The Yellow Mountain and Hughes Hall

Sometimes you have encounters that can only be the workings of some higher power...

Huang Shan was covered in snow when we went.
After lazily waking up, I saw green lush forests under a small flurry of snow. The dark green of leaves, the sky was gray and dotted by white power, which made for a tranquil image, save for the cold.

Here I spotted a fellow traveler.
I had seen him on the Shanghai train station
and on the bus heading towards the moutain.
He seemed vaguely familiar, but I had figured this was because he was a western traveller, and caught my attention for it. Then, a situation arose, when our travel guide (which is another story in itself) needed me as an interpreter for someone who spoke no Mandarin. As we knocked on the door of his hotel room, this was the person I had spotted on the train and on the bus.
I said "sorry to bother you, this travel guide wants to know if you want to take part" When I saw his face I still thought him familiar, but counldn't figure out from where I had seen him.

What gave it away was the student card. You see, our tour offered a discount for students. As I relayed this information, he wondered whether a UK Student ID was OK. I figured it would since mine had worked. Seeing he was from the UK I asked him where.

He says, "Cambridge" (!)
.... a moment of surprised slience. "You're kidding!" I continue "which college?"
"HUGHES HALL"

This calls for about (!) x 10 !

Of the thirty plus colleges, we were from the same college
and I found out later, graduated in the same year. What are the chances of two Hughes Hall students bumping into each other thousands of miles from home!