STANDING ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD (WELL, ALMOST!)
While I was in
We set off on the Sunday in our (apparently fake according to Taqil) 4WD. The weather was glorious and we were full of high spirits. Our driver was Baasa, a Tibetan who spoke just a few words of English but with whom we had no problems communicating. He was a very jolly chap and spent much of the time singing along to a cassette of traditional Tibean music which, on first hearing, sounding like a cat being strangled but after listenting to it a couple of times times actually got better and suited the landscape around us very well. The music was haunting and the scenery mostly vast and barren high altitude desert surrounded by mountains, punctuated by the odd Tibetan village. The road was not tarred and at times became just a dirt track so things were a bit bumpy but we were so in awe of the landcape that we didn't really notice. Having left
The first night we stayed at Shigatse, the second largest city in
Day two got a bit colder as we were travelling at quite high altitudes and that night we did find the thermals had to come out. I looked very sexy in my man's (purchased in a hurry) long johns - not! After dinner we all played cards and drank copious cups of coffee in our room to keep warm. Paul had had the foresight to bring a hot water bottle which I did at one point consider stealing but I soon warmed up after giving myself an electric shock trying to charge my iPod. I had thought the socket looked a bit odd but only realised there was a bit missing when I put the plug in and touched a metal thing and then promply shot about a foot backwards with a very weird feeling in my body. Sadly I didn't require the kiss of life - perhaps I should have faked a bit!
No shower for me the next morning as frankly I couldn't bear the thought of taking my clothes off and anyway, I wasn't sure how much electricity was still pumping through my body! Pedro braved it although I think he regretted it afterwards - it was freezing cold!
That day was the most magical of the trip. As we climbed higher and higher up hairpin bends and saw the valleys and villages drop away from sight, we rounded a pass and Baasa shouted, "Quomolongma". Straight in front of us was a mountain range and, set majestically in the middle, was
By the time we got back to the guesthouse the sun was setting and it was so cold we felt like we were inside a deep-freeze. Every layer of clothes was on, extra socks, gloves, hats - the works, but still we didn't feel warm. The guidebook warns not to stay in any room that has broken windows but that was pretty pointess advice as they were all cracked or broken to some degree. Our room was tiny, spartan, freezing and had no electricity. We retired to the kitchen area and ate some noodles by the fire although none of us had much of an appetite and we didn't even have the energy to play cards. Bed was early that night but it was to be a long one. None of us slept because of the altitude and the cold (all were in our sleeping bags fully dressed) - turning over in bed became such a chore because after you had moved you were fighting for breath for a few minutes. Going to the loo was unthinkable, partly because it was so grim and partly because of the energy one had to expend, and the temperature. I'm sure I was not the only one trying to pretend I wasn't bursting and to hang in until the morning.
Michael Palin, one of my favourite travel writers, stayed in the very same guesthouse on his recent travels across the
"Last night was desperately uncomfortable. A fierce wind blew, occasionally gusting with such ferocity that I feared it might tear the windows out. As soon as I drifted off to sleep my breathing slowed and within moments I was wide awake, gasping for breath. I need the sleep so much, but I find myself fighting it, forcing myself to stay awake and breathe slow and deep.
The latrine is almost subhuman. It's hard enough to aim through a hole reduced to a slit by the calcified accretions of many previous visitors, without at the same time having to flash a torch to warn other guests and extract thin sheets of Boots travel tissue in a freezing force 8 gale. Many years ago, encountering similarly appalling conditions in a boat on
So, I have shared the same loo as Michael Palin!!
We were all feeling a little groggy the next morning and desperate to get going because at 9.30 am it was minus 5 degrees. Alas, the jeep wouldn't start so we all got behind it and pushed while another jeep tried to jump start it (or whatever the technical name is for when you attach cables from one vehicle to another in order to get it going). Pushing it a few yards was absolutely knackering and I barely had the energy to clamber up into it afterwards. Warming up that morning took ages and our feet were like blocks of ice and painful for about an hour until the heat of the sun kicked in.
The journey from Rhongbuk to Tingri involved long detours across very rocky ground and there were patches of ice every so often. While climbing up one slight hill the ice was too slippery and we slid back a few metres crashing into a very large boulder. Fifteen minutes later, after throwing grit and stones under the jeep we were able to get going again but the back lights were smashed. Half an hour later we got stuck in a very deep and large icy stream and had to reverse, get out, and throw boulders into it before we could cross.
Eventually we reached Tingri for a late lunch and decided to make a break for the Tibet/Nepal border that night. From Tingri, we were descending fast and soon the landscape was morphing into lush green mountain sides, waterfalls and very narrow, bendy roads with sheer drops alongside - not a great trip for vertigo sufferers but it was quite spectacular. Arriving at Zhongmu, the border town on the Tibetan side, we found buildings clinging to the hillside. The town was long but zigzagged down the mountain in curves, around hairpin bends, looking like it could all fall away at any moment. There was also a monumental traffic jam in which we got stuck for about an hour. Hundreds of trucks were lined up along the winding hillside waiting to cross the border the next day, leaving only one (more like half!) a lane for vehicles trying to get into Zhongmu and those trying to get out. Eventually we reached our hotel which sadly had no showers - a disappointment to us after 4 days of no washing - but it did have a restaurant that served fantastic curry and beer so we indulged a bit that night and celebrated our imminent arrival in Nepal. I felt a little weird as I was leaving
After a great sleep and some chapattis for breakfast we said our goodbyes to Baasa, changed our Yuan for Rupees on the street and took a taxi through no-man's land to the
Our bus was packed to capacity, sometimes with 3 on a seat and there were also loads of people sitting on top of the luggage on the roof. Normally I flake out on bus journeys but for the whole 8 hours it took us to get to Kathamandu I was transixed by everything around me. At every stop people would pass by the windows or get on the bus to sell food. It was an obstacle course trying to get past all the luggage and sacks and people lining the gangway of the bus but they managed it with such ease.
Travelling through countries, I've decided, is a bit like having a love affair. There are the ones you think sound interesting, but after a few dates you realise they are not that appealing (Russia), then there is the classic Mills and Boon relationship where on first meeting you hate them but then the longer you spend with them the more they grow on you (China), and there is love at first sight - the one that smacks you in the face and totally blows you away with its intensity.
