When the going gets tough, I think of how I arrived in Cambodia. I was on a little island in the middle of Laos, and I had the idea to depart early, go to the border, and enter Cambodia. I had heard you could only use “the water crossing” in the morning, yet didn’t fully grasp what that meant. I jumped in a little boat, took off, and arrived in the village on the other side of the river an hour later. There were no buses available, so I managed to bargain with a couple who could take me to the border. Although I had thought the price would be $3 total, it turns out, due to miscommunication or me not clarifying, it was $3 each.

Our entry to Laos was… eventful. At some point in China, I was a little too adventurous with the street food — barbecue meat from a bike in an alleyway? Yes, please. It caught up with me just as we were boarding the overnight bus to Laos; I needed the restroom every other hour. An overnight bus ride was unthinkable. I took some Gastro-Stop, and thank you, modern medicine! Not only did I make it all the way to Laos, but I probably didn’t use the restroom for at least a week. It worked a bit too well. We visited four places in Laos:

I arrived in Chengdu tired but in high spirits: my adventure was progressing quickly, and I was in Sichuan, the land of spicy food, which holds a special place in my heart. I had two missions in Chengdu: 1) find a place to shower and 2) catch a bus south to Kunming. The quest for a shower took me down a dirty side street lined with hotels, where I stopped at several to ask about prices. I had to be careful, however, as I don’t think asking “how much for three hours?” would have been particularly successful. I finally found a room for about $20 a night, which I thought was fairly expensive at the time.

Our friends from Hong Kong, who had departed earlier, were sightseeing in Xining. After leaving the train, we ate at a small Muslim-owned restaurant, attracted plenty of attention, and called my parents. Because we knew little about Xining and did not have much time, we wandered through a local shopping centre and eventually found a huge bookstore. After several hours there, I bought a volume of English classics at a bargain price, and we left to walk through a market.

I’m in Tibet right now, so will keep this somewhat brief. For the next few hours I’ll be sitting in this dingy internet cafe in Lhasa updating my blog with my travels. I happened to look down and on the monitor it says “works with windows vista”. I find this quite humorous, of course it is going to work with vista, it is a normal generic monitor. Anyhow, I guess there is a reason for marketing. Back to writing our travels.

Unfortunately, I’d be seeing this milk again, in a deeply unpleasant way. Although my travel schedule had been delayed by the difficult bus ride, I refused to let that diminish my enjoyment. After my usual spicy pancake breakfast, I started preparing to visit Sera Monastery, one of the three great Gelugpa university monasteries of Tibet. While waiting for my friends I met a woman from Corsica, and when I mentioned my dream of owning a vineyard, she told me that people from Corsica are chaotic. I tried to joke about what was clearly a serious statement, but she went on to describe the pseudo-xenophobia, threats, bombs, and fires associated with the island. The warning did make an impression and opened my …

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 …

Once again, we woke up early and ate breakfast. The weather was surprisingly cold. After breakfast we walked up a hidden passageway to the fort and got almost all the way up before being stopped. Eventually, somebody asked us to buy tickets if we wanted to continue, but the price wasn’t right, so we took photos of the valley and headed back down the hill. Around the corner we walked to the monastery, but, unimpressed, we left without exploring too deeply.

Since our time was limited, we woke early, ate breakfast, and were out the door by 8:00. After breakfast, we visited the permit office. Let me tell you, it was well hidden. The door was near the exit of the “outdoor” market, so that is where to look. We asked whether they issued travel permits, and they simply said, “Go get one in Lhasa.” Thanks. In the other direction was Tashilhunpo Monastery, which turned out to be one of the best we saw on the entire trip. Although locals could enter and leave as they pleased, we had to pay an admission fee. It was well worth it. The little settlement below the monastery was interesting, and we wandered among several of its small houses. The more …

After waking up and eating breakfast, we checked out of the hotel but left our bags in the lobby. We wandered down the street to the post office, bought some postcards, and entered the Potala Palace. If you intend to visit the palace, make sure to leave enough time to walk up the stairs. Around 30 minutes should do it.