We bus-hopped from Songpan to Zoige 若尔盖 and then to Langmusi 朗木寺 today. We're deep into Tibetan territory now and they are the friendliest, most genuine people I've ever met. I love this part of China, the food is excellent (Yak and Lamb), the people are warm and the scenery is nothing short of awesome.
Temperatures has been hovering below 0 and -1 celsius, it's been snowing quite a lot and I swear it was at least -5 or -6 this morning when we got out of bed to catch the bus. Nevertheless I've been rugged up with my new long johns and long sleeve 'Granny' undershirt as well as the usual 3 layers on top with the duck down parker jacket on the outside so I haven't felt so cold, only my toes freeze up when I'm walking around.
We were stuck in Zoige for a few hours between buses from about 11:30am till 2:30pm so we sat inside a noodle shop huddled around a wood fired stove to warm ourselves up drinking hot tea. Lunch was Yak offal in soup with steamed bread and buns - supposedly a delicacy in this region but the smell was enough to test even my usually voracious appetite. Still we needed the energy to keep warm so all of us ate up. We also went for a walk around town because it was majority Tibetan - they would stare at us, smile, stick their tongues out (which is a sign of respect) some even came up to us and shook our hands - everybody was really happy to see foreigners (even I'm totally foreign in these parts) as we walked around Zoige.
Reached Langmusi at about 4:30pm and it's a really beautiful town - by this time the snow was falling heavily enough to collect on my backpack and on my shoulders and head. The roads were muddy as well but Phil managed to find a clean, warm hostel run by some really nice Muslims. There was central heating, electric blankets, soft beds and extremely clean shared toilet/shower facilities - all for 20rmb per person! Given that dusk is only at 7:30pm we had enough time to wander around a large Tibetan monastery - a beautiful place when the temple rooftops and eaves are covered in pure white snow and it offered a nice view of Langmusi town below us all the while we were walking we could smell the sweet incense that the monks burnt as well. It was a really good experience.
Temperatures has been hovering below 0 and -1 celsius, it's been snowing quite a lot and I swear it was at least -5 or -6 this morning when we got out of bed to catch the bus. Nevertheless I've been rugged up with my new long johns and long sleeve 'Granny' undershirt as well as the usual 3 layers on top with the duck down parker jacket on the outside so I haven't felt so cold, only my toes freeze up when I'm walking around.
We were stuck in Zoige for a few hours between buses from about 11:30am till 2:30pm so we sat inside a noodle shop huddled around a wood fired stove to warm ourselves up drinking hot tea. Lunch was Yak offal in soup with steamed bread and buns - supposedly a delicacy in this region but the smell was enough to test even my usually voracious appetite. Still we needed the energy to keep warm so all of us ate up. We also went for a walk around town because it was majority Tibetan - they would stare at us, smile, stick their tongues out (which is a sign of respect) some even came up to us and shook our hands - everybody was really happy to see foreigners (even I'm totally foreign in these parts) as we walked around Zoige.
Reached Langmusi at about 4:30pm and it's a really beautiful town - by this time the snow was falling heavily enough to collect on my backpack and on my shoulders and head. The roads were muddy as well but Phil managed to find a clean, warm hostel run by some really nice Muslims. There was central heating, electric blankets, soft beds and extremely clean shared toilet/shower facilities - all for 20rmb per person! Given that dusk is only at 7:30pm we had enough time to wander around a large Tibetan monastery - a beautiful place when the temple rooftops and eaves are covered in pure white snow and it offered a nice view of Langmusi town below us all the while we were walking we could smell the sweet incense that the monks burnt as well. It was a really good experience.
I also saw a lot of Yaks today which made me hungry for Yak meat so we splashed out on a huge 6 course meal including fried lamb ribs, stir-fried Yak meat and beef with potatoes as well as some vegetable dishes - it's the best meal I've had in a while and the family restaurant owners were most hospitable giving us fruit tea to drink. Their 7 year old son couldn't stop bugging me to show him how my digital camera worked and playing with him in the snow while we were waiting for our food. He's a lot more used to the mountain air than I am so I was huffing and puffing after only 10 mins while he's bouncing around with endless energy.
I'm in extremely high spirits now after seeing all of this Tibetan culture still alive and strong - I've been eating well, keeping warm and there isn't much hint of altitude sickness even though we're at about 3200m above sea level.
2 comments:
wow, great description.. didn't read travel description on tebatan before... now feeling interest to visit there some time.
"He's a lot more used to the mountain air than I am so I was huffing and puffing after only 10 mins while he's bouncing around with endless energy."
no excuses man, you are a lazy bum and u did soft eng.
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