Trip West -- Songpan

At seven in the morning, we left Longmusi. A two hour drive on a packed bus filled with curious locals brought us to the city of Zoige. Along the way we made stops in small towns, nomadic encampments, and arbitrary places along the road. At one point we passed an older man beside the road prostrating himself over and over again.

About 9:00am we arrived. Like Hezuo, Zoige was just a place to change buses. Unfortunately, I was informed upon inquiry that there were no buses going to Songpan that day. Either we could hire a car, or wait until the next morning. Adding the cost of three tickets (Josiah is too big to go free these days.), plus a night in a hotel, I decided to spend the RMB 350 ($50) for a taxi.

The driver we obtained was an interesting local man who several times tried to come up with reasons to hike up the price. In spite of that, we got along pretty good. He really took a liking to wearing my "Adidas" sunglasses, which I had purchased in Beijing for $5. Over the next five hours, we discussed him, his life, his culture, and his Buddhist religion. We discussed the contrasts in our two religions. He had never heard anything about Christianity and asked some questions, so I tried to explain the basics to him.

One fact he did clear up was that Tibetan Buddhists believe a dead person definitely comes back as another human, not as some other creature. I asked why, then, was the population of the world getting larger? The number of souls transmigrating back into bodies is not multiplying. They are just being reborn, so the number of people should remain the same instead of growing larger. He was perplexed by my question, and professed ignorance about how to answer. If you know the official Tibetan Buddhist opinion on this, I'd be glad to hear it.

As we talked, we passed through absolutely beautiful scenery. Occasionally, we were slowed by groups of nomads crossing the road with herds of yaks and sheep. Grasslands suddenly became forest-covered mountains. Streams tumbled down the mountains into the river which the road we were on was following. Around 2:00pm we arrived in Songpan.

Becky was immediately impressed with Songpan. It is a small city tucked between two mountains. A beautiful river runs through the town. It has recently been given a face lift. There are many Chinese and foreign tourists that come to visit, so the town seems to cater to them.

Having been there before, I thought I knew right where to go. We just needed to go to the far end of town to where the hotels, bus station, and horse trekking company were. Unfortunately, I failed to realize that the previous time I came to Songpan I had come from the south. This time, I was coming from the north. As a result, I got mixed up, and we had driven right past the place where I wanted to go. The driver dropped us off in the middle of town, and we proceeded to walk with our bag to the other end. As we neared the end, a sinking feeling filled me stomach. I am usually quite oriented with my surroundings, but suddenly I was faced with a city that had recently changed a lot--seemingly entirely! After wondering around a little while with my ever-straggling family in tow, I stationed them on a corner and went alone in search of my bearings as fast as I could walk. After a few dead ends, I finally headed in the direction we had come from. After a block or two, I began to get reoriented. I realized my mistake and everything fell into place.

After recollecting my patient family, we got settled into our hotel, ate a good lunch, and made reservations at the horse trekking company for the next day. Then we spent the evening exploring the town and doing a little shopping. We found a cowboy hat that fit Josiah well both in size and style. For dinner we stopped by a restaurant named Emma's, which caters to backpackers, for a delicious meal which included a burrito and a great calzone. The kids preferred regular Chinese fare of fried rice.

The next morning we were up early in anticipation of our horse trek. Actually, it can't rightly be called a trek. With our two little ones plus Becky's general apprehension at spending cold nights in a tent, we had elected to go on a one day trek, which probably should be entitled a long ride. However, because trek sounds so much more impressive, we've stuck to that.

After a hearty breakfast, we made our way to where the horses were waiting. About thirty tourists, Chinese and foreign, had gathered to go on treks of various durations. Ours had by far the most people with eighteen in all. Josiah and I were given a white horse and the girls rode a dark horse. (Fate is strangely accurate =).)

At nine in the morning we set out on our ride leaving town and climbing a steep path up into the fog-shrouded mountains. The misty atmosphere made it chilly but it also combined with the green mountainside and a gurgling stream to create an absolutely beautiful ride. Oh, what our Creator has so marvelously made! We climbed for a couple of hours until we literally had our "heads were in the clouds."

Near the top, we stopped to give the horses and our back ends a brief rest. About that time, the clouds lifted and glorious sunshine brought stunning views of the surrounding mountains and valleys. In the valleys, picturesque hamlets were surrounded by picturesque patchworks of fields.

Resuming our ride, we began our descent. Soon the mountainside got too steep, and we had to walk as a precaution against hurting ourselves or the horses. Our guides had been walking the whole time up and now down, but they hardly seemed winded. They were half goats! One of the "cowboys" (guides), took Amelia and headed down the mountain. Another held Josiah's hand and led him down. I carried Becky.

Just kidding.

By the time we came the small hamlet that we were to have lunch, Amelia was already seated on a villager's lap surrounded by caring folks. We were hot, dusty, and thirsty. We were instantly greeted in typical Chinese style: a cup of hot tea. We ate a simple and good noodle lunch at a local family's home. While there we got to watch our guides shoe some of the horses.

As we got ready to start on our final stretch into town, Josiah and I were having trouble finding a comfortable position for both of us on our horse. One of our guides noticed our predicament and offered to let Josiah ride on the back of a motorcycle. Josiah agreed to try it and I swung him down. A moment later he called my name. I turned around to see my son riding alone on a horse of his own with a huge, proud smile on his face. The guides had decided to let him ride on the horse they had been taking turns riding. While a guide held the reins and walked in front, Josiah sat up straight and tall as he rode his horse into town.

We arrived back in town tired, dusty and thrilled with what we had just done.

That evening took a walk through some of the little winding streets of Songpan until we came to to the river. After a little exploring, we discovered a pretty little stretch that was accessible to the public. That began a fun session of throwing and skipping rocks into the river. During the trip Amelia had become very fond of throwing rocks into water, so the rocky bank was a paradise for Amelia, Josiah, and me. Becky enjoyed it all as much as possible while still remaining almost paranoid about the kids falling into the chilly water and soaking the only warm clothes they had.

We then proceeded back to Emma's for a rerun of the previous night's meal. Those calzones were good! After dinner we headed to our cute hotel for quick baths, family devotions, and a much-needed early night to bed.

The next morning were up early to be on the six o'clock bus to Chengdu, our final destination. It was still dark, and the kids were still sleeping when the bus pulled out.

We said goodbye to Songpan, but we don't think it was for the last time...