YouTuber Mike Okay wanted to experience Tibetan culture for himself, but travel into the country is restricted for foreigners. As a result, if he wanted to meet authentic Tibetan people and see that part of the world for himself, he’d have to travel across the Gobi desert to get to the border.
While there’s no way Mike would be able to get into Tibet, surrounding towns have naturally had people from that country migrate in. So, he set off to get to Dawu from Ruoqiang, a journey that’s roughly 2000km (around 1200 miles). A bit long for a hike, especially across the Taklamakan Desert.
Also known as the “Sea of Death,”, it’s the second largest desert in the world and the biggest in China, even larger than the Gobi desert that lies to the East. Though China is known as a very populous country, most people live in its Southeastern provinces. Much of its landmass is desolate and hard to get across, especially if you can’t fly into Tibet directly.
Mike Okay didn’t let that deter him, though. Despite knowing very little Chinese, he managed to hitchhike across the desert using mostly Google Translate, and he was astounded by the kindness of the people he met along the way.
YouTuber treks across China thanks to the kindness of locals
Mike’s core objective was to show what China was really like, meeting the people there for himself and discovering the part of the country that most will never get to see for themselves.
So, he made a sign that said “hitchhiking” on it, drafted a laminated letter that explained why he was travelling to that part of the country, and set off on a journey to get across the desert.
And, though there were some bumps in the road, he ultimately got where he needed to go thanks to four kind drivers.
The first driver offered to give Mike a lift out of Ruoqiang and toward Golmud. He figured that Mike looked pretty lost and, instead of trying to use Google Translate to give him directions, opted to just give him a ride toward the highway and make sure he was going the right way.
The second driver went unnamed but was a police officer, one who offered to give him a lift 43 miles into the desert. He eventually arrived at a toll booth, one where a truck driver welcomed him in. He made great progress with that truck driver, but he eventually had to hop off.
From there, he asked someone at the toll station he stopped at whether or not he could pitch his tent outside and stay the night. The man running the station one-upped him, allowing him to sleep on the couch in his office overnight.
The officers manning the toll station offered up their office for Mike to sleep in, fed him, and even brought in a space heater so he’d be warm for the night.
He went in prepared to be met with confusion from the men on staff, but they welcomed him in with open arms.
“This is why I feel so safe travelling in this country, I feel so safe. It doesn’t matter where I get dropped off, doesn’t matter how stranded I am, I know that I’m gonna be ok because people just want to help me. It’s unbelievable.”
The fourth and final encounter he had in the video would end up being the most impactful, however. He met two men who he stuck with for days, ones who were on the way to his destination already and were more than happy to have him travel several hundred miles with him.
“Coming to China is like coming to our home,” one of the men explained. “We want to show our hospitality as hosts, this is a Chinese tradition. You’re our foreign friend, when you come to China, we must treat you to a meal. Since we’ve met, we’re friends. Please give us this opportunity to treat you.”
They went to eat together, went out drinking, played pool, and ended up sticking together for a days-long journey across the country. They even offered to stop in the town of Dawu, a place Mike wanted to visit, for a few hours so he could experience some of the Tibetan culture he travelled so far to see.
Most of the people he’d met had never seen a foreigner before but were excited to meet him. He even spent an entire day off-camera with the friends he’d met, putting down his film equipment to just enjoy some time with them before they had to part ways.
Mike’s planning to go all the way through China and will be hitchhiking across Vietnam next as part of his globe-trotting journey.
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