Xiahe, Langmusi, Zoige

Helloooo peeeeps!

.. hope you are all well and good to see that you are enjoying the pictures.

So I am in a Tibetan town called Xiahe (Shee-a-ha) on the 28,29,30 and 31st July in the Gansu province at an altitude of 3kilometers above sea level. It's my favourite place so far, bueatiful lpace, friendly Tibetan people, nice hostel.

Though it breaks my heart to leave this place, I take the 7:40 bus onm 1st August from Xiahe to Langmusi which is also in the Gansu province and I get there 4 hours later. I go hiking the same day I get there and there are some amazing views of the mountains £¨see the photos£¡£© On top of the mountian£¬ i realise i am not invincible and start to suffer for altitude sickness again£¡bit like getting the flu¡£Though similar to Xiahe, this place doesn't quite have the same character and I decide to leave the next day¡£ There are no buses so I pack my bag and hit the road walking¡£ After 20 minutes of trying to hitch a ride for the first time in my life with all the cars bombing past me, one tibetan bloke stops and we hit the road for Zoige¡£The drive to Zoige is amazing£¬ grasslands as far as the eye can see with Tibetan nomads dotted around¡£ This whole region was previously Tibet¡£

I tip the guy 20Yuan and get of just before Zoige and try to hitch a ride to Chengdu. Its about 3pm and none of the cars stop! so I walk into Zoige and stay for the night to take a bus the next day. Being the only foreigner in this place was weird - lots of stares and much much more HELLO!'s from everyone.

While trying to find a hostel, I meet a Jo, a lovely tibetan girl who helps me find a hotel and recommends somewhere to eat. Jo, her brother and cousin and two other friends take me to some Tibetan outdoor dancing in evening and after we go to a teahouse for a nice show of live music and folk dancing. One of the best nights I have had so far!

So its the 3rd August (3 months since I left London!) and I take the 06:10 (125Yuan) bus from Zoige to Chengdu which is a gruelling 12 hour jounrey through some of the worst roads i have ever seen. OK the scenery is amazing though.. People are bouncing in the bus like tennisballs, and our driver does some mad overtaking manouvers on roads that are literally on the edge of the cliff. I start to think about that travel insurance that I did not buy!!£Ä£Ï£È£¡
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So I get to Chengdu at 6pm on the 3rd August. Its a nice place, population 4million, known as a cool city. I check in to the lovely Loft Hostel and decide to stay here for 5 days at least! :)

More about Chengdu later my friends.

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