Famous in China

Have you ever wanted to experience what it is like to be a famous movie star? To walk the streets and have people flashing photos of you wherever you go? I have one simple piece of advice for you, go to China. The more remote and smaller the place the better for your new leap into the spotlight. I am fairly certain I have had my photo taken by complete strangers more times in the last six weeks of travel in China and Tibet than I have taken of myself in the last six months of travel. As with any celebrity there are two types of photos that I now experience on a regular basis, the paparazzi picture and the fan picture. Each is special in its own way and with almost everyone carrying a camera in the form of a cell phone you never know when and where your next photo op will be.

The paparazzi photo typically consists of someone trying to covertly take your photo without you noticing. It is usually fairly obvious and the trick is to turn and flash them a knowing grin just as they click the picture so that they know that you know. This then leads to embarrassed laughter and a friendly wave before you each continue on your way. Fortunately the blatant camera shoved in your face maneuver is fairly rare.

My favorite by far though is the fan picture. Normally it stems from one person in a group of people getting up the nerve to come over and motion that they would like to take a picture. Once you nod yes your arm is immediately grabbed or an arm is slung over your shoulder as if you are a long lost best friend and a picture is taken. Once you have taken a picture with one person you are obliged to take a photo with the others in the group as well.

One of the unspoken rules of this fandom is that if you are walking with a friend and only one of you is grabbed for a photo shoot it is completely acceptable for the other person to strand you in order to save themselves. It's every man for himself in the celebrity world, but usually even if you initially manage to sneak away you will just end up in a later picture.

There have been a couple of memorable photo experiences along the way for me. One happened at a highway rest stop where two lady janitors stopped me outside the washroom to ask for a photo. The lady that took the photo with me was very shy, but had a huge smile on her face and seemed genuinely excited. Another was when I was stopped in the middle of a museum and obligingly posed for a photo with a man who was holding my arm so tightly that I couldn't move even an inch away for him.

My favorite experience by far though occurred in a small run down town in the no-man's land between Tibet and China. We stopped to eat lunch, but it was clearly a place that had not seen much tourist traffic. My friend Ines and I entered the restaraunt about a minute behind the rest of the group and the scene when we opened the door to this tiny restaraunt was pure pandemonium. Two huge groups of people were surrounding our two tour leaders and photos were being taken from all directions. As we burst out laughing at the chaos of the scene we too were swallowed up in the crowds for a number of photos.

I always feel a little bit sorry for the people who take their photos with me. I am always in my dirty scrubby travel clothes and everyone I take a photo with is far more put together, but I guess when you are a celebrity that is OK. In any case it is normally a mutually fun interaction so I will enjoy my 15 minutes of fame while I can.