Soon the five of us (Sara, Jesse, David, T Fishy and the driver) were on our way, driving through an endless landscape of dusty brown peaks and verdant plateaus. We had been repeatedly cautioned about the length of the trip and the poor road conditions, but none of the warnings could have fully prepared us for the journey ahead. We traveled up into the mountains along a twisty narrow road, with trucks and motorcycles going in both directions, and found ourselves following a river at the bottom of a giant canyon. After half an hour we climbed up the other side and emerged onto a vast plateau of green plains and roaming livestock. It seemed improbable to have such wide-open spaces in the midst of a mountain range.
One of the nicer stretches of road
Two hours into the drive we reached L township, the last major town before M, and discovered that our driver’s younger brother needed medical attention. While our driver left (with our stuff) to take his brother to the hospital, we sat on the hillside watching the sheep graze. A kind old man soon joined us and invited us to his home for tea and tsamba. After repeatedly drawing large crowds in X county town, we were relieved and appreciative when the old man led us to his house via the back way, through the hills. We were surprised to find his house surrounded by trees at such an altitude (3,800-4,000 m). He proudly told us that he plants one hundred trees each year. We rested in his house for an hour, talking about our families, our travels, and life in Qinghai. Soon our driver returned and the old man saw us on our way. Little did we know that the final leg of our journey would be the most treacherous.
Tsamba, a traditional T breakfast food. Tsamba is wheat flour usually mixed with yak butter, sugar, and milk tea.
“The Earth without trees is like a face without eyebrows or a mustache.” – Wise Old Man
Fifteen minutes outside of L township, we found ourselves driving along perilous cliffs on a road no wider than the jeep. For the next hour we passed tiny villages until we reached our driver’s home. Here we learned that his brother’s condition had worsened, and that he needed to be taken to a bigger hospital. We tried to convince him to turn around, but since he was unable to find another driver, he insisted on taking us to M. The last part of the journey was by far the worst. The road disappeared, giving way to rocky riverbeds. The trip became even more dangerous when it started to rain. For an hour we literally drove through rivers and along sand bars, with water seeping into the sides of the jeep. As water levels rose, the river sometimes reached as high as the passenger windows. The whole experience was made more difficult knowing that the driver’s brother was injured. By the time we finally got to M, all four of us were relieved to get out of the car and to send the driver back to his brother.
“You attempted to ford the river and your oxen drowned.” Oregon Trail, anyone?
Although the roads were terrifying, we had utmost confidence in our driver who knew the roads like the back of his hand.
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