Stranger No More

Our early departure from Song Pan began with a quick run to Sarah’s for a couple of the great breakfast sandwiches to eat on the bus. We had the tickets that Mike had hooked us up with the day before and like the bad kids we were at the back of the bus. We were however thrilled by the expansive leg room provided by no seats in front of us.

Sergio Update: Sr. I’m-So-Sick-Can’t-Continue apparently began to feel so well that Friday night was spent at The Shamrock where he picked up and went home with a German girl. If it didn’t happen it would be unbelievable. Note to self - no camping/excursions with Sergio.
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Having enjoyed my best night of sleep, (perhaps I was so exhausted that it just seemed that way), I tried to sleep in. Not Dicky wouldn’t allow it and came screeching into our tent to in an effort to extract us. It worked.

After another great vegetarian breakfast we were packed up and headed to back to town. We had given in. We succumbed. We just couldn’t take Sergio another day. He really worked hard at staying miserable. We also justified our conceding with two weak justifications - we didn’t really want him to die and we would still get a fifth day in the brush after a night in a bed after a shower.
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We made another, (unsuccessful), attempt at pawning Sergio off with the group returning to Song Pan before we went our separate ways. The only way it could have worked is if someone from the other group had wanted to join us. Due to time constrictions it just wasn’t workable. Parting is such sweet sorrow? For Sergio his lingering illnesses seemed to return almost immediately. So much so that Not Dicky and Dicky even noticed and teased him about it. Man, those guys were great.

We had spent the night near a road and after trekking back down it about 30 minutes we were pleased to be turning North and heading back into the trails. Yeah, we are such cowboys. It was pretty much a logging type road with a few creeks to cross that required us to dismount. Not really an easy task considering all of the gear we were seated upon. It was better than potentially taking a dump in the creek as the horses had to scamper across uneven log bridges. We were joined for a short time by a Tibetan that was wearing a blue cowboy hat with the Chicago Bulls logo on the front. We parted company with him as we turned East and headed up a hill into a valley that had no clear path but offered an incredible rocky mountain peak as the destination. It was quite majestic and looked straight out of Lord of the Rings. We were pretty excited at the prospect of scaling it.
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We began our second day much like we ended our first, coldly. We rose to find a light smattering of snow and breakfast being prepared, Dicky and Not Dicky had apparently been up for some time. With our business in the brush taken care of we lined up around the fire jockeying for the elusive no-smoke-from-the-fire spot. Sergio, being ill and all, was the last of join us already talking about how he just couldn’t go on. He kept referring to his need to get healthy so he could teach, a point of view that completely bewildered us. He looked like a crack addict with his huge stashes of Chinese medicines that seemed to have no effect no matter how religiously he took them. I offered up an Advil Cold and Flu that was sent from the States and is real actual symptom reducing medicine. He didn’t want to take it, natch. Wouldn’t want to accidently feel better. The manner in which he was carrying on seemed to leave only his writhing death as a logical outcome. In order to keep this happy camper on the trail we encouraged him to just try another day and see if he didn’t feel better after the hot springs. We are gluttons for punishment.

After camp was packed, we mounted or beasts and headed back in the direction we had come. In fact, we backtracked to a road we had crossed at a small village and began to head West on the road. Riding on a road was so not what we were looking forward to but Dicky made motions that seemed to indicate that the wet weather had forced this less than exciting path. We stopped in the village while the mileage, (meterage?), was checked on the horses shoes. A large group arrived just as we were leaving and we were feeling pretty good about being just four. Even with Sergio being such an Eeyore. We continued along the road for an hour before riding up on another large group headed to the same destination. Our disappointment in not being alone was greatly sated by four attractive English girls. Gillian, Liz and Sam are co-workers from some grossly polluted city whose name I don’t recall and Lindsay works near Shanghai and was travelling alone. Additionally, Guillame and Julie Ann are from Paris but live in China where she works and he studies in Shanghai. A man from Japan who works in Shenyang and two female friends from near-to-Santai Mianyang rounded out this large group.

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Yeah, I’m a week late telling you about this. It was a pretty remarkable week. Overall we had a great time. I’ve intentionally waited before putting to pixel the events of May Holiday in an attempt to see if just the best parts can be passed along rather than the details of our bowel movements, (quite free-flowing), in the woods. So, despite the length of the following you can be assured that it is the distilled version.

Leaving Chengdu

I arrived in Chengdu the night prior to our departure and met up with Evan and Sergio at Dave’s Oasis for a pizza before heading back to Evan’s. It was to be an early night since we had to be up quite early for the 10 hour bus ride North to Song Pan.

We were five.

Evan, Richard, Jon, Sergio and I headed off to the bus station in separate staggered taxis. Richard and Jon a bit ahead of us. Sergio and I headed up the street so I could grab some cash with Evan rolling up in a taxi after a couple of minutes. Before Sergio and I left the apartment I grabbed the three tickets off the coffee table.

At the bus station we didn’t see either of the lead party so we headed for the bus expecting to see them there. They were nowhere to be seen and after a few nervous minutes Evan spotted Richard in the terminal and headed in to get him. What happened next could only be described as a complete meltdown. Richard’s face was glowing as he moved his head in jerky motions while his arms flailed about excitedly. Sergio, in great deadpan delivery said, ‘Richard is mad.’ Finally, what must have been just short of cardiac seizure, Richard stormed out of the building. With no idea what had just happened we looked on eagerly as Evan and Jon boarded the bus. It seems that Richard had lost his ticket. Rather than buy another ticket, (this is the place where they make them, afterall), he decided to freak out and blame me for picking up the tickets. Whatever.

And then there were four.
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