Kanas: a needed antidote to urban jungle
Trip Start
Oct 05, 2004
1
63
80
Trip End
Jun 30, 2005
Kanas,
China
Friday, May 6, 2005
There are shuttle buses to take people to the top of the mountain for the famous picture postcard views of the lake although this does not preclude the need for a few hundred steps to be negotiated to get to the top
01. Altay Mts Plateau
. At this altitude that is not to be taken lightly. There's also plenty of snow to throw at people if you get to the top first - not that I would ever be so juvenile... I kind of wish I had though because here my ideas of travel and life and that of some of my Chinese companions went in wildly opposite directions:We're standing on a ridge at 2000m with wooded slopes on one side down to the frozen lake and the river wending away at the lake's south end. Turning 180 degress you can admire the sweep of a grassy plain rising into more forest and sugar coated peaks towering above. The sky is blue, and except for the travellers' voices there is total silence. And yet, people are not happy! Apparently it isn't as beautiful as in the photographs - well no kidding; the trees in the photographs are orange because it's autumn and not early May! You have to laugh and wonder at these people. Deep down it actually makes me angry, although not enough to detract from my own personal enjoyment. Why should I care if they want to be so stupid? I'm puzzled though becuase to me there is something really badly wrong with their attitude. Maybe it's gullibility, naivete, marketing, ignorance, self-indulgence, or my own best guess, consumer greed. Somehow up here amidst these magnificent surroundings it's all the more ugly. Suffice to say, that chastened by their experience my travel companions retired to camp to lounge around
02. Below Kanas Lake
. Others went horse riding but I, however, was full of the adrenalin of excitement and had mountains to climb.The climb started off easily enough, passing the grazing horses and trying to pick the route up. However, it was as ever a misleading entry. These slopes were steep, very steep, and covered primarily in grass but mixed with scree and boulders. It was impossible to go straight up and soon I was zigzagging like a drunk. It also meant that everytime you thought you'd got to the top, there was another slope laid before you, usually steeper than the last. It was hard work, but every rest was rewarded with a view to feast upon. It was exhilirating stuff, and climbing alone in silence, my lungs are burning, head and heart pounding, and legs complaining. I know I'm getting tired and that a mistake could mean big trouble, but it doesn't matter; you're doing what you want to do, and you trust your brain and trust your body while the elements around you inspire you. Stood atop a rock on the upper slopes you are not alone, for the solitude itself is a worthy companion and you are surrounded by total silence whilst the sun and the wind watch over you. Being alone is not to be afraid of if you can respect what it means.
Maybe it's a truism, but somehow big natural spaces seem to set the mind free
03. Kanas Lake going up
. Maybe it is simply the change that does this, but more likely there is a release key - maybe pressure, maybe perception, maybe physical confinement. Now what is the implication if the sensations up here are a reminder that living in large urban populations is not good for you, individuals or the human race??For all my exhilaration about my freedom and progress this is seriously hard work and going down is going to be tougher. I plunge through one last snow drift at the top and stop to take pictures. I have a new companion up here now. A huge shadow was the first I knew of it and I couldn't understand what was happening. And then, I look up and my eye is drawn to the majesticly soaring eagle going over me and down the valley. I hope he's looking after me and not waiting to pick over the scraps after I tumble!
I make it successfully to the bottom and am delighted to have hot food and drink thrust at me. This will be a long evening of eating and drinking by candlelight in our smoky, cosy bunkhouse. I can even stomach the normally revolting spirit, Bai Jyo. At about midnight we wander outside and are met by a stunning sight, the like of which I've never seen. Up here, in the wilderness, there is no air pollution, no light pollution and tonight there are no clouds
04. Kanas the 360 view
. For the first time in my life I can see stars from horizon to horizon. The universe really is all around us. I know the science, but I don't think I'd ever quite understood what it meant to be on a planet which is just a tiny pin prick in something so very very vast. That view took the breath away and was a fitting conclusion to a stunning trip.I'm so happy at the moment.
All that remained was another epic bus journey, a few prayers to be offered for safe passage and a fantastic stop over in a place I still don't know the name of for games of street pool, relaxing by the river, and a night market selling smoked fish and more kebabs.
This has been a fantastic trip. It's re-energised me and made me want to travel China more, and it's also given me a new friend. What more could I ask?
