pain was gone and I fell into a restful sleep.
Tomorrow, we set off in search of the illusive source.
