Khampa man in Daocheng enjoying conversation and tea with the owner's daughter. As of right now, I have 8 full days left for my travels around Kham, before I must return to Chengdu and close up shop there. Additionally, I am having difficulty deciding where to go for these last 8 awesome days and how to get there when I decide! I know I do not want to spend much more time on a bus, simply because the bus rides between town are long and -- believe it or not-- exhausting. Even only 3-6 hours' worth of traveling feels like a full day. It is impossible for me to relax and let my head loll while spittle hangs from my open mouth like some locals can do! Nothing wakes them unless we hit a sink hole, screech to a halt, or nearly fly off a cliff. For me, there's so much to see on the drive; it becomes an incredible journey where my attention level is on full-alert. To the incredible scenery, add the stops and van-switches at in-between towns, where communication misunderstandings and all-out failures prevail due to the mix of three languages in one conversation. And lastly, let's not forget the bumpy, exciting rides over incomplete or destroyed roads, boulder-strewn diversions due to recent mini- or grand-avalanches caused by rainfall, off-road detours when there is no road (avalanche again), passing on curves, near-misses with other vehicles, and my side of the bus sometimes being withing spitting distance of a cliff (No, no guardrail. Don't be ridiculous!), the constant up-and-down over mountains combined with curves of gorge roads, and elevation changes of 500-2000m -- all during one trip! My explanation that road trips through Eastern Tibet are exhausting is not a complaint, it is a fact! My food intake has been irregular as well: I am either skipping meals or eating a massive meal (what feels like a large meal to me, and yet my hosts keep encouraging me to eat more). Therefore, at the end of one of these cross-province trips, I am famished! Yet I still must hike to my hotel, check in, and then find a place to eat! But that's part of the fun of this adventure! The 6th or 7th Dalai Lama's House (I must check my facts, apologies) in the old town portion of Lithang, still majority Khampa and not turned into a Chinese town... yet. For more photos and narrative, click "Read More"!
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