西藏的回忆：Band of roadmates

LILY was picked up in Lhasa. She was our last roadmate. When PAN met her, she was sitting at the doorway of Yak Hostel, trifling with hostel staffs. We met HAMMER and SPRING in Beijing West Railway Station at very beginning. On the other hand, they met PAN and me. They planned to go through Tibet and finally get to Nepal. PAN and I wanted to travel in Tibet and go as west as we can reach. That’s how we band the trips together. When we arrived at Lhasa, We need more roadmates to share the rent of a car. So we posted some notices on the message boards of the three famous hostels in Lhasa -- Banakshol, Kirey and Yak. It said that, 4 guys, from beijing, wanna go to Kasa(樟木, also known as Dram --JamFlying). We are hunting roadmates. Call 139XXXXXXXX for a detail. PAN. One day later, someone sent a SMS to this cellphone. That’s LILY.

PAN brought her to us. My first impression of LILY was not bad. She’s a very glib lady, married, svelte, graceful, but alone. She came to Lhasa herself without her husband, I mean. And she also wanted to Nepal. That’s very satisfied to Hammer’s couple. So we all were very welcome her. Although she was oldest she looked the most active one in us. The day after we met, we went to Namutso Lake together. She almost became our center in those days.

After this little trip, I felt something strange in our band. The couple was master in trek. All they needed were just simple and saving. However, they were not poor. They just believed that a perfect trip was a wild trip. Especially Spring, in order to close nature, she could throw away all the comfort. I agreed with SPRING indeed. But I always took more care in my camera instead of our band. HAMMER was a frank and humorous man. He looked he can enjoy every flower in Tibet. LILY always made us happy, including Hammer. PAN was not a happy man when we started at Beijing. I was the only one who knew his stories. He just separated with his girl friend, like me. We have many same grounds, such as photography, hiking-treking, and so on. The other one is that we all were fired by a bursting-up IT company. But, I had my Canon EOS 50E, I just got down into my sight and my trip of spirit. PAN had a Balda, a point-and-shoot camera, only. Sure, Balda was not the main factor what made him lifeless. In the age of 25, too many things can sink a boy.

At the night before the D-day of our Himalayas tour, we walked around Barkhor apart, and planed to meet together at a Nepalese dining room. LILY and HAMMER were the first arrivales. They talked and laughed, looked very close. SPRING was the last arrival and she saw everthing. You could imagine that how jealousness she was.

We’d set out in a strange moring. It’s rainning in Lhasa’s dawn. I was the biggest and used to be car sickness. So I took the copilot seat. Jigme, our driver, of course took the driver seat. All the others jammed in back. The two males seated in middle together.

I thought LILY was not a selfish woman. At least, Tibet could make everyone expansive. But I loved something mild. So, mostly, I could take in Lily’s joke or forget what she said. Maybe sometimes, I feel Lily’s joke was not friendly to me or Spring. I could give back somewords to her. Maybe sometimes, she just wanted to make the car not too silent. But I thought her chatter was boring. Actually, for me, I wanted this trip purer, more peaceful. It meant I hope all the trip help me silence. LILY became unwelcome to me.

HAMMER was awkward in those days. He wanted everybody happy. Everyone also wanted all of our five happy. But there were few words between two females. Them just said hello to eachother by courtesy.

Jigme, a fifties years old driver, also wanted to make his guests happy. He told many funny stories to us. Many of that happened on him and his family. One classical was the Tibetan attitude of sex and marriage. He said that, a traditional Tibetan marriage was a long term band of a male and female, that’s same as Han Chinese. But a Tibetan couple was very free to make new friends after they married. The husband could make love to other women and the wife also could find herselves happy. Every Tibetan man was trueman. They cared about women. They always benefited women. After sex, they will help women do some houseworks, such as cleaving firewood, feeding yak, sometimes, they bought ghee and yak meat for women. His wife brought some meat to him. It was given by other man, he was not angry. That really made the car laughing. HAMMER said, it’s really nice to be a Tibetan male. Those words made SPRING unhappy.

PAN was a thoughtful boy, I aways think that. Although he was unhappy in those days he would do something for others. Now he was the only one who could make LILY feel not lonely. He really did as he could. Mostly, he was aside Lily.

One jealousness couple, two lonely hearts, one dolorous photographer and one old driver. The band of roadmates became divided.

Everest excited our band really. Everybody came back to his highest mood. Some trivias came again. It was not necessary to mention those, most of that were something unware. But the couple showed something wrong.

After leaving Everest, we were deep into the Wild West Tibet. Unfortunately, our off-road car was broken twice. But we fixed it, that’s a good chance to retie the band. The two women showed more accord than the couple. That’s really strange. However, the band were little happy.

The rest of trip was a send-off trip for the three roadmates, Hammer, SPRING and Lily. The passports of PAN and I only could sent us to the border. When we got to Kasa, the three members will go down to Nepal. Jigme and we two had to go back Lhasha. HAMMER did his best to please Spring. But his earning seemed little.

Kasa was a very unique small town. It was located the south face of Himalayas. The altitude was two kilometers lower than the moring we were. So, we passed through winter and autumn finally came to summer in a half day. It’s so warm, wet and full of oxygen. Buildings were beside a wriggling road, the 318th National Highway, going down to a valley. The down town was busy and rushed. Everywhere were Tibetan, Chinese, Nepalese and foreigners.

Our car was parking at the front of the Kasa Custom. All the three roadmates had finished program of departure. But SPRING was sitting in the car lonely, wiping her tears. Lily, PAN and I stood at the other side of the road, lost our words. HAMMER was wandering around the car. Sometime, he came to us and sighed, OK, buddy, maybe I had go back with you two.

It was twelve o’clock. Jigme was impatient. He said we would have to stay in Nyalam(also known as 聂拉木) for one extra night if we didn’t go back now. He wondered, Whoops! What’s wrong with them? You Han Chinese were so funny...I said, Don’t be warried, they will be fine.

Final decide was coming. HAMMER got into the car, told something with Spring. What they said always was a mystery of the couple. Ten mintues passed, the couple came out. SPRING walked to PAN and I to say good-bye. HAMMER was shaking his head, and told to us regretfully, hoped we can meet in Beijing later.

LILY followed the couple. They passed the gate, walked into crowd. When we rest drove to the top of Kasa Town, we parked and had a last look of the valley. There was a bridge faraway, named friendship.

At the dark of that day, we arrived Tingri (also known as Dingri, Tingkey, 定日). We found that Hammer’s NIKON FG was left in back of our car. When they made the final decide they made the big mistake…

One month later, PAN and I met the couple again in Beijing. We returned Hammer’s camera. They had bought a new NIKON F80 in Nepal. That’s so lucky. They have no more regret in Nepal. All the guys were as happy as we used in Lhasa. The couple gave PAN and I one gift each. But mine had already received it in Shanghai.

After we finieshed the trip in Tibet, I flighted to Shanghai directly, to meet the girl in my dream. Two week later, LILY flied to Shanghai from Katmandu, the capital of Nepal. She brought the couple’s gift to me, a very perfect Nepalese knife. She told me the rest story of the band of roadmates. After we parted at Kasa, They crossed the Bridge of Friendship on the border. She took a farewell of the couple and travelled alone, again. But, when she came to Katmandu, She met them again. That’s really a little happy. They had a lunch together. She told them she would go back Shanghai. So, the couple asked her to bring the knife to me.

All of the five roadmates have never met together again. Occasionally, LILY called me for some travel information. PAN also is one of my best friends. HAMMER and I had climbed the Fourth Peak of Four Sisters Mountain in Augest, 2002. The top of this peak is only 5355 meters high. It’s just as high as the Everest Base Camp we arrived by car. The couple is managing a very famous brand of hike-trek shoes business, now. They become my good friends both.

(写于2005-6-18，又是我的一篇英文作业)

西藏的回忆：Band of roadmates_江孜照片（点击看大图）