We had arranged with Yingchu to meet
for breakfast at 8.30 am in the Hotel restaurant. When we got there breakfast
was not yet underway. I got the log sheets signed by Yingchu as also the
Campaign Poster. She was mighty thrilled being asked to do it. She signed off
with a goodwill message in Mandarin. It was tough taking leave of her. As I
mentioned yesterday, she had become part of the team and we had come to bank on
her efficiency. After breakfast, Chinese fare of Baozi, boiled egg, vegetables
and cakes, Baiju presented Yingchu with a token of our gratitude – a small tip.
She was overwhelmed. She deserved more than what we gave her; nevertheless, it
was a gesture.
Mohammed, the local guide who was to
take us to the border, arrived as appointed at 9 am. By the time we left after
goodbyes and photos it was 9.30 am. The first stop was the Customs station
about 100 kms short of the Tourgat border. It was evident when we reached there
shortly after 10.30 am that the station was just opening up. We used the time
to change the left over Yuan to Som (Kyrgyz currency) and USD. The rate was
poor, but that’s the best we could manage at the border. There were many local
people vending foreign currency. But one of them was definitely the leader. He
refused to negotiate the rates and berated others who ventured to. After that
it was an endless wait till we were summoned into the Customs Exit Hall with
our luggage. The formalities there were done soon. But then after that we had
to wait for more than an hour and half before the permit was handed over to
Mohammed. We reached the Chinese border with the permit by 2 pm, traversing
some really bad roads, and a couple of stubborn police check posts. The final
20 kms to the Chinese border in Tourgat Pass is in very poor condition. The
work at the final check point was completed and we reached the gate at 2.30 pm,
where Alexander (our guide from Ak-Sai Travels) could be seen on the Kyrgyz
side with my name on a placard. The gate was closed and no one could be seen
around the place, except for a lone Chinese military guy in a watch tower. I
parked just ahead of the gate and went across to meet Alexander. He said that
the gate had been closed just a few minutes earlier after passing some freight
trucks. We had to wait till after 3.30 pm (Beijing Time) for the gate to be
opened. It was cold and windy at the Tourgat Pass. From the altitude of 1280m
(Kashgar) we had reached 3800m at the Pass.
Once the gate was opened we moved
across and adjusted our watches to reflect the +6 GMT against +8 GMT Beijing
time. The No-Man’s Land stretched for about 8 kms. The reception at the Kyrgyz
Customs and Immigration was very different from the cold and distant behavior
of the Chinese officials we had faced in the past two weeks. A lady officer
handled the Immigration while a Gent handled the formalities connected with the
car. There was no Customs check or declaration. The road for about 20 kms
beyond the border was being constructed but the surface was well compacted and
hence decently motorable. The next 125 kms plus was in excellent condition. The
last 15 kms on the approach to Naryn town was completely broken down. Despite
all the waits and bad roads we reached the Khan Tengri Hotel in Naryn by 6 pm
LT. the drive from the Kyrgyz border was extremely pleasant with Alexander
displaying considerable knowledge in history, economics, culture and politics.
The Hotel was quite adequate for a
night’s stay. We had a three bed dorm room with attached bath and toilet. Since
we had not had lunch it had to be early dinner at the Hotel restaurant. The
menu was in Kyrgyz language and hence without the assistance of Alexander we
could not even order a beer. Arpa beer is the only beer of Kyrgyzstan. That and
a bottle of local Vivat Vodka were ordered. When we asked for fruit juice to be
had with the Vodka there was much mirth around the restaurant. Alexander also
ordered a dish of lamb, potatoes and onions for dinner. The Laprechka – round
bread made with wheat flour and water – was the accompaniment for drinks. After
dinner we made a bee line for the common computer in the reception. We had been
out of touch due to the ban in China of Fb. Even Gmail was a casualty. I had
operated a Chinese mail account to facilitate the blog updates.
As I concluded the end of my stay in
China I put together a few observations from interactions with those I met
during the fascinating 14 day stay in China.
-
The developments
in China over the past three decades have been a mixed blessing. Income levels
have gone up but so has the gap between the rich and the poor. Urbanization has
been frenetic, which has led to massive influx of village people into cities in
search of jobs. This has led to congestion and pressure on civic amenities in
the city agglomerates. Property prices have shot up and become unaffordable to
the vast majority of citizens. Young people take out mortgages on their
property and are forced by circumstances to continue with their job even if
they do not like it for fear of default of the mortgage. In Shanghai 1 sq mtr
of living accommodation can cost as much as Yuan 10000 (INR 1 lakh). Even food
prices have been on the increase. Crime has not only reared its ugly head, it
has become a way of life with some sections of society.
- Modern times have
also brought in social changes – dating, live in, casual flings are all
becoming socially acceptable. Parents still frown upon relationships in school
but they accept relationships after high school. The legal age for marriage is
20 for girls and 22 for boys. When girls go past the age of 25 parents start
getting worried and work their social and professional networks to get her
introduced to suitable boys.
Formal education
starts at age 7. Almost all schools are government run. The fee structure is
reasonable. Education is compulsory up to high school. English, Chinese and
Math are compulsory subjects in school. However, many have started to question
the need to learn English for they don’t get to use it later. The routine is 12
years in school and 3 to 4 years thereafter for graduation, depending on the
course. Most professional courses are for 5 years. Members of the minority
communities get financial assistance for higher education and relaxation in the
eligibility for entry into institutions for education.
- Controls are
still in place in so far as the number of children one can have is concerned.
Single child parents can have two children, so also parents with two girl
children. Parents with physically or mentally challenged children are also
exempt from the single child norm. In case the norm is violated heavy fines
have to be paid which depends on whether one is from a village or a city,
earning capacity, number of violations, etc. Yingchu claimed to be the legal
child of her parents while they had to pay a fine of Y 1000 for her younger
brother! The restrictions are basically for the numerically large Han
population. However, minority communities are exempt from the family size norm.
One of the reasons is that they inhabit sparsely populated regions such as
Tibet, where the government even encourage parents to have more children. It is
not uncommon for families to even have 6 children.
-
Dowry system is
prevalent in China. Household articles and ornaments normally form the
substance of the dowry (does vary depending on need – in mountainous areas a
herd of Yak is a more preferred dowry!), which is decided at the time of fixing
the marriage. It is a matter of prestige for some families to offer large
dowries to make their children ‘comfortable’ in the house they go to. The
larger the dowry the girl brings the more significant is her ‘voice’ in the
house.
- The importance of
Yak in the daily life of a Tibetan – the animal is useful in life (milk,
butter, wool, transportation) and in death (horn, hoofs, skin, meat,
intestines). Dependence on the Yak is total in the Tibetan region.
-
God in personal
life of Han people – basically observe Taoism and Buddhism; they do go to
places of worship, but do not have deities ruling their lives. It is not as if
they do not believe in a Supreme Being, it is just that the Supreme Being does
not have a form. They do pray for personal comfort, wealth and material needs
but do not have worship at home and daily prayer.
-
Physical features
of the inhabitants change quite a bit through the vast sweep of Tibet to Xinjiang.
They also indicate the without a guidinfluences these regions have had in the
past. Apart from the Tibetan and Han characteristics the influence of Mongols
in Kuerle and Russians in Turpan was quite distinct. As for religion and
language the influence of Islam and Arabic could be seen right from Qinghai
Province (minimal) bordering Tibet to Xinjiang that has 8 international
neighbours.
-
The use of
electric vehicles is encouraged in China by pricing it lower than the rest. It
is quite popular with city and town users. Many local transport vehicles are
also battery operated. This, along with emission norms, keeps cities and towns
free from fuel particle contamination.
-
Almost entire
townships have been set up with solar roofs that can be manipulated to maximize
the use of sunshine. Solar water heaters are a norm for most households, hotels
and restaurants. In Tibet locally assembled solar units are used for heating
water for making tea. The solar farms in Geermu were an encouraging sight. Wind
energy is substantially leveraged in Xinjiang Province.
- Without a local
guide and interpreter life in China, at least the places I travelled to, can be
tough and disappointing. The only word you hear from a Chinese person when you
try to communicate in English is ‘Mayo’, meaning ‘No’. And that was the only
Chinese word I picked up too, for I heard it so often! It they are taught
English in schools I fail to understand why they do not make an effort to speak
the language, for China is opening up big time to Tourism and tourism related
activity.
All in all the experience in China was
very good, thanks mostly to Yingchu. The team of NAVO Tours had done a most
competent job making our stay comfortable and transit easy. However, if
possible, NAVO Tours should try and compress the self-driving trip to 10 days.
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