11 - Chengdu - Tibetan Quarter

The hotel was smack in the middle of the Tibetan Quarter, the largest Tibetan community outside Tibet. There had been some kind of uprising several weeks back, & previous groups travelling at that time had to stay elsewhere. Seemingly, there were some violent riots & police & army were going around checking if there were any journalists in the area - you did not want to be a journalist in the area at that time. Of course, it was all over the lack of Tibetan independence, & thing it coincides with the 50th anniversary of the takeover of Tibet by China. There were, of course, Tibetan people everywhere. All the shops sold Tibetan wares, especially Buddhist ornaments, & I bargained hard for a wooden beaded bracelet. I was a tad shocked when, for the first time in China, a child started begging to me to give him some money. He was spurned on by his mother who encouraged him to run after me. The kid, who would have been only 5 years of age, followed me even when I waved him away, grabbed hold of me & was overall incredibly persistent. Even though I really wanted to give him some money, I didn’t because it only encourages begging - & Frank says that it’s better to give some money to charity institutions.