Travel Memories to Cherish

It was a day to proceed to LiTang from DaoCheng. I was told that there was no bus service, only private shared van.
“You can hitchhike, but try to get a guy together.”
It’d be a 3-hour journey. I decided to hitchhike, even though I was alone. Anyway, breakfast came first.
The restaurant was full. I got a place and 2 men shared my table. While waiting for noodles to be prepared, they ordered a plate of dumplings, invited me to try. I knew I looked odd in their eyes. They had quite some questions in their mind. Then, we started to talk.
“Where are you from?”
“Malaysia.” They were shocked in expression. They did not expect me to speak fluent Mandarin.
“Am spending 2 months backpacking around Sichuan and Yunnan. Next, I’m going to LiTang.”
“We just came from LiTang early this morning. Heading back at dusk. Do you wanna follow us?” one man asked.
I was a bit hesitant. Without rejecting him directly, I took some time to observe the interactions between them while our noodles were served. It was not a long period before they finished eating and asked me the same question again.
Soon, I was on their jeep, heading to yet-to-develop Tibetan villages. The roads were bumpy but the scenery along the way was awesome. They had construction projects there. Besides visiting construction sites, they paid the Village Chief a visit. It was not my first time to Tibetan area, but first time to be treated like a VIP.
Traditional Tibetan lunch was served, together with non-traditional soft drinks. I had to always leave my cup partly-filled, else they would keep refilling my cup. The guys went out for work matters, leaving me there together with the wife of Village Chief. We could not speak each other’s language, though we tried to communicate. Anyway, smile and hand gestures were the “languages” that we could make use of.
That day, I entered typical Tibetan house, observed their amazingly intricate arts, being barked loudly by the Tibetan mastiff, somewhere of the flower farm with grasses was the “toilet” I could go, the locals’ welcoming smiles kept coming to me. I felt cherished yet unbelievable. How did I end up here?
All these were because of a decision, which I did not confidently feel was safe.
Upon leaving, I hugged the lady who had gently, quietly accompanied me for an afternoon. I failed to control my tears from rolling in my eyes. I waved goodbye to her and everyone, with gratitude and smile.
Simplicity and sincerity make my journey’s best memories.