Tom: Golmud (July 02)

Golmud (July 02) · Jul 14, 04:25 AM

The bus arrived at Golmud’s long-distance station early in the morning. Katie, Ida, and I brush past the Lhasa touts and join the small crowd outside the train station ticket office, which opens in half an hour at eight. Ida and I rush in when the door is opened while Katie sits on our gear. Ida secures a third-place spot in line, but they have no tickets to Lhasa. Two Chinese bodybuilders ahead of us in line were also trying to get to Lhasa. Back outside the ticket office they start helping me. It the end nothing came of it, but they were actively friendly. We also met a Korean tourist who knows about a jeep to Lhasa for about five hundred each. I do a bunch of rushing around with my new friends — first we find a bus that will smuggle us for one thousand per person. Chinese only pay one hundred and fifty for a ticket on the same bus. Our price is too expensive, but when we start looking for a minibus, the driver outright refuses to take foreigners. In the meanwhile, Ida is talking with CITS; getting into Tibet legally will cost us 1100 each.

This is how we spend out morning — in a rushed combination of fumbling investigation and discussion. We met Heidi, and English teach from Dandong in the northeast. She’s also talked to CITS about the official bus route. We talk ourselves into checking this option out, and take a cab to the Golmud Hotel to meet with the CITS rep in person.

She tries to explain the somewhat indefensible Tibet Travel Permit system to us — she doesn’t say that it’s really about controlling access to a police state and extracting money from rich foreign tourists. We agree to go and pay the lady, then learn there is no bus today and maybe none tomorrow — not enough demand. Heidi doesn’t mind the wait, but Katie and Ida are irate. We three get refunds and stomp out. If we can’t find a jeep or bus to take us we can come back tomorrow, which is what we will end up doing. So the search begins — we base ourselves in a pile of luggage on the stairs of the bus station across from the train station in full view of anyone interested. Katie delicately negotiates a deal with a bus across the street — despite some sexual harassment — for 600 yuan each; it falls through when she doesn’t return at their summons. My Chinese friend from this morning is on a 17:00 bus, but keeps trying to find a minibus for us. Noboby will take less than 800. Finally, as I’m walking off to the water closet, I’m approached by two young guys who undercut our lowest bid and say they will take us for 500 each, payable on arrival. We move our bags across to a hotel out of view of the other touts and settle down for a quick lunch. Then one of the guys tells me the 500 yuan bus just left and we will have to pay 600 now. This is a sour start to a shady deal — we walk away, and take a taxi to the Tibet bus station to try one more time.

And we meet the same people. They’re willing to take 500, but they want us to wait on the bus or in a dark room for four hours. One moment stands out — as I’m translating and working this illicit bus trip an old muslim is praying to Mecca. After an unhappy and semi-verbal discussion, we agree to walk out a second time, and go for the official channel.

We walk out and take a cab back to the Golmud Hotel. They have a spacious three bed dorm with wooden floors and an in-room sink for 60 yuan. We’re exhausted from the travel, from the miscommunication, from the incomprehensible inbred smuggling scene, and also — except for Katie — the diarrhea.

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http://tom.spacing-guild.net/2006/07/14/enroute-to-lhasa-july-02

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