Today was the day for me to part from my Hong Kong friends. I woke up and saw a deck of playing cards with a little note on it. I took out my own cards, left them behind for my friends, and headed to the bus station. My initial plan was to take a bus east, both to save time and to see that part of Tibet. It turned out that the route no longer ran, despite my research suggesting otherwise. While my companion asked at the counter, I called my parents and told them everything was okay. I decided to take a bus to Chengdu instead, and while the bus was a little substandard, I thought I could manage it. During the day I went to the post office, bought some groceries, and went online. Finally, at 16:00, I boarded what I would soon realise was a particularly difficult bus ride.

I’ll be somewhat brief in describing this event. I boarded the bus on time, but it didn’t leave the station. After an hour, it still hadn’t left. After two hours, it remained there. Meanwhile, I was stuck in the back of an overheated, exhaust-filled, dirty bus. We tried to stay calm, but the situation continued to get worse. Finally, the bus moved, but only into the parking lot. People continually argued outside, although I didn’t really know what about. After at least two hours the bus finally departed, but it stopped again before leaving Lhasa. It turned out that some passengers had boarded without paying and did not want to pay the full fare. That disagreement kept us there.

I was told I could get off after 10 minutes, and sure enough, the bus didn’t go anywhere. I picked up my bags and told the driver I was getting off and wanted my money back, which he said he would provide. I passed my bags out the window and waited for the manager, who was already coming to deal with the passengers who hadn’t paid. He sorted them out, but when I asked about my refund, he became furious. To make a long story short, I said I would ask the bus station for help, and he gave me some of my money back. He responded by shouting some more. The staff at the bus station didn’t seem particularly concerned, but I eventually negotiated a deal with the bus owner: he would return most of my money, and I left with the matter settled.

Not that it was hard to remember.

By 21:00 I was back at the guest house, and by 22:00 I was playing cards. Soon I fell asleep, having achieved almost nothing that day except learning that I could stand in the doorway of a bus and demand a refund from a man three times my size.