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Published: December 15th 2012
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We did a trek. It was amazing. It took us to the very remote region of Laya, right up on the Tibetan border. 12 days involving lots of uphill, lots of downhill, lots of yaks, lots of snowy mountains, and not very many toilet facilities. We went with 3 other expats our age, plus the usual Bhutanese staff for a mountain trek. We didn't find the yeti, but we think we might have heard her one evening (although that could have been a horse).
Highlight: Being totally in the middle of nowhere: 5 days walk from the nearest road at one point.
Lowlight: Being a long way from a meal which did not involve rice and chilli.
Highlight: Being somewhere so remote that signs of snow leopards were seen
Lowlight: The sign of the snow leopard being one of the porterage yaks losing large amounts of blood.
Highlight: Crisp, cold mountain air
Lowlight: Discovering that frost can freeze a sleeping bag on the inside of a tent, and that you can't drink from frozen waterbottles.
Highlight: Discovering that fleece trousers, fleece jumper, woolly hat, sleeping bag liner, 2 sleeping bags each and a fleece
Campsite at Jomolhari Base camp
ABL and Mel sleep in the orange tent. blanket make sleeping just about possible.
Lowlight: Discovering that our yak man chose to sleep face down, outside, in minus 10 Celsius, with just a Goh (i.e. his traditional clothes) and a belly full of whiskey to keep him warm.
Highlight: Discovering that our yak herder was alive, following a night sleeping face down, outside.
Lowlight: The yaks trampling our own bottle of whiskey into a thousand pieces.
Highlight: Discovering the other bottle was still okay.
Lowlight: "Ooooo rice! Again! what a treat!"
Highlight: Mel helping a Laya woman carry all her farm tools, and subsequently getting an evening in a traditional Layap home.
Curiosity: Realising the Laya woman's family had made loads of money from Cordyceps, but had only ever bought bags of rice and blankets with money. Thus with their new found wealth they had purchased over 700kg of rice ("enough for 3 years")
Highlight: Our chef/guide showing off that he could cook a Victoria Sponge birthday cake in a saucepan on an open fire (for our two friends who celebrated birthdays on the trek).
Lowlight: Washing our armpits with a rock-solid frozen flannel #
Highlight: Washing our
ABL with Jichu Drake
Jichu Drake (at approx 6900m) is quite tall. armpits in the hot springs of Gasa
Lowlight: Getting bitten by fleas from puppies in the remote village of Laya
Highlight: Coming home with three mountain puppies from the remote village of Laya
Lowlight: Coaxing one of our group over the 5000m pass, where the altitude had got him singing sea-shanties, and trying to cha-cha-cha his way over.
Highlight: One day seeing all the snow-capped himalayas from 5000m, and the next seeing himalayan valleys swathed in autumn colour.
Lowlight: "Oooo red rice AND WITH SOME CHILLIS! AGAIN! YUM YUM YUM!"
Highlight: 186km walked, 7000m total altitude gain (including ups and downs)
Lowlight: Our bus breaking down half way up to the 3000m Dochu-La pass, at night fall, on the way home from Gasa.
Highlight: Whilst the driver shouted down the phone to his office, and our guide shouted at the driver, A and M quietly got busy with a spanner, and after 20 minutes under the bonnet we got the bus going again!
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Glenna
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Wow!!
Amazing pics again guys and what an adventure. xxx