Chapter 18 Sixteen, a small note about the Tibetan driver Nima

It may be the nature of human beings to sympathize with the weak; but no matter what your situation is, it is the most noble character to be full of infinite care and selfless help for your fellow man from beginning to end.Maybe Nima's little help every time is insignificant, but his compatriots who are suffering are always in his heart. Traveling in Tibet may take a lot of time in the car; especially to the Everest Base Camp, Ngari or the no-man’s land in northern Tibet, it is even more essential to charter a car to travel with you.Meeting a good driver will be your greatest blessing, because the road conditions on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are extremely complicated and sometimes even dangerous, and the lives of you and the entire vehicle will be in the hands of the driver alone; only those who are skilled, experienced, and courageous Only superhuman drivers can overcome unimaginable difficulties and finally deliver you safely to your dreamed destination.The character of the driver is also one of the key factors to make your trip successful, because these drivers are very familiar with the local tourist attractions and customs, only they can provide the most effective help to your travel life.If you encounter a bad driver unfortunately, you will be out of luck. In addition to eating, taking, and getting cards, you will be spoiled for travel; Passing by quietly without letting you know, this will make you even more frustrated and feel like your trip was in vain.Very fortunately, during this trip to Tibet, I met a simple, honest, brave and skilled Tibetan driver - Nima Tsering.

Getting acquainted with Nima was also quite dramatic. In the early morning of August 4, our group set off for Ali from the front of the "Tashi Dajie" hotel.When I got into the same jeep with the Hong Kong girl Xiaoying and Changzhou teacher Liu Gang who I knew before, the guide Gesang came over and told us that there were five girls in another jeep, and the Tibetan driver of that car was a bit jealous dark.According to Tibetan traditional customs, if the passengers of a car are all women, then the car will frequently suffer accidents such as flat tires and broken axles during travel.Therefore, I hope that one of the passengers in our car can go to a man to suppress evil.As the tour leader, it was my duty to transfer to another vehicle.When I boarded the passenger seat of the jeep, I saw a thin, wrinkled middle-aged Tibetan with a moustache and said to me with a simple smile, "Thank you so much! My name is Nima Tsering." I also patted him on the shoulder and said, "With me here, all ghosts and gods have to give way to keep you safe all the way. Hey! Why is it called Nima Tsering again?" At the beginning, I said I became curious about the name of the driver Nima, because in Tibet, I have met many Tibetans named Nima Tsering.Nima immediately answered my question: In Tibetan, "Nima" means the sun, and "Tsering" means forever; in the minds of the Tibetan people, the sun is the highest god in the universe, and it is the god that nurtures all living things. Therefore, "Nima" has become the surname of many Tibetans.For a long time, after giving birth to their children, parents hoped that they would live a long life, so they were named "Tsering", which symbolizes the eternal life.It can be seen that it is not surprising that there are so many Tibetans called "Nima Tsering".That's how I got to know Nima, and the days of getting along with Nima day and night began from this day.

My first impression of Nima is that she is very honest, honest and generous.Although it is stated in the car rental contract that during our trip, the driver will take care of his own food and lodging; but it is only natural for the driver to eat passengers no matter where they are, especially when traveling in Tibet.From the first stop in Shigatse, we invited Nima to have a meal with us, but Nima always shyly declined.He reluctantly sat down at our repeated requests, and always ate very little each time; it seemed that in his philosophy of life, it was a great shame to eat other people's food without reason.But since entering no man's land, the situation has reversed.When we were about to use the food reserves on the equipment truck, we discovered that the four boxes of food purchased by me and three Hong Kong students were not loaded into the truck at all due to negligence.I was dumbfounded at the time, which meant that the next few of us would have nothing to eat during the next week of traveling in no man's land.After Nima learned of this, he silently grabbed a large amount of fried barley powder from a sheepskin pocket, and made tsampa in the wooden bowl he carried with him; when he was done, he handed it to us and said, "Eat it." It’s delicious.” Although I swallowed the piece of tsampa with a frown, it became my delicacy to avoid the pain of hunger later.In the days that followed, I often ate tsampa made by Nima and drank ghee made by him.Nima has some unique skills in making tsampa. The tsampa he made with milk dregs, sugar, butter and butter tea is very fragrant.Once, on a whim, he mixed tsampa with highland barley wine and asked me to taste it. The taste was really special and memorable.Gradually, I found that my altitude sickness became smaller and smaller, and my body became more and more adapted to the ever-changing Ali climate.In fact, I have always been grateful to Nima, because he not only gave me selfless help when I was out of food, but also taught me how to use the Tibetan diet to adapt to the harsh environment of the alpine and oxygen-deficient Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Nima is a caring person.Due to traffic congestion and economic backwardness in many areas of Tibet, most Tibetans live in poverty.Especially on the journey westward to Ngari, we often see Tibetan compatriots living in extreme poverty; especially when we meet those children in rags, stretching out their little hands and staring at us uninvited guests with longing eyes, we really feel uneasy. taste.At this time, Nima always took out a large handful of lollipops from a pocket that had been prepared and handed them to the children, and looked at these children who were as happy as a festival.At this time, we also took out the prepared pencils and erasers and gave them to these innocent children, hoping to use education to improve their future destiny.At that moment, Nima always looked at us with grateful eyes.Once in Tashiqu Zong Township at the foot of Mount Everest, we met a group of old people in scantily clad clothes. Everyone couldn't bear to look at the hardships on Zhang Zhang's faces full of vicissitudes.At this moment, Nima stopped the car and took out all his dry food to distribute to the poor old people. Looking at the old people who left happily after getting the food, Nima's eyes were filled with tears.During the next few meals at the base camp on the north slope of Mount Everest, Nima had to drink buttered tea to satisfy her hunger.It may be the nature of human beings to sympathize with the weak; but no matter what your situation is, it is the most noble character to be full of infinite care and selfless help for your fellow man from beginning to end.Maybe Nima's little help every time is insignificant, but his compatriots who are suffering are always in his heart.

It is from here that Nima drives the Duoxiong Zangbo River Nima's driving skills are top-notch.During the trip to Ali, there were two major dangers, and there were countless minor accidents such as car trapping and breakdown.Every time, Nima saved us from danger with his boldness, care and skill.Nima has a wealth of experience on the westbound route to Ngari; especially when we went to Ngari during the rainy season in Tibet, cars often had to drive in swamps, and when encountering rivers, they had to drive across the swollen riverbed.At this time, Nima will show his true colors, driving his four-wheel drive Type 62 Toyota "Land Cruiser" to go left and right, and finally leave the bad road far behind.The most exciting time was the scene of Nima crossing the Doxiong Zangbo River by bicycle after being trapped in Angren County when returning from Ngari.At that time, the only bridge on the Doxiong Zangbo River was broken by the flood, and hundreds of passing cars were blocked.Many drivers stood helplessly on the bank of the river, and even the most courageous drivers had to hang up the traction cables and ask the large trucks on the opposite bank to drive across the river bed.But unscrupulous drivers with tow trucks started charging high prices, scaring away many more drivers.After spending a difficult night by the river, Nima carefully inspected the water potential, and then asked me: "Do you dare to drive across the river in my car?" In fact, we have long believed in Nima's driving skills , So the four Cantonese girls and I took Nima's jeep without hesitation and drove towards the Taotao river.Now I think about that scene at that time, it was really thrilling. The turbulent river washed our jeep on the river bed upside down. Seeing that the water level rose a little bit beyond the windshield, and almost disappeared the roof, the yellow and turbid river water Nima poured into the car through the crack of the poorly sealed door, and Nima was driving a leaky submarine.Just imagine if the car suddenly turns off at this time, our car will definitely be washed away by the turbulent river, and will eventually be smashed on the cliffs downstream due to the huge kinetic energy, and we will die without a place to die.Ke Nima just relied on his extraordinary skills and courage to drive the car across the river bottom more than ten meters wide.After reaching the other shore safely, we couldn't help but cheered enthusiastically.Nima still smiled at us honestly, and continued to direct the other two cars traveling with us to cross the river in the same way.At that moment, I looked at Nima's thin body, standing on the bank and commanding other cars to cross the river calmly. I really admired this Tibetan driver.

I've also had a few rides with Nima's Land Cruiser.Sometimes when I saw Nima was too tired, I offered to drive by myself.This is the first time for me to drive on a road with such special road conditions in Ali. Nima always patiently guides me how to identify the road surface and road conditions. Due to the driving habits in the mainland, I often habitually drive the car on dry and flat roads Open up.But it is completely different in Ngari, because many areas in Ngari are swampy areas.Especially in the rainy season, a road that looks dry and smooth means that the soil underneath is soft and can absorb water from the surface into the soil; on the contrary, a road with water means that the soil below is firmer and can bear the weight of the car.So as long as I drive, I will always get stuck in the car. At this time, Nima will get out of the car, step on the wet mud to organize the traction, and comfort me from time to time: "Just drive more." After many days of getting along day and night, I He and Nima talked about everything like friends for many years.Nima told me that he has three daughters. The older one teaches in an elementary school near Lhasa, and the younger one is still in junior high school.It seems that Nima is very satisfied with his three daughters, and keeps boasting about how sensible they are; then talking about his wife, Nima's expression began to dim.It turned out that Nima's wife, like many Tibetans, has a soft spot for mahjong tiles and highland barley wine.As a driver, Nima often has to pick up tour groups for long distances, and can only return home every three to five days or longer.But every time I go home, I either see his wife playing mahjong with others, or he is so drunk that he never knows how to take care of his daughter and husband.After this situation continued for many years, Nima finally couldn't bear it anymore and divorced his wife.Nima now lives with her three daughters.Hearing about Nima’s unfortunate experience, I could only comfort him in a symbolic way. Unexpectedly, Nima smiled at me mysteriously and said, “Now I have a gentle girlfriend who is a waiter in a hotel in Bayi Town.”

How time flies, the 15-day trip to Ali is coming to an end, and the day of breaking up with my lovely friend Nima is approaching day by day.After this journey westward to Ali, we have a particularly harmonious relationship.The breakup is imminent, and everyone can't help feeling a little sad.Finally, on a rainy evening, Nima and I hugged tightly at the door of the "Zhaxi Dajie" hotel in Lhasa, and after saying how much we cherish each other, we went our separate ways. However, my relationship with Nima did not end there.It turned out that the five Cantonese girls who were traveling with me chartered Nima's car to go to Samye Monastery the next day and invited me to go with them.In the early morning, when Nima drove his "Land Cruiser" that accompanied us through Ali to pick me up at the gate of Balangxue Hotel, we embraced warmly like old friends we haven't seen for many years.When I boarded the car, I found a beautiful and dignified middle-aged Tibetan woman sitting in it. I made a face at Nima, "Is this your girlfriend from Bayi Town? It's really nice!" Nima gave me a "hey hey" smile as a tacit consent.The car drove towards the Shannan Highway, and the car was filled with a familiar atmosphere of joy.Along the way, Nima was still the same as before, when he encountered an old man in ragged clothes, he stopped to take out dry food from a large bag and distributed it.Seeing the children, Nima's girlfriend took out a lot of crabapple fruits and distributed them to the children.What a kind couple!Looking at them, I couldn't help but feel deeply moved.Nima and his girlfriend are still very devout Buddhists. In the Samye Monastery, every time they came to a Buddha statue, they would bow down and keep adding ghee to the bowl of the ghee lamp, as if they were making a promise that they would never die in their previous lives. wish.And standing aside, I also prayed silently in front of the Buddha statue, praying to the Buddha to bless this kind-hearted couple to finally get married and be happy forever.

The moment of parting with Nima at Gonggar Airport That night, Nima drove us to Gongga Airport.I know that this time we really have to part, maybe this time will be our parting forever.We all became silent, and at this time we could only express our true feelings with tight handshakes and hugs.Suddenly, Nima turned around, took out six pure white khatas from his girlfriend's bag like a magic trick, hung them on our necks one by one, and said that he and his girlfriend's sincere wish would be accompanied by these khatas. We have traveled the journey of the future, Tashi Dele! In the early morning of the next day, I boarded the flight to Beijing wearing the khata that Nima gave me.Looking at the rolling snow peaks outside the porthole of the plane, my mind was full of thoughts.I meditate in my heart: Tibet, my eternal love; the Tibetan friends who sincerely give me infinite love, I will miss you forever.