Hongxingzhen*, Gansu/Sichuan Province 甘肃/四川省， 郎木寺
After the sky burial, Jingyin 镜尹 and I went on a hike up in the hills behind the buttes surrounding the town. We stumbled upon beautiful rolling hills with mountains in the distant background. As we continued walking, we ran into Tibetan shepherds藏族牧羊人 with their yaks and sheep.
As we walked toward the yaks and sheep, we were unintentionally herding them. This clearly caught the attention of the shepherds who began speeding towards us on their bike.
They were two brothers, 22 and 26 and very nice. The older, to the left is married and they normally live in the village east of these hills. These brothers spend the summer eating and sleeping out in the open fields while taking care of the animals.
I asked them how they get fresh water and they pointed to a small natural spring jetting out of the hills. I also asked them how many sheep are in their flock and they said about three hundred. I asked them about if they are worried about predators. They responded 'a little', but that is generally the course of things. I also inquired as to the occasion when they'd slaughter an animal for food. They replied only very rarely, for holiday and if a high ranking monk visits their home. They said the herd's birth and death rate each year essentially balances out and they have roughly the same size herd year to year. The animals seemed to serve mainly as insurance or a retirement plan.
Clearly, the younger, single guy in the middle is a handsome dude so I tossed an assist to my friend and recommended they exchange numbers. She smiled and he obliged. I think he was happy to get cute Jingyin's phone number.
As we left, the two brothers remained.
Soon enough, I was set to leave Hongxingzhen and head further into Sichuan province 四川省. My bus was supposed to leave at 5:30am, so I arose at 5:00, left my warm bed, packed my remaining gear and stormed the -17 degree (c) temperature towards the bus station. Arriving, I confirmed with the driver that we were, in fact, heading towards Zoige 若尔盖. Nope, he replied. That bus changed to 6:30am.
Not the happiest guy in the world, I went back to my room (breaking in past the guard dog) and slept until the next bus. Returning an hour later, the guy on the street corner told me the bus wasn't going to run that day.
Turning a bummer into a positive I found the opportunity to catch the sunrise from the monastery.
As mentioned, the village was largely deserted. Upon arriving a few days prior, I remember wandering vacant streets looking around at closed restaurants and guesthouses. Eventually, this guy (left) saw me and invited to stay with him and his family. They have a few extra adjoining rooms and invited me to share dinner as well during my stay.
This is their grandchild. Very cute, and to my surprise, this is their grandson, not granddaughter. Haha oh my.
After consulting with my host about the lack of buses, I decided to hitchhike to my next destination: Jiuzhaigou 九寨沟.
After about 50km of hitchhiking, my ride heads another direction and I hit the road.
Soon after, two young guys riding a motorcycle offered a ride. Three guys and a backpack and we went swerving down the road. They invited me to their home in the hills for lunch and music, then dropped me back onto the road.
Before I left, I had my mind blown as they nonchalantly showed me this absolutely beautiful shrine in their back room. Wonderful people.