Five Bestselling Travel Memoirs Box Set

by Twead, Victoria

Chapter 29: New Territory

  Chapter 30: Anything Goes

  Chapter 31: Where Nomads Roam

  Chapter 32: From Sheep to Mutton

  Chapter 33: Mongol Ferrari

  Chapter 34: Recharge

  Chapter 35: Sand Traps and Good Samaritans

  Chapter 36: I know You

  Chapter 37: Trust from Dust

  Chapter 38: Prehistoric

  Chapter 39: Tow Truck

  Chapter 40: Stranded

  Chapter 41: Awaiting our Future

  Chapter 42: Last Lap Before a New Start

  Preview of Sihpromatum 2

  Links and Contacts

  Map

  Dotted lines = Flights

  Solid Lines = Travel by bus or train.

  Dots =Places where we slept or spent time.

  1.Stop over Seoul.

  2.Starting Point Hong Kong with Sandra

  3.Yangzhou

  4.Kunming Stone Forrest

  5.Lijiang with Granny

  6.Lost in the Tiger Leaping Gorge

  7.Emei Shan – Sacred Mountain

  8.Panda Sanctuary nearby Chengdu

  9.Songpan three day horse trek

  10.Three day Yangzi boat cruise

  11.Xi’an Terra Cotta Warriors

  12.Beijing and Great Wall of China

  13.Ulaanbaatar

  14.Two week loop with Baagii

  15.One week excursion with Future

  16.Stuck in the Gobi Desert

  17.Train headed to Russia

  Prologue

  His incredibly elongated shadow seemed to be one of the few anchors left in the desert.

  “Do you think Future will come back?” I whispered to the solitary camel standing beside the van. My words expressed doubt, if only for a moment, wondering if our Mongolian guide had just abandoned us. But no. He was also our friend, and I knew we were all in this together.

  “He’ll come back.” I guess Mom had been listening, and she affirmed my gut instinct about Future. “If he can, he will.”

  “If he can,” I echoed with a profound sense of foreboding.

  Her words reminded me of the seriousness of our situation. This wasn’t just a game. It was real life, and I was all too aware of the perils we faced. Reaching toward the camel, I placed my open palm against the dusty window. Gazing into eyes that resembled golden flakes of sand framed with lavish dark lashes, a strange connection sparked between us. Maybe I was looking for reassurance of some kind or to somehow humbly share his intimate knowledge of the desert. My attention was diverted to my hand at that point and I thought it should have been sweaty or at least a bit moist against the glass, but I was already severely dehydrated. Every nail bed and wrinkle was caked with dirt. What happened to you, Savannah? I wondered, crinkling my forehead. This was not the “me” I remembered. Where on earth did you go? I asked myself.

  Chapter 1: “Like, Totally”

  It was May 5th, 2005 and I was reluctantly boarding a plane bound for Hong Kong. A whole new life was waiting for me, one I had absolutely no interest in living. As I took a cramped seat next to the window, I asked myself, what the heck happened to get me to this point? Listening to the pilot’s confirmation of our destination, my young heart spun in my chest. As the engines roared and readied for take-off, my mind rewound five months to the last time I had enjoyed a final glimpse of normality before the turmoil of my deteriorating world hit me like a sledge hammer.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  “Savannah, where are you?” I heard Kelly say, but she didn’t mean it literally. A lot had been on my mind since my parent’s separation, but the waving hand in my face brought me back with a start.

  “Yah, you should totally get the pink one. That is so sexy,” I said reflexively, noticing her well-developed figure.

  She lunged through the hangers to reach for the last hot-pink T-shirt on the rack. Tidying herself and tucking loose red locks behind her ear, Kelly babbled on excitedly, “Hey, so did I tell you? I, like, totally found some receipts on my parents’ dresser, and I am, like, almost one hundred percent sure my daddy’s getting me an Infiniti G35 Coupe for my Sweet Sixteenth!!”

  “Oh, wow,” I simply said, trying to perfect the “Oh yah, that expensive thing, I know exactly what you’re talking about” tone in two words, and I think it worked. She had no idea that I had no idea what, exactly, she was talking about.

  Terri was in the change room, and I felt slightly abandoned being left alone with this Kelly person. Because I was shy and had attended so many different schools, I didn’t have a whole lot of friends. My title was always the same – The New Kid. As soon as I’d start to fit in, we’d move again. Our little outing with Kelly was actually Terri’s way of helping me to expand my circle of friends. Terri, with her tanned skin and dark, thick hair that came to her waist, was the Jiminy Cricket on my shoulder, the combined angel/devil, a sister from another lifetime – my best friend.

  “You’re so lucky. I’m totally jealous,” I said, playing it cool and trying not to look too desperate or low class.

  “Oh, shut up! I’m sure your parents will get you something amazing. You just have to wait two more years!” I couldn’t tell if she was mocking me or not. Could she really be that mean? Or is she simply clueless? She didn’t seem to grasp the effect her words had on me. Is it my own insecurity? I looked inquisitively at her with slightly narrowed eyes. Does she feel superior because she’s older and getting her driver’s license? Or is she taking a jab at me ’cause she knows my parents could never afford to buy me a car, let alone an Infiniti?

  “Hey are you coming to my party? It’s going to be epic,” she went on. Clearly, she had not felt my awkward tension. I’m in the clear!

  “What do you think!?” I replied, as if to say, “DUH! Of course! Where else would I be?”

  As Terri came around the corner from the change rooms, she said, “I’m buying this, then let’s just go. Our appointment’s in ten minutes.”

  Kelly beat us to the cashier and was waiting to pay her grand total of three hundred and fifteen. Glancing at my almost empty hands, she asked, “Why didn’t you get anything?”

  “I did,” I said, holding up a clear bag so she could see the lip gloss.

  “Ok, but seriously! That doesn’t count. I mean, those shoes were so hot on you,” she insisted.

  “Yah, you’re right. I probably should’ve got them,” I agreed, to avoid the embarrassing, “I don’t have any money to spend” explanation. They each had their father’s credit card, but I only had fifty dollars. If we were going to go for manicures, I should probably come home with my nails done, rather than shoes. Going out for a nail date and not getting your nails done would basically be a social disaster.

  We quickly made our way past the mall’s early winter shoppers, up the escalator, and through the glass entrance to the beauty salon.

  “Yes, we have reservations for one o’clock,’ Terri said to the little Asian woman standing behind the desk.

  “Terri? For three?” she confirmed.

  “Yup, that’s us.”

  “We’ll be with you in a moment. Please have a seat over here so you can soak your hands in these basins,” she explained before she returned to reception.

  “Thank you,” we said in unison, then giggled.

  “Where do you think she’s from?” Kelly asked in a half whisper.

  “Probably China,” Terri guessed, dropping her bulging bags on the floor at her feet.

  “Who cares?” I said, waving it off as I pulled out a comfy leather chair.

  Kelly wriggled in her seat and fluffed her hair to draw attention before she announced, “So, did I tell you guys I have a new boyfriend!?”

  “No way,” Terri exclaimed, “Who!?”

  “Tommy Jones. He’s dreamy!”

  With that, she began a long, drawn-out story of how he was so great, and how she was so great, and how they were so great together. She’d concluded her self-centred story by confidently profe
ssing that it was true love.

  “But enough about me,” she finally said. “Tell us about your love life, Terri.”

  “Who, me? Hah! Oh, no. No, no, no. I’m not interested,” Terri assured us, and I knew it was true. Her heart lay in a career. Her adoration for her father, a well-respected medical doctor, had years ago inspired her dream of working right there next to him, saving lives.

  “And Savannah?”

  “She’s not allo---”

  “No, no! Nothing. No interest.” I jumped in before Terri could finish her sentence. What she had been about to say was that I wasn’t allowed to date until I was sixteen. Mom enforced strict, some might say ridiculous, rules about when her daughters should get involved with guys. Everyone but me had started to date and discover boys. I was willing to obey Mom’s rules, but I sure didn’t need other people to know how strict she was about that.

  “Wasn’t there a boy at Terri’s house the other night that you thought was pretty cute? He was older, too,” Kelly noted, twirling her hair and giving me the oooh-la-la look.

  “Who? Grady?! Hah!” I objected. “He’s my sister’s best friend. Practically my brother!”

  “Oh, don’t lie. I saw the way you looked at him. You so like him!” Kelly said excitedly. Panicking a bit, I wondered if I’d really been that obvious. Thankfully, the manicurists showed up to end our conversation. I drifted into my own reveries as the rhythmic routine began with my left pinkie finger. Could Grady ever see me as more than just “the little sister”? Could he? Maybe? Would he? Nah, I don’t have a chance with him! He’s so funny, everybody loves him, and what am I? Just plain geeky! With that, I answered my own question before I scowled in the direction of Kelly’s gorgeous four-inch heels. Those things must have cost a fortune. No wonder she has a boyfriend. I am nothing like her. She’s the kind of girl who’d catch any guy she wanted with those long legs that just didn’t quit.

  Continuing my upward scrutiny, I envied the full breasts accentuating her elegant dress. I mean, geez, my mind wandered as I glanced cynically downwards at my flat chest, I must be the only girl I know who has no boobs. Even her hair smells like it might actually be edible. I flared my nostrils to inhale almost reflexively but instead, an overpowering whiff of manicure chemicals nearly choked me. Grady would never be attracted to me! How much uglier could I get?! But maybe when I get my braces off, maybe then he’ll see a beautiful girl ... I pondered that thought, looking down as the woman held my fingers in her soft, delicate hands and watching as my nails were transformed beneath the file and polish. I naively thought a manicure might spark his interest.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Later that day we’d returned to Terri’s house before deciding to spend the night at my place.

  “Hey, Mom just called,” Terri said, grabbing her coat and throwing me mine. “She’s waiting at the top of the driveway.”

  “Why do you call her mom, Mom?” Kelly asked as she put an arm through her gorgeous red jacket accented with real rabbit fur.

  “I really never see my real mom or talk about her. Plus, I’m always with Savannah – I’m practically part of the family. And that way, there’s never any confusion about whose mom we’re talking about,” Terri explained. Over the years, we’d “adopted” many people into our family. Our home was always open and bursting with life. Friends, siblings, and foreign students we were hosting from abroad and all their friends were always welcome. Our family was often spontaneous and always very easy going, a situation that encouraged even unrelated people to think of Mom as a second mom.

  Trudging up the driveway of my best friend’s mansion of a house and stepping around to the back of the car, we threw our bags in the trunk. It was a cool night. Snow was forecast, and our breath was already forming ghosts in the air.

  We hopped into the back of Mom’s black, Mustang convertible. She interrupted her phone call to say hello as we climbed in before quickly returning to her conversation.

  As I collapsed into the seat, my little dog, Harrison, leapt onto my lap to greet me.

  “Why do you do that to him?” Kelly giggled and patted him on the head.

  “Do what?” I asked, clueless.

  “Paint him blue!” she exclaimed, as if it were obvious.

  “Oh,” I laughed at my blindness to it, “I didn’t paint him!! It’s just food colouring.”

  Because he was a white Maltese, it was hard to resist giving him a colourful coat.

  I rubbed my nose on his black, button-shaped snout as I listened in on Mom’s phone call. Trying to narrow down who could be on the other end was a bit of a game for me. She was always busy on the phone making preparations for work. This time, it wasn’t work related. I knew that much, but I still couldn’t figure it out. I overheard her saying, “pack up everything,” “travel around the world,” and “backpacks.”

  I’d heard enough. Ugh! That sounds horrible. I just can’t imagine why anybody would do that, I thought sincerely, experiencing a rare moment of gratitude. I’m so lucky I’m not that poor soul!

  Seconds later, Mom hung up the phone and presented her “great news.” We were going to pack up everything, we were going to travel around the world, and we were going to live out of backpacks – for a whole year! Her mouth was still moving, but I heard nothing else. I was desperately trying to process what she had said. I couldn’t fathom her words. They were dizzying. Suddenly bells rang, smashing about painfully in my skull. My jaw dropped in utter terror and my life transformed in a heartbeat. We – as in us – as in ME! I am going to travel the world, I am going to sell everything, and I am going to live out of a backpack for a year!

  Chapter 2: Aftershock

  “But, what about my party? You can’t leave before my party,” Kelly muttered under her breath. Leave it to Kelly to just not get it at all. I acted as if I didn’t hear her. Who cares about your stupid party?!?! I felt like shouting, My life is gone! Did you not hear what she just said??? I wanted to scream. Instead, tears suddenly started flowing, and I bawled my eyes out. Harrison’s long, soft fur was wet from my tears as I snuggled deeper into him. Kelly’s eyes widened with surprise at the scene she witnessed in the car, and she didn’t push further. Never before had anyone, other than Terri, seen me cry, and even then, only once. I’d become pretty much an expert at hiding my emotions, but Mom’s announcement started a new trend for me that I could no longer control. I just couldn’t figure out why it was happening. Where the heck did all this come from?

  “Oh, Savannah! It’ll be okay. You’ll see. It’s going to be lots of fun,” Mom said, thoroughly convinced this was the right thing to do.

  “No. It won’t. Why do you want to do this? You can’t,” I panicked.

  “I’m really so excited. We’re going to go to China and see all those cool things. You girls should look at some of the pictures when we get home. It’s gorgeous!”

  “Mom, I don’t care. I just want to stay here,” a suffocating swell rose up in the back of my throat as I spoke. Without warning, without any hint or prior discussion or even THOUGHT, this calamity was laid right on me. It was as unexpected and bizarre as a blue whale falling out of the grey sky and landing on my head. The idea had never crossed my mind, and I still couldn’t understand why it had crossed hers.

  We’d rented houses for years, and every time the owners either sold them or moved back into them, it meant another new start – a new house, new school, new friends, and a heck of a lot of energy to move and get established again. But this! This was something else entirely. I felt many of the same feelings, except this time, there wouldn’t be a new school, or new friends, or a new house. It was--- It was just--- Just that--- Geez! I couldn’t even form cohesive thoughts anymore.

  We were home before I knew it, but the horror continued. Getting out of the car and walking up the driveway towards the house, I saw it with different eyes. I examined the towering forest above me and really breathed consciously, trying to taste the air before I stepped inside. I opened the door
and noticed the colour of the doorknob for the first time. Everything went by in slow motion, colours and textures enhanced, as we walked up the carpeted stairway to my bedroom.

  This is completely insane, I agonized as I sat, dazed, on my couch. My life seemed to be crashing around me like a pooling swirl of fragrant and delicate flower petals now drowning in the fury of a violent storm. Terri was gentle and attentive. She leaned in to tell me what she was sure of.

  “It’ll be okay, Savannah.” It was simple, but it helped. She squeezed my hand in hers, attempting to comfort me. “There’s no way Mom is actually going to drag you across the world. She’s just going through a really hard time with this whole divorce thing.” She must’ve believed what she said, and not just for my sake. I nodded absentmindedly.

  “But I think it would be so cool to go to China and pray with the monks,” Kelly threw in, now leaning over to hear our whispers. She doesn’t get that I would gladly give up my spot to her. What do I care about China? And what could Kelly possibly know about it? I thought, standing and signalling for Harrison to follow with a quick tap on my thigh as I leaned over my couch and opened the window to let him out. At my request, Skylar, my brother nine years my senior, had piled firewood to create a ramp against the house that lead up to my second-story window. It had taken a while, but Harrison had learned how to climb in and out unassisted, and it worked like a charm. As I closed the window, I could hear Mom’s footsteps in the hall before she came in with a big book filled mainly with photos of China. I watched him prance down the wood stack before I turned to face her.

  “Look at this. Isn’t it great?” she said, sitting next to Kelly and opening her book of treasures.

  All I could think was, Where the heck did she get this book? Is this what happens when I go away for the weekend? She completely changes our lives and announces it to the world without even asking me how I feel about it!? Mom isn’t the talkative type; she just makes things happen. I’d always known that about her. Unlike many other people, she doesn’t make plans or come up with new ideas unless she intends to follow them through. That is what really scared me.