西藏之旅: Day 21 250506 Final Show Down

We had a poor sunset again, for the third time. Our first one was at Mt Emei, where we missed the timing. Second time was at Everest where it was too hazy. This time, the position where the sun rises was just not ideal. The position was directly opposite the lake, and blocked by a cliff.

We had our breakfast back at the tent where we had our dinner last night. That was when our dear businessman ZK made his proposal. He said that since we were going to 9 Village Valley when we returned to Sichuan, he suggested that we took his car back, which was going by another route: 青藏线. He told us the benefits of taking the offer. First, his offer will be lower than what we would pay if we were to fly back (how much lower he never mention). Secondly, the trip would offer us another different scenery along the way. Lastly, he can drive us back to Chengdu after we toured the valley and can host us at Chengdu thereafter.

Among the four of us, JH was the most unwilling to take his plan because he was really sick of the jeep ride. Ken seemed the most keen as he always likes the scenery of the new route. CCG was more inclined towards rejecting while for me, as usual, I was weighing the pros and cons of taking the offer. I wasn’t that interested in the scenery as I was getting quite sick of it. My analysis of the proposal was more $ oriented. What are the cons of taking the offer? 1. bumpy ride again. 2. Time wasted. We would reach back Sichuan by plane faster for sure. And lastly (most importantly also), the presence of ZK. Frankly speaking, we enjoyed more without him.

So, if the $ saved is worth for us to endure the abovementioned drawbacks, then we will take the offer. On the way back to Lhasa, JH and I were busy discussing in English about ZK’s proposal and how we should bargain. We had already given him 600rmb for 5 days of return trip which was more than enough because each day’s fuel consumption is only 150rmb at most. Furthermore, we suspected that the 2000rmb we gave him during the 16-day trip was for his own pocket money, and not to the travel agency. As such, we thought of offering him 800rmb each.

On the way, ZK kept mentioning that his proposal was for our good, and not really that he wanted to earn our $. Also, he said that along the way, he had been helping us to save $ and providing good service. His enthusiasm in selling his good points doesn’t seem to show that he doesn’t care about the $. In fact, the dollar sign was written all over his face.

Finally, we reached Lhasa in the evening and decided to take a walk at the 八角街, hunting for souvenirs to buy back for friends. That was when, Ken told us another thing. While the rest of us were withdrawing cash from the ATM, Ken and ZK waited in the car. ZK told him that according to international regulations, he was to collect 25rmb from each of us for each day of the trip. International regulations!! WTF. He had the cheek to tell us that he deserved the tips since his service was excellent. Excellent my foot. First, he was a lousy guide, esp. after entering Tibet. Second, he wasn’t very knowledgeable in the places of interest of Tibet. And lastly, which pissed me off was the fact that he tried to cheat 2 days out of us. His justification for the tips also includes the fine which he paid for speeding.

While we shopped around the stalls at Ba Jiao Jie, JH and Ken saw something that infuriated them. The silverware which they bought for 700rmb in total at the souvenir shop near the hot spring, cost only a tenth at the flea market! JH said that ZK must have received some commissions from that shop. After shopping around, we couldn’t bear the hot weather anymore (or perhaps our anger towards ZK) and decided to head back to the hotel.

Final show down began in the hotel. We made known to ZK that we do not wish to take his offer. He tried all means to persuade us, all sort of sales talk. He even boasted that if he were to take other tourists back, he would fetch a hefty 2200rmb per head; instead of the price he gave us which was 1500rmb. He continued to say that he doesn’t really need the cash since he had a teahouse and a box factory. His proposal was purely for our good. Yah right.

Still, we declined his offer. Seeing that his plot had failed, he moved on to claim his tips. What infuriated me wasn’t the fact that he wanted $ from us. It was the pretence of friendship that he displayed and yet at the end of the day, it was only $ that he wanted. By then, we had also run out of cash and so we gave him a meager sum of 200rmb as tips. Ha, till to this date, I could still remember that scene. We even reenacted everything and recorded it down in my DV.

ZK took the $, and said, “chey, 也没什么好说”. He took his stuffs and stormed out of the room. All of us burst out laughing immediately. It was so hilarious to see him so pissed. It was our punishment to him for being hypocritical, trying to cheat our 2 days, bringing us to that souvenir shop, and being such a $-face.

It was a relief to get rid of ZK in the end. Without him, we were more at ease and had more fun. It was a lesson for me also. Next time if I ever need to employ a driver or a personal guide, I would ensure that I find out the market rate of tipping. But it would be better if there were no other external people in the traveling party.

Below are the selected reenacted scenes:
GIVING TIPS TO ZK