More details to come later...
From Dunhuang, I took a 9 hour bus ride South past some more sand dunes and scenic, typical Central Asian scenery of high plateaus and pointy, wrinkled mountains lining the grasslands and salt flats. Along the way, one of the passengers randomly starting speaking English to me at one of the bathroom stops, offering to help me find a hotel or give me some information on our destination, as I suppose I was looking a bit lost. Not thinking much of it, I arrived in town, found a hotel and also found that I was 45 minutes too late, meaning that I missed the Friday afternoon office hours of the travel agency, and I've have to wait until Monday morning to get more details, as the main reason for coming to this town was to get a permit to get into Tibet and catch the train - only 12 hours South to Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. Not being a tourist town at all, I found few amenities, but I also found some very nice people and a pleasant town. The tree lines avenues were bright with yellow leaves falling from the trees and a few neon lights illuminating the night. I basically was planning on wasting the weekend, but my time in Geermu/Golmud turned out to be a pleasant surprise.
For dinner one night, I stumbled into a tiny Muslim stand/restaurant where they serve kebabs and roasted bread and that's about it. The food turned out to be quite good, but, more importantly, the owner and his wife were incredibly nice. Though he only spoke about three words of English - "Please, come in," we had a great time trying to figure out pieces of each others' lives. Over two different nights, we pointed to pieces of the phrasebook, asking questions and trying to order. It was great to meet people truly interested in just learning about my life and my culture, not just trying to make money off of me. On my final day, I said goodbye to them, and he even sent me off with some drinks and bread for the long train ride. Another day, as I walked down one of the random roads, I heard someone call out "Hi Derek," and it was Anna (her English name), the local Chinese girl that I had met on the bus. I couldn't believe that she actually remembered my name. We talked for a bit, and, in another moment of extreme hospitality, she invited me to her wedding the following weekend - a traditional Mongolian ceremony, as her fiancee is from Inner Mongolia, a state in Northern China. I was extremely honored, as this is a very important event, but I had to decline, as I couldn't stay in town for another week.
In the end, after three days of waiting, it turned out that they don't even issue Tibet permits in this town anymore, so it's impossible to board the train here for foreigners, but that didn't really matter. Meeting some of the locals and experiencing this laid-back town was the break that I needed to relax and get a true flavor of the locals. I decided to take the 30 hr train ride back to the SE to Chengdu, where it is said to be easier to arrange Tibet permits.
(Lamb kebabs, barley soup and crunchy bread with chili, garlic and paprika. This was the wonderful first meal at my friend's restaurant.)
(The scenic sideroads of Geermu, in beautiful fall colors, along with a pleasant, slightly cold climate.)
(Another wonderful street, perfect for aimless wandering...unless there is a bench in the way. That hurts.)
(The sidewalks along the way consisted of tiny bridges, zig-zags, hoops and more. I guess if I was amused by the sidewalks, there really wasn't much to do in this town, but that's ok.)
(Seemingly innocent picture, but keep looking, you'll see it. What the ???)
(My friend and his wife. He gave me his address, though he wrote it a different way the second night, so I have to try to send him this picture. Frank, I'm hoping you can help me out on this one.)
From Dunhuang, I took a 9 hour bus ride South past some more sand dunes and scenic, typical Central Asian scenery of high plateaus and pointy, wrinkled mountains lining the grasslands and salt flats. Along the way, one of the passengers randomly starting speaking English to me at one of the bathroom stops, offering to help me find a hotel or give me some information on our destination, as I suppose I was looking a bit lost. Not thinking much of it, I arrived in town, found a hotel and also found that I was 45 minutes too late, meaning that I missed the Friday afternoon office hours of the travel agency, and I've have to wait until Monday morning to get more details, as the main reason for coming to this town was to get a permit to get into Tibet and catch the train - only 12 hours South to Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. Not being a tourist town at all, I found few amenities, but I also found some very nice people and a pleasant town. The tree lines avenues were bright with yellow leaves falling from the trees and a few neon lights illuminating the night. I basically was planning on wasting the weekend, but my time in Geermu/Golmud turned out to be a pleasant surprise.
For dinner one night, I stumbled into a tiny Muslim stand/restaurant where they serve kebabs and roasted bread and that's about it. The food turned out to be quite good, but, more importantly, the owner and his wife were incredibly nice. Though he only spoke about three words of English - "Please, come in," we had a great time trying to figure out pieces of each others' lives. Over two different nights, we pointed to pieces of the phrasebook, asking questions and trying to order. It was great to meet people truly interested in just learning about my life and my culture, not just trying to make money off of me. On my final day, I said goodbye to them, and he even sent me off with some drinks and bread for the long train ride. Another day, as I walked down one of the random roads, I heard someone call out "Hi Derek," and it was Anna (her English name), the local Chinese girl that I had met on the bus. I couldn't believe that she actually remembered my name. We talked for a bit, and, in another moment of extreme hospitality, she invited me to her wedding the following weekend - a traditional Mongolian ceremony, as her fiancee is from Inner Mongolia, a state in Northern China. I was extremely honored, as this is a very important event, but I had to decline, as I couldn't stay in town for another week.
In the end, after three days of waiting, it turned out that they don't even issue Tibet permits in this town anymore, so it's impossible to board the train here for foreigners, but that didn't really matter. Meeting some of the locals and experiencing this laid-back town was the break that I needed to relax and get a true flavor of the locals. I decided to take the 30 hr train ride back to the SE to Chengdu, where it is said to be easier to arrange Tibet permits.
(Lamb kebabs, barley soup and crunchy bread with chili, garlic and paprika. This was the wonderful first meal at my friend's restaurant.)
(The scenic sideroads of Geermu, in beautiful fall colors, along with a pleasant, slightly cold climate.)
(Another wonderful street, perfect for aimless wandering...unless there is a bench in the way. That hurts.)
(The sidewalks along the way consisted of tiny bridges, zig-zags, hoops and more. I guess if I was amused by the sidewalks, there really wasn't much to do in this town, but that's ok.)
(Seemingly innocent picture, but keep looking, you'll see it. What the ???)
(My friend and his wife. He gave me his address, though he wrote it a different way the second night, so I have to try to send him this picture. Frank, I'm hoping you can help me out on this one.)
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