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Published: July 24th 2010
Kathmandu to Lake Manasarovar
Day 1- Kathmandu (1300m) to Zhangmu (2250m) via Kodari The alarm kicked us out of bed at 4:45am to meet Suraj, our Nepalese guide/escort to the border. A big world cup match the night before meant the driver of our vehicle never arrived due to a severe hang over. Suraj in guiding mode organised a 3L Nissan to swing round at last miuntes notice. Suraj, a guide for many years and speaking near perfect english gave us a running commentary of every town, village, valley and strange thing we came across. He pointed out jungle honey bees' nests from an alarming distance, and ensured we stoped at every point of interest. Including the Bunji Jump at the last resort that GP, Skunk and I launched ourselves off only a week earlier. (Suraj - Thanks for a great trip to the border, its one we won't forget).
At Kodari (The Nepalese border town) we were stamped out of the country with ease and even had time for our last and final Dhal Bat (a traditional Nepalese Thali of rice and 4 different curries) We also went to the toilet which was to signify a sign
of things to come (they were nearly the worst in the world) The scenery around the border iteslf is amazing, waterfalls and dense forests descend from the steep hills all around. The road zig-zags back and forth as it climbs the never ending valley.
The border is demarcated by the Friendship Bridge, in the middle of this bridge is a line across which stood the most terrifying looking military individuals, blank expressions and white gloves to assess the validity of your passport (another sign of things to come). No photos are allowed anywhere near the border and I wasn't even going to try. Now to get into Tibet from Nepal is a small mission of note. The agency/guide from the Nepal side has to escort you to immigration where they spray your bags with a strange smelling disinfectant. The Guide from the Tibetan side has to then meet you at immigration and the two documents carried by the guides have to match exactly or you are not allowed through.
During the process all our bags were thoroughly searched, scanned, re-searched and re-scanned. All books were inspected for banned content and we had our two Lonely Planet guide books confiscated-
Tibet and China. (I'm not sure why an institution such as the Lonely Planet bothers printing guides that are not even allowed into the country you're planning to visit, but hey!) The immigration building reminded us of an airport and at one point we counted 17 cameras watching us. (The Nepalese side consisted of one man in a shed with a single light bulb swinging above his head and an ink pad that was effectively useless)
Interestingly enough the locals who live in the border region are allowed to pass through without a problem (as long as they posses a little blue book) These villagers have a daily allowance of goods they are allowed to cross with. Businesses take advantage of this and use them as tax free transporters. So there are queues of them literally running backwards and forwards over the border carrying TV's, DVD players and anything else the companies require to complete the orders of goods they need.
Already we began encountering hundreds of Indian Pilgrims heading for their circumnavigation or parikarma of sacred Mt Kailash. They carried with them an energy stating they were about to begin the dream of a lifetime. Traveling with
these pilgrims over the next few days was going to be an experience in itself.
We changed a few hundred dollars with the money changers across the border into small bills, and with our bricks of Yuan located our Toyota 4x4 Landcruiser.
Once through the border we met our temporary guide (Dhondup) and our driver (Kaisan) both really great Tibetan fellows and headed up the pass to Zhangmu. Dhondup thankfully speaking fluent Chinese, Nepali, Hindi and Tibetan to every obstacle we encountered. Kaisan not a word of English but was really good with his facial expressions and sign language.
Zhangmu is a small one street town situated on a never ending series of switch backs ascending the pass with amazing views. Liff and I excited to be in China explored the single street with vigour checking out every shop to see what treasures lay within.
The win was definately vacuum packaged pigs snouts and ears on the sweet shelf, not even in the fridge, with a shelf life of 5 years!! We went into several small 'super markets' and could not identify a single thing on any of the shelves so we just bought a few random things to
experiment - we would not recommend a single one of them.
Chinese time is 2 hours ahead of Nepali time meaning the sun sets around 9:30pm this would take some getting used to over the next few days. In the evening we met Mr Jigme our tour operator in a small cafe to discuss our itinerary for the next 4 weeks. Jigme advised us on oxygen requirements for the trip and it turns out he was a guide for one of the original National Geagraphic expeditions to the Guge Kingdom back in the 60's. Exiting the Cafe we ran into a few English folk (The last tourists we would meet for several days) They had just returned from the far reaches of western Tibet and were happy to share the ups and downs of such an epic overland adventure. (We watched SA beat France 2-1, just thought I would mention that) It was great to chat to travelers who had just completed a successful trip as all those we had met so far were returning to Nelpal early due to altitude sickness, making us a little nervous. Nearly on top of the world we sunk into our beds exhausted.
Altidude
advice received from Jigme: Drink loads of water, no Booze, ascend slowly, loads of salt, butter and sugar are recomended.
Day 2- Zhangmu to Nayalam (3750m) for aclimitisation Waking late from our very comfortable beds we headed across the road to a little Tibetan Cafe. A misunderstanding saw omelets, boiled eggs, pancakes, tibetan bread, toast and coffee delivered to our table in large quantities- A full power breakfast.
We began to realise that english is not a strong point in the area and our sign language skills were going to have to improve dramatically.
Leaving Zhangmu we ascended Nayalam pass (3800m) and followed the Bhotsekoshi river surrounded by waterfalls, forests the occasional prayer flags strung across the road. The 30km trip took just over an hour.
The drive up Nayalm pass is truly one of the natural wonders of the world and beautiful beyond words. Nayalm translates to 'Hells Pass or gateway to hell' and we could see why, if you had to walk up it before the road was built you would think you had gone to hell and back several times.
We encountered our first PSB (Chinese Police) checkpost at the top of the pass,
Dhondup thankfully completing all the formalities.
Once over the pass the landscape changed dramatically, conifers and mist were replaced by high altitude desert and the temperature dropped 10 degress- at least. Finally we began to see the red melting hills and snow capped peaks we had been hoping for. Dhondup checked us into a lodge packed with hundreds of Indian pilgrims and their truck loads of Nepali guides, porters and cooks. The atmosphere was electric and gurus and shwamies (religious teachers) tended to flocks of pilgrims waiting in anticipation. Having just been through India there was no shortage of conversation with the groups who were very interested to know what we were up to. Apart from this their english was understandable. They were all on their way to Mt Kailash to complete a circut of the holy mountain, the abode of Shiva the destroyer. A single circut can erase the sins of a lifetime. One pilgrim proudly showed me the 48 cans of Red Bull he had bought with him under instruction from his shwami - apparently this would help oxygenate his blood at high altitude?
Liff and I decided to take a walk and stock up on a
few supplies (Oxygen, noodles, water, snacks etc) Advisable as from here the trip would get more remote and commodities more expensive. Nayalam itself is a fairly dreary town and seems to be used as an acclimatisation and supply point.
Talking a walk out of town we ran into a shwami returning from Kailash offering us a lift. Nothing out of he ordinary except he had devotees massaging his hands while he walked and spoke to us, love those strange moments where you just have to smile and say - no thank you.
It was here we had our first encounter with a proper woolly Yak - as large as a cow but they looked more like a corgie dog that had never seen a parlour, awesome creatures.
All the Tibetan lodges and houses seem to have a central 'meeting room' where the fire, powered by Yak dung, burns constantly. Green tea is offered free and is bottomless, and so are the cigarettes that are constantly offered in high quantity. A meal is cooked (usually Tsampa and yak) and divided amongst those in the room. Cards, gambling and beer drinking from shot glasses (this is usual) carry on well into
the night.
Smoked out and a little poorer we joined the pilgrims in the dormatory to sleep off the altitude.
Day 3- Nayalam to Saga (4600m) via Tong-La (4950m) and Peiku-Tso Lake Waking to the hustle and bussle of the pilgrims cooks preparing to feed the five thousand, we packed and loaded the jeep.
The days drive of 9 hours would see us only covering 250km. The roads deteriorated badly once off the friendship Highway and major road contruction left us driving in the desert dust. The new highway from Lhasa to Ali in the west of tibet is due for completion at the end of October, so if you're planning a trip to western tibet, wait till then as it will shave a few days of your journey.
Dhondup informed us that our guide was unable to renew his permit for the regions we were planning on visiting. (Even the Tibetan guides have to have a permit for each region they intend to visit!) As a result he will stick with us for the remainder of our journey. (Liff and I quietly pleased)
Leaving Nayalam in our dust we followed the valley, lined with orange
melting hills capped by the dark blue sky caused by the altitude. We ascended Tong-La for 360 degree views of the snow capped himal to the south. From here we caught our first glimpse of Mt Shishapamgma (8012) one of the worlds' 14 peaks over 8000m and the only one planted completely in Tibet.
Soon after we left the Friendship Highway and headed west to Saga. The paved road turned to a powdery dust that looked like water as it sprayed in every direction. Old ruined Monasteries and fortresses seemed to appear out of nowhere camoflaged with the hills and the very rock from which they were constructed.
Breaking shortly for Lunch at Laphu Permadzong we were blessed with clear views of Peiku-tso's turquoise waters. I have never seen water that clear. The next few hours drive along the spine of the Himalaya saw relentless snow capped peaks to the south and huge lifeless salt pans to the north. The only sign of life was the odd wild donkey and Nomad on his motorbike trying to navigate the trecherous roads.
Crossing the Brahmaputra river for the first time we entered Saga.
Saga is a the last major town along
the southern route to Kailash and was our last chance for a big meal. Its also a major military town with a large base across the canal from our guest house. We were prohibited from taking any pictures in the direction of the base and hence most of the town.
We checked into a lovely little Tibetan guest house called 'Bo-Tie the Clan Hotel'- A direct translation from Tibetan I think, where we met a great German couple. (Frank and Steven) Heading to the only restaurant that didn't laugh at us when we walked in (None of them speak english so they would rather not serve you than make a mess of your order) we ordered potatoes and veg. It arrived containing a local spice that makes your mouth go numb much like cloves. It did its job well and by the end of the meal I could not feel my tongue. Frank and Steve give as as many hints and tips as we could write down for the eastern end of our trip - Thank you both they all worked out perfectly.
Feeling slow from the rise in altitude we crashed for the first of a few bad nights
sleep. All four of us carrying some form of headache. Ibuprofen came recommended so we popped a few and that seemed to do the job, for a while anyway.
Day 4- Saga to Paryang (4750m) via Dargyeling Monastery Waking at the crack of dawn from a very broken sleep and to the troops on the training ground chanting scary mantras we had our first Pork dumpling breakfast, they were really good but the dishwater type soup that accompanied them was not so well received.
Before leaving the guest house Steven kindly gave us an English copy of the Lonely Planet-Tibet. The exact one we had confiscated at the border - Steven thank you so much, you're a legend, you gave us our eyes back in so many ways. I can't tell you how many people have tried to nick it off us in the last 3 weeks. We have arranged to leave it with your guide in Lhasa when we leave Tibet.
Back on the road for the 8 hour, 255km, off road trip to Paryang, we made a brief stop at the small but beautifull Dargyeling Monastery. The 1km walk uphill from the road took us
over half an hour. It was really worth it as the single monk in residence showed us around the restored chapels and prayer halls. It was here that we realised the extent of Dhondup's knowledge of Buddhism and the monasteries we were due to visit. What a result. He explained in detail the different orders, leaders, protectors and customs of a faith we knew little about. Unfortunately we learned that if a family wishes to send their eldest son to a monastery (as per tradition) they have to apply for a permit from the chinese government and this is not an easy thing to have approved......hectic. We descended the hill a little faster than the ascent stopping only to watch the Lizards sun themselves amongst the purple flowers that popped right out of the dry dusty earth. Despite our first impressions there is a lot of life up at this altitude.
Soon we had our eye in and we began spotting Hares, Marmots, Pikas, Wild Ass, Cranes, large birds of prey and many other small mammals we were unable to identify.
After the walk our headaches returned reminding us to take it easy -another ibuprofen please. The next few
hours of road was again littered with ruins and the abandoned village of Donba. We stopped for lunch in Old Zhongba where we managed to catch up with the Indian pilgrims, most of them fairing worse than we were from the altitude. The scenery on the next 100km of road was some of the most spectacular we would see on the entire trip. High altitude lakes, sand dunes, steppe, and snow capped peaks all in the same shot. I could not stop staring and could not believe what I was seeing. Kaisan driving, started getting wary at the regular requests for photo stops.
We arrived at Paryang mid afternoon. Paryang is probably the dustiest shit hole we have managed to find on our entire trip. Our first thoughts were of Mad Max. Nomads on Bikes, Prostitutes, Stray dogs that looked at your legs like they were tastier than the yak bone they were chewing on, semi drunk or passed out randoms on the road side, all gave the town a dark and sinister feeling. The only good memeory I have of the town was while sitting on the toilet, an open air squat on the roof of the guest
house, that had a view over the town to the snowcapped peaks in the distance. Around 11:00pm the Indians caught up with us bringing a glimmer of life to Paryang. Avoid this place at all costs - we did on the return journey.
Day 5- Paryang to Lake Manasovar - Chiu Village (4560m) & Kora of the sacred Lake Again waking to the chaos of the pilgrims cooks firing up the stoves in the early hours we packed the jeep to exit asap. I remember opening the door to see dozens of pilgrims squating in the dusty court yard while a Tibetan lady ran around frantically with the equivalent of a pooper-scooper cleaning up after them - nice. I climbed onto the roof just in time to see the sun hitting the snow covered peaks in the distance. A stark contrast to what was going on below me. Leaving early to beat the masses to the next checkpost we bumped into Steve and Frank. We would spend the rest of the day traveling in convoy with them. This area is so remote and help so far away that the drivers travel in convoy when possible to ensure
help is at hand should anything go wrong with the vehicles. After lunch at a nomad camp we climbed Mayum-La pass (5216m) breaking shortly to take in the views.
Soon after we arrived at Gung Gyu-sto lake known in Tibetan as the 'Black lake'. Its the only lake in Tibet that does not glow turquoise and as a result they believe it is poisioned and refuse to let their flocks drink from its waters. We came across a Jeep that had lost its brakes and it was amazing to see every passing jeep stop. Very quickly the bonnet was open and piled with drivers fixing the wounded vehicle giving us a chance to explore the salt lined shores of the lake.
Soon after we reached the final check post of the day and the entry point to Lake Manasarovar. While Dhondup sorted our permits we climbed a prayer flag covered hill to get our first view of the lake and Majestic Mt Kailash in the distance. To the south Mt Gurla Mandata (7728m) towered above the lake.
Formalities complete, we drove the 110km around the lake. Ruined Monasteries, Kailash and the blue waters kept us silent and in awe of
this natural wonder. Lake Manasarovar or Mapham Yum-tso in tibetan (Victorious Lake) is the most sacred of Tibet's many lakes.
Manasarovar has been circumnavigated by pilgrims for over 1700 years and you can feel it. The waters are crystal clear, Bronze geese play in the shores and you cant stop staring at it. What a change from the barren landscape we had just spent 3 days driving through. Liff and I agreed that Chiu village is by far the most beautiful place we have ever been.
Circuit over, we arrived at the picturesque Chiu Village (4560m) with Chiu Monastery towering on the ridge above the town. Guest house sorted, Liff and I wandered the hills and shores of the lake. We found chortens covered in yak skulls and mani stones. The sun setting over the lake with Kailash as a back drop will stick in our memories forever. Temperature dropping rapidly we we found our cozy questhouse and chatted to the villagers for most of the night. Fascinated by Liffy's roll up cigarettes, she turned into a rolling machine keeping everyone entertained for hours.
This gave me a chance to get to know Dhondup and Kaisan and find out
alot more about Tibetan customs, life, the cultural revolution and life on the plateau.
Kaisan interacting with the other drivers discovered that the road and pass to the Guge Kingdom (a must on our list of things to see) was going to be closed for a week for repairs. A last minute decision before bed saw a change. Tomorrow we head to Darchen to get the Guge permits and head off there as fast as possible. Smoked out we crashed to the sound of the Indian pilgrims arriving. Smiling, we are glad we are traveling small and fast.
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Clare
non-member comment
WOW!!! Guys this is seriously awesome!!! It looks absolutely incredible! The lakes and dunes are just fantastic and I'm ridiculously jealous! Good writing too...nicely done! I have ALOT more of your blogs to read (mass update I'm guessing) and I'm gunna save them in read them when I reach Nepal - they better make good reads, I have high hopes :) Lots of love and keep enjoying your crazy travels...SE Asia now..?