Trifter

After an amazing day at great wall of china, it seemed nothing could dampen our spirits. But when our tour bus hit a potholes, the back right wheel began bouncing up and down, clanking against the rim. The driver stopped, blocking one lane of a bridge, and went to investigate.

                He found evidence of snapped axle and immediately got on the phone to his boss. We were now stuck, two hours from Beijing and causing chaos as opposing traffic tried to cross in one lane. Most of the tourists on the bus quickly got impatient and hopped off, frantically trying to wave someone down. But the drivers just waved back at us as they drove past.

                Eventually a few cars did stop. I was in the right place at the right time when a nice looking car pulled up and the window rolled down to reveal a friendly but slightly confused  couple. In my almost non-existent Chinese I managed one word ; “Beijing?” They nodded, and I use sign language to communicate there were two of us needing a lift, myself and friend, Meghan. They decided I looked friendly enough, so they nodded. We know little Chinese and the driver’s English since limited to “Do you like Beijing?” Our reply of “Yes, yes, it’s great” led to clapping and proud smiles.

                The next thing we know they had pulled out map of sprawling Beijing and we trying to find out

                Before we know it, we had reached Beijing and our new friends had pulled over and shown us the direction we needed to walk in. Thanking them,  began pulling out our wallets to offer money for petrol. But their were shout and gestures of “no”. With a big smile, the driver gestured, “Welcome to Beijing!”.