Not in Tibet but Close and the Mountains are huge!

I woke up to the sounds of goats and jack hammers. A seemingly odd combination but the rural road to Tibet is under constant assault from landslides and avalanches depending on the season...

My Tibetan ambitions hit roadblocks along the whole way. Though Beijing "re-opened" Tibet in late June, I quickly found out that things weren't nearly as simple as the China Daily would have me believe. Arriving in Chengdu, my high hopes were crushed as I learned that although I could get to Tibet (and more importantly, Everest), the trip would be costly, monitored and mired by red tape and restrictions. Turned out that all foreign tourists must go on a fully booked tour with guide and driver while staying in 3 star hotels. The common costs could be split up by 4 people in a group but for reasons which I cannot understand, the Government requires that everyone in the group be of the same nationality. One used to be able to book a cheap "tour" which would dissolve on the other side of the border allowing everyone to do as they please. This option has not been available since the pro-Tibet protests last April.

In the end, even with a hypothetical group of 4 Americans, it would have cost me $1500-$2000 and over a week of waiting to obtain the necessary permits. I decided that being babysat while shuttled around from sight to sight was not the way that I wanted to experience Tibet or Everest. It was a tough decision to make and weeks later I still wonder if it was the right one.

I left Chengdu and with it my frustrations with Tibetan travel restrictions and my growing weariness to travel on the whole. I was headed south to Yunnan with plans to get as far into the mountains as possible. And that is exactly what I did.


I'm writing this just a stone's throw from Tibet, Burma, and Sichuan province. Duqin is about as far into the Tibetan Plateau as one can get without actually crossing the border. Situated at around 9,000 feet, the days are crisp, the nights are cold and the area is filled with countless hiking opportunities. Last night was perfectly reminiscent of the Colorado mountain sunsets that I'd come to love so much in the past. The therapeutic qualities of this place are something that I've been needing to get over the oppressive qualities of China’s cities. Good thing I'll be here awhile.

I haven't been able to upload pictures since I got Yunnan so my Flickr page is in desperate need of updating but I'll have to get around to that later. I have miles of hiking ahead of me in the coming days including trips across the Mekong (yes, the river I thought I would never see again), to glaciers and remote Tibetan villages. It's the rainy season but I really hope the nice weather holds. Expect more updates as I get back to civilization.

An American 4th of July in China

Fourth of July in Chengdu was definitely unlike any other 4th I’ve ever had. My first major American holiday abroad was not spent among fellow Americans but Chinese, Danes, and Brits instead. Though there wasn’t anyone around to truly share in the celebration, anyone is always open to another excuse for 1 more cheers… It was a pretty good night.

Resolving to throw my budget to the wind, I hopped in a cab and went across town for some dinner and late night revelry. As I walked to the restaurant, I decided a beer would be nice. Went into a convenience store planning on buying the same cheap Chinese beer I’ve been drinking all along but then something caught my eye. I’d been told that drinking in public is technically illegal but never enforced so I bought a large bottle and went outside. Breaking the law in the name of America, I sat on the steps of the convenience store drinking a beer that won a blue ribbon in 1893, dubbed “America’s Best.” I skipped the Budweiser and went straight for Pabst Blue Ribbon. It was warm, not particularly delicious in any sense of the word but it was American and I kind of enjoyed the sense of superficial patriotism that it conveyed.

Got an American beer in my belly but then it was time for food. Anyone who has spoken with me in the last couple weeks has no doubt heard about how much I’ve been missing Mexican food. Since I was treating myself all night, this seemed like a perfect opportunity to indulge/experiment in the more Mexican side of Chinese cuisine. Just down the road from the convenience store lied a most unlikely restaurant for central China.

I walked in the doors of Peter’s Tex-Mex Grill and sat down. That’s right, Tex-Mex. Not quintessentially American but uniquely Texan and it fit perfectly into my “comforts of home” night. Weeks of anticipation and longing had brought me to the moment that I ordered a plate of beef enchiladas with a side of refried of beans and Spanish rice. I sat admiring the signs on the wall reading “Everything is bigger in Texas” and “If you’re smoking, you better be on fire” while waiting for my food. Man, when I closed my eyes I could just imagine that I was in Texas instead. Actually, that’s a lie… the interior was over-the-top stereotypically “Texan” (well at least that was what they were going for) and the boisterous Chinese patrons did nothing to prolong my delusion. All of that didn’t matter as soon as my food came out though.


I went in with low expectations, hoping to be wowed but mostly I was just puzzled. Why are the beans green? Where’s the cheese? You call that Spanish rice? And why god, why isn’t the plate hot?!? With an air of adventure, I dug in. The beef wasn’t too bad, the sour cream hit the spot and though the rice and beans were weird, they were vaguely familiar as well. It was no Elvis plate at Chewy’s but at least it had Texican qualities about it. But seriously, I had no idea how much a cold plate detracts from the overall experience… All I wanted was the waitress to say “be careful, the plate is hot” so that I could nod in understanding only to touch the plate anyways just to make sure. I guess eating Mexican food isn’t only about the ingredients. The whole meal was quite nice and though I’ve been spoiled in terms of Mexican food for my whole life, I can still appreciate a Chinese take on it.

From dinner I went to an Irish Pub that I was told should have a decent number of westerners. They had American craft beers on special and I was delighted to get a Rogue Dead Guy Ale for a decent price. It was the first decent dark beer I’d had since I left home. That was great but I was left wondering where the Americans were at. Everyone I talked too was from somewhere else but a foreign country’s holiday is as good a reason as any for a cheers so they were happy to join in my celebration. Hung out with a tour group for a little while before heading out to another bar. Walking into a French bar on July 4th, I pretty much had to check my pride at the door. No matter, I spent the rest of the night walking up to people and asking if they were American. After they replied “no,” I would just say “damn” and walk off. Nobody ever let me walk away and this turned out to be a surprisingly good strategy to begin conversations. The night wore on and at about 3:30, I was content with my Chinese July 4th celebration. I rode in the cab back to my hostel thinking about how starkly different my next Independence Day will be from this one.

I’m spending the next few days hiking up into the mountains south of Chengdu and I cannot wait to hit 9000 feet. The trail head is at just over 1500 so it should be an ass kicker if nothing else. Pictures and news of my Tibetan ambitions to follow when I get back in a few days. I've also uploaded some pretty spectacular photos from a hike I did a few days ago so check them out if you're curious. that's it for now!