Day 105: Bus/Mangkang (芒康) – September 30th

This day was not a good day. Again.

Waking up to the sound of a rattling bus engine, it was 5am and we were barely conscious. The rest was short and we’re now back on the dirt road winding, with our backs aching at every bump as we’ve been cramped on this piece of shit for 18hours.

Fast forward to 1pm, we arrived at a ‘truck stop’ town for lunch. The town was a brisk 4-6hrs away, so we were eating as quick as we can, thinking we can get there before dinner. Everybody had the same feeling, and were eating at a lightning speed. Problem was, when everyone was done, the drivers were still waiting for their dishes and taking their sweet time. One of the travelers barked “Maybe we should speed things up”, and the driver casually waved him off saying “You can’t rush a meal.”. So about 20 people were waiting for about 1hr as the drivers went on feasting on their freshly cooked dishes (while everyone else had pre-cooked dishes or noodles to save time). We finally departed at 2pm! Yayyy, back on the road and back to our cramped bed….

We started climbing the first of three mountains before we hit a blockade of cars… what? It’s normal for roads to be blocked as we were climbing a tight mountain road with heavy traffic, but these cars seemed like they’ve been here for a while. And we found out that there was construction ahead and they weren’t letting anyone move on… until 8pm!!! W T F.

IF YOU PLAN ON FIXING THE HIGHWAY, PLEASE TELL PEOPLE YOU ARE BLOCKING THE ROAD FOR 8 HOURS.

So we, along with about 500 other vehicles on the road found ways to entertain ourselves. Some locals made campfires by the side and cooked up a meal, other travelers got off and played cards. We were conserving energy since we didn’t bring enough food with us, again….(‘-_-)… And this also gave Alan enough time to finish off the novel while Jiajia lay there jealously wondering why she only bought one book instead of two! And by 8:50pm, the traffic started to move and our driver was super eager to get back on the road….lets just say he’s got skills and we’re happy to be alive.

By 1am, we arrived at our destination of Mangkang, found a small motel and was lucky enough find a restaurant still open (even in Lhasa, it is hard to find food past 11pm). Problem was, as we sat there shoving food down our throats, there was the grande finale of The Voice of China (中国好声音) on TV. So after eating, we headed back to our motel, showered, and watched TV until 5:45am…hehe.

Note: The Voice of China is an awesome show. It’s like The Voice, except you don’t have to look at Adam Levine’s stupid tattoos and voice.