You Buy Oxygen No?

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In my usual last minute style, I found myself on a bus heading towards Songpan. I met the only other backpacker on the bus and decided to head down together to Huanglong National Park--another of China's jewels that I am so glad to have seen with my own eyes. Unbelievable colored limestone ponds of blue but in strange and large honey comb pool like formations. Ohh did i feel like jumping in. It was fantasy world again, just so prestine, so incredibly beautiful. It must have been amazing to live here as a tibetan many moons ago.

On the way to this nature reserve, King, my new travel buddy & I decided to hire a ride from one of the locals. It was the only way to get there since we missed the local bus. Our driver had amazing features. They were so distinct, different to what I have seen of Han Chinese and the Tibetans... tall, tanned, high cheekbones and thin pointy nose. He is part of a minority group in China with ancestry leading way back into the Middle East. I am finding China's ethnic diversity more and more fascinating.

Midway through the journey from Songpan to Huanglong National Park, our driver turns around and asks, "You buy Oxygen no?". I was a bit surprised at the question. I had no idea we were going to be driving high up into the mountains reaching an altittude of 4000m above sea level - a first for me.

It was a bad idea for him to ask, as from that point on I was way conscious of my breathing even though we hadn't even reached 2000m!! Well, thankfully I had no headaches or difficulty in breathing. A good sign for when I head to Tibet.

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Photos

Temple
what a beautiful place for one

A Hard Life
In the National Park I saw men and women, young and old, carry large planks of wood on their back. They are workers in the park building footpaths, and since there are no roads in the reserve, all the transportation of wood is done by people. The locals work hard, real hard.

Fish in Chilly Hotpot- These were Goooood
my dinner