70-Year-Old Indian Tourist's Apology: Return to G318 After Unexpected Leg Injury

An apology from an elder always makes your heart stop for a moment. That was my feeling when I received an email from a 70-something-year-old Indian scholar, with a subject line that only had two words: "Apologies."

This senior traveler had an almost obsessive longing for Tibetan culture. Six months earlier, he had inquired on our website about a 10-day road trip along the G318 National Highway from Chengdu to Lhasa.

How could I help him? I began to brainstorm.

Unexpected Leg Injury Before Trip

He planned to travel along this legendary road, crossing canyons, climbing over snow-capped mountains, and making a pilgrimage to the Potala Palace. His words were filled with anticipation, as he repeatedly confirmed our plans for managing altitude sickness, the accommodation conditions, and the historical background of the monasteries along the way. I customized a slow-paced itinerary for him, with a gradual increase in altitude each night. His driver was an experienced veteran with years of high-altitude driving under his belt. Everything was in order, payment was complete, and we were just waiting for his departure ten days later.

But just eight days before he was scheduled to leave, he fell at home and severely sprained his right knee. The doctor told him clearly that he wouldn't be able to travel long distances in the near future, let alone sit in a car for several days in a row, crossing mountains.

He wrote that he was lying in his hospital bed, looking out the window, his mind consumed by the winding road heading west and a dream that had been cut short before it even began.

Minimizing trip losses, that's what I could help him.

Minimizing Trip Cancellation Losses

According to the contract, a cancellation between 7 and 15 days before departure required a 50% fee. This was a significant amount, especially for a retired scholar. I immediately wrote back with a message of sympathy and began reaching out to all our suppliers: the car service, hotels, ticket agents, and the high-altitude insurance company. I knew that some fees, like the pre-booked car and some non-refundable hotels, couldn't be refunded.

But there was still room to negotiate. I explained the situation to the car service and asked for a partial refund of the deposit. I negotiated with the hotels in three high-altitude towns along the way. In the end, as for the tickets and guide service, all of them were simply postponed.

Three days later, I sent him a file with the re-calculated refund details and the credit vouchers for future use. What could have been a loss of nearly half the cost ended up being less than 30%. The rest was handled through postponements or partial refunds.

He wrote back quickly:"I am hoping my knee will set itself soon, at any rate by this autumn, because I WANT to do this trip with Asia Odyssey and no one else. You have been so kind and understanding, I am deeply grateful. Ms Hannah, please advise me of your future trips (same itinerary as the present one), possible dates. Indeed, now I am more than ever determined to travel with you people. Further, I shall have no hesitation in recommending Asia Odyssey to any friends of mine who may be contemplating trips in China: I shall gladly and happily do so!"

Setting Foot on G318 Six Months Later

Six months later, on a quiet morning, a familiar email address popped up in my inbox. There was no extra small talk, just one sentence: "I've recovered and am ready to set off again. Please help me rebook the same itinerary." At that moment, I could almost picture the determined expression on his face as he hit "send."

This time, the trip began as scheduled. I gave special instructions to the driver and guide, telling them to pay close attention to his pace. We added an extra half hour of stopping time at each location, and the car was always stocked with hot tea and oxygen.

They set off from Chengdu, entered the Hengduan Mountains via the Erlangshan Tunnel, where the misty clouds looked like a fairytale. In Kangding, he stood quietly by the Zeduo River. In Litang, he paused for a long time in front of the Changqing Ke'er Monastery, the sunlight on its golden roof illuminating his glasses. On the day they crossed a mountain pass over 5,000 meters high, the sky was a deep blue and the prayer flags fluttered in the wind.

They finally arrived in Lhasa in the evening. The Potala Palace stood majestically in the twilight as its lights began to come on one by one. He checked into the guesthouse he had originally booked. The next morning, he took a photo of the Potala Palace—beneath the colorful prayer flags, time had quietly landed against the red and white walls.

After the trip, he sent a long email: "I am deeply grateful to you and your agency for the excellent arrangements made. I had absolutely no complaints throughout the trip. Thanking you once again for all your help, and for a wonderful trip!"

I quietly saved his thank you note. I was so glad to have this job, where you can help someone in a foreign country, who is getting older and whose dreams have been broken, turn an "impossible" into a "let's try again." With a little patience and persistence, I helped him finish the journey he had started.