Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow
Trip Start
May 17, 2007
1
12
37
Trip End
Jun 30, 2007
Jyekundo,
China
Thursday, May 24, 2007
The journey here was by no means an easy. First, we had to get to Maduo.
Maduo sits at 4,400m, one of the highest places around EVER.
That said, the journey was AMAZING.
We travelled across brilliant plains flanked by snow-capped mountains...
It seriously looked more like New Zealand than Tibet/China.
And erm, yah, i also saw people perched precariously on snowy mountains picking Cordyceps.
The wildlife along the way is remarkable
01 Prep for snowball fight!
. We saw, get this:
Tibetan antelope, black naped cranes (rare!), wild ducks, Tibetan donkeys, rabbits, rodents (mice?), vultures, a falcon and a badger which Nimrod spotted.
I love this place.
Just driving from one place to another is a wonder in itself.
Oh, Nimrod, Rob and I also had a snowball fight of sorts at 4,600m.
As we drove thru the mountain passes, we saw lots of snow at the roadside.
So we stopped.... and a snowball fight ensued. hehehehehehhe
Fun right?
After that I was breathless and the owwwww started to set in.
So yes, by the time I arrived in Maduo I was totally floored, my head hurt so bad, it was as though someone stomped on it with killer hiking boots.
A crushing pain that you can't even figure out whether is inside or outside of your skull.
Just... CRUSHING.
I lay down, curled up wearing all my layers of clothing (it was snowing), groaning away
02 Ba Yan Ka Lar pass
.Clearly, living at 4,400m is no joke.
That said, before the killer pain set in, we trudged up a hill covered with prayer flags and found a group of Tibetans having a prayer meeting of sorts.
Much to my surprise, they invited us in.
It was very peaceful - the rhythmic chanting was melodious and soothing.
By this time my head had started to throb, but made the climb anyway in the snow.
The Tibetan leader then brought us into another chamber where pictures of the Dalai Lama were everywhere.
He was very excited when Nimrod said he had seen the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala in India.
The Leader spoke some Mandarin, so I was able to communicate with him.
Nonetheless, the rest of the Tibetans were thrilled at my attempt to say hello and Thank you
03 Prayer flags in the snow
. I love these people, i really do.
So fantastic... a pious, unpretentious people, with a ready smile for even intrusive foreigners like us.
So back to my skull crushing pain, I ended up curled up like a ball, and here's when my travel buds really show the spirit of humanity.
Shauna constantly offered me water and aspirin despite having a headache herself, Nimrod did magic tricks with a pack of cards to try and distract me from the pain. Then as I sat sulking, Rob showed me pictures of his travels. inspiring stuff.... i wanna run awaaaay too
awwwwww....
Later that night in Maduo, we huddled into 1 bed to watch the Simpsons.
Human warmth is very important at 4,400m and snowing :))))
The toilet in Maduo is non-existent.
04 Pouffy et moi
Basically, it's just a pit from the 2nd floor, where your poop/pee falls to the ground.Can anyone say "eeeew" ?
Going to the toilet = a test of endurance -- how long you can hold your breath.
Today as we travelled 400km towards Jyekundo, it started snowing rather heavily at Ban Ka Lar Pass, one of the highest mountain passes in the world -- (although the Chinese sign says otherwise - trigonometrical studies peg it at past 5,200m, i'm told).
It was freakin' amazing as the snow just came down in torrents, and we 4 insane foreigners just leapt out of the 4WD and started running around and snapping pictures.
The nomads at the side of the road were clearly amused.
Jyekundo's quite dull at the moment, though it's a supposedly a "bigger" town.
The saving grace is that it's at a lower elevation (3,100m), so i'm not in pain, although i do get tired easily.
all's good.
everyone don't panic, i'm alive and well.
cheers,
feli "very happy" wong.
