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The Unprepared Traveler
Sunday, August 21, 2005-12:45 PM
I've heard stories here and there about travelers on the verge of being stranded in a foreign country because they suddenly found out that they might not have enough money for the plane ticket home, but, up until now I've never met one.
In Dunhuang I met Charles, a Belgian who made his way from Beijing to Gansu through Eastern, Southern, and Southwestern China.
Charles' has some difficulty expressing himself in English, and French speakers are difficult to find in China. In Dunhuang, he had trouble making his intentions clear even to other foreigners. I can't imagine how he communicated with the Chinese.
Eventually I understood his situation, although I'm still not sure if I appreciate the depth of his problems. He intended to head west from Beijing all the way back to Belgium.
But in Gansu he discovered the most convenient and perhaps the only feasible way to get back to Europe is by first flying to Beijing. He doesn't have enough money to fly to Beijing.
And compounding his problems, he's spending more money than he has to on train tickets and hotel rooms. He purchased a soft sleeper for 262 renminbi to Urumqi from Dunhuang instead of a hard seat for 97 renminbi, then, at the last minute desperately looked for someone who wanted to swap tickets with him.
(I'm proud to say I eventually found someone with whom he could swap tickets.)
On the train to Urumqi he asked Chinese passengers (or asked me to ask Chinese passengers) to write down a litany of questions and locations in Chinese so that once he got to Urumqi he could hopefully find his way around.
Charles and I have become friends, and, despite the glaring oversights he made in arranging his vacation, I respect his courage to travel to a foreign country without a safety net. I'm really happy to be able to serve as his translator and guide. I don't get this opportunity often.
But, soon I'm heading to Kashgar. He's made it this far. I hope he makes it back to Belgium.
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