Yak Country

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Driving out of Lijiang was kinda sad. We've had a wicked time so far in China and our time at the A Liang (free press, those guys are awesome) guesthouse had been particularly good. It was also the end of our independent travel for a while, as once in Zhongdian we are to meet up with three others and share a jeep for the 8 day drive overland into Lhasa, the Tibetan capital.

We drove the same road that leads to Tiger Leaping Gorge and so the scenery was beautiful - pine forests, the rumbling river, mountains everywhere and blue, blue sky. I fell asleep for only 20 minutes and all this changed. When I awoke we had driven up onto a vast plain, dry and desolate it was populated by yaks as far as the eye could see and colourful prayer flags fluttering in the breeze. Traditional Tibetan houses stood lonley on the plain, with beautifully painted doorways and yak products on display.

Zhongdian (3300m) itself is a completely different world and totally feels like the frontier to Tibet. As we drove into town we saw pigs crossing at pedestrian crossings and yaks wandering the streets while their friends remains (skulls, ribs cages and all) hung in shop windows. The temperature had dropped significantly our jackets were needed straight away. On the way to find a hostel we saw one dog jump another, tearing at his throat. Round the corner, men sat huddled round a fire on the pavement.

Our first proper meal was stir fried yak and it was pretty good. A bit chewier and definitely stronger in flavour than beef, but something we can learn to love. We also tried some kick ass Tibetan sausage, mmmmm. Walking into the old town as the sun went down we turned into a square full of people. Locals, Chinese tourists and people in Tibetan costume all danced in unison around a bonfire. It was totally surreal, and very magical.

Today we headed out to a monastery on the hill overlooking town. Over 400 monks live in the complex and so the temples are surrounded by earthen huts built into the hillside. The complex looks across the city and is surrounded by snow capped mountains. As we stood on the roof taking in the view ravens circled above. We were lucky enough to be present at prayer time and so wandered the main temple as the monks in their burgundy robes chanted and played drums. The temple was dark and thick with incense, very atmospheric.

In other news we managed to get visa extensions today and so now have until June15th!! Pity we can't spend more of this in China Proper, but at least it will give us time to check out Tibet and make our way to Nepal.

Now we are just getting ourselves organised for the trip to Lhasa. We depart early Friday morning along with three others, two of whom are Kiwis as well! It'll be eight days of stunning scenery, freezing cold nights, basic accomodation and really sore asses - can't wait!

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Comments

[Amy]

yakety yak
howdy kel and white tiger! i am very jealous of your travels. beautifully written by the way. when are you coming hoooooome?