Following Buddha

A couple of weeks ago, after re-reading the thesis for the 30^th time, I knew that there were many mistakes still unspotted between my long lines. I was never able to concentrate for any significant time and thus my mind did what it has been doing the best for the last few months. Count the days till the take off and count the dollars that I still have to make for the trip.

Last week, the story of the thesis and its defense concluded with a happy ending. I found myself empty handed with nothing to worry about, and my mind didn’t even drift towards my globe tottering. I guess, in the million breaks that I took while studying, I had gathered a lot of information about the trip. All that was required was visas, shopping, a few phone calls and packing. After pondering about it, I figured that a lot was still to be done. I needed visa for China and India, where Nepal is so hospitable that they give you the visa at their door steps. I had to get shoes, some equipment for my camera, GPS, blah blah, blah, contact my hosts through couch surfing and find more for the places that I was still having no place to stay. It was exciting, but I didn’t focus much on that. I counted the days and the dollars yet again.

I have read it at many places that ‘…traveling Tibet is hard, and the hardships start way before the journey itself’. However, even after spending hours while planning a route for the trip, I still am unsure about how I will cross Qinghai and Tibet autonomous region (TAR, the Chinese idea of Tibet) because of the ever changing laws and permits imposed by the Chinese government. Lonely planet (LP) for Tibet, Thorn-tree (LP’s online forum), and other websites have a whole spectrum of information with only one consistency, that entering TAR is risky without a 4wd and a guided tour. If one travels alone, there is a chance of fined heavily and or imprisoned for a long time (which in itself is a great story to tell later if one survives the Chinese prison… so lets see).

If one takes the bus from Xining (Capitol of Qinghai and a launch pad for the province) to different places within Qinghai, the routes are long and buses don’t have frequent stops. Sitting in a bunk bus, and looking at the most amazing valleys and mountains of Asia through a dirty glass on a bumpy road can potentially be the worst nightmare of a person with photographical inclinations (i.e. me). The bus can be stopped at request, but that means stopping in areas where one can be stranded for days without food and human contact (a bit of an exaggeration but arguably it is almost like this).

Along with a few other challenges, the last one in Tibet is the problem of leaving Tibet through the friendship highway that connects China with the Nepali border. The heroic stunt of a few pro Tibet Canadian-australian and American dudes who flagged the 40mX40m poster to free Tibet has resulted into a very stringent hwy and no one without a guide can travel on it. I have decided to go against the expense of the 4wd and the guide all over. Luckily I am meeting a British lad, Jonathan in Yushu where he is teaching. With him, I hope to cross the vast grasslands of Kham and Amdo…somehow. Tomorrow I will go shop.

However there are 14 days left to the flight and it is about $400 dollars that I am short of.