XIAHE to LANZHOU - Bus to Train to...?

January 14, 2011
Eng: Xiahe, Gansu, China to Lanzhou, Gansu, China
Chn: 夏河，甘肃省，中国 到 兰州，甘肃省，中国
Written by Dan

   Unfortunately, our late night snack of spicy instant noodles last night gave Emily the wonky belly this morning. It was so bad that she was dry heaving during the entire walk to the bus station. I was hungry so I bought some bread and two eggs boiled in tea. I asked Emily whether or not she minded if I ate next to her on the bus. She shook her head no, but I got an earful later about how that head-shake “No” should have been interpreted as a head-nod “yes”. Either way, she ignored my smelly feast and passed out as usual.

   A few hours later as I was talking to my Dad in America on a phone, we stop at a bus station to let some passengers off. Em wakes up cranky and starts asking me frantically if this is our stop.

   I tell her no, we’re just letting some people off.

  

   She asks angrily, “Well! Can I at least get off and pee!?”

   I say, “I don’t know, I’m on the phone with my Dad, do you think you can ask the driver yourself?”

   I get the evil eye.

   She asks and gets told no.

   Another evil eye.

   My Dad asks if this why we named the blog ‘a huge little mistake’.

   Apparently, the driver got the evil eye too because we stopped 5 minutes later to pee. Emily, the country bumpkin, was about to pop a squat on the patch of land 5 feet from the door of the bus until the driver pointed out that there were toilets only a few more feet away. Em blames her tummy ache for not seeing the toilets.

   So finally after 5 hours, a short bus-ride for us at this point, we arrive in Lanzhou. We collect our bags and hop in a taxi straight for the train station.