Leaving Zhangmu we headed out on the friendship highway, our goal: Everest base-camp.
The friendship highway is a rude introduction to Tibet. As you climb from the Nepalese foothills along precarious roads that cling stubbornly to the edge of high-sided, steep valleys the grubby and unwelcoming border towns make a stark contrast to the dramatic, beautiful and rapidly changing mountains. It took us six days to get from Kathmandu (at about 1200m) to Everest base camp (5200m) and the speed of the ascent from leech-infested rain-forest (of which I had first hand experience) to the barren moonscape of the high Himalaya literally leaves your head swimming. The rapid reduction in oxygen levels make even the simple task of putting up a tent a major undertaking as we found out on our first rough camp in Tibet. The scenery as well as the lack of oxygen takes your breath away, however and leaves you in no doubt that this is a journey through one of natures masterpieces.
I fell in love with the Himalayas last time I was there, and while Tibet does not have the 'up-close-and-personal' drama of the Nepalese mountains, it is every bit as spectacular in its own way. This land is about wide open spaces and distant mountain scenes, barren high passes and lonely, far-away figures. There is rural landscape here too and it comes as more than a small surprise to see impossibly picturesque villages surrounded by fields containing the bright greens of unripe wheat and barley and yellows of mustard flower. Parts of this landscape could almost have been created in homage to a Don McLean song. It is astonishing and wholly unexpected.
It is so that you approach the rear guard of the high Himalaya. The final stop on the road to the roof of the world is Dingry, another scab on the mostly clear complexion of Tibet. Situated within view of Everest, this is a one-horse town that provides the last bastion of civilisation on the road to base-camp. Tumbleweeds welcome, oh and we met the horse.
Despite appearances here we stayed in a quaint and relatively comfortable hotel which among other things introduced us all to the novel experience of communal crapping. The loo quality, shall we say, was on an inversely proportional trend to the landscape. It is at Dingry that you pick up the 4WD's that carry you on your penultimate stretch to base-camp and the following day that was our intention.
The friendship highway is a rude introduction to Tibet. As you climb from the Nepalese foothills along precarious roads that cling stubbornly to the edge of high-sided, steep valleys the grubby and unwelcoming border towns make a stark contrast to the dramatic, beautiful and rapidly changing mountains. It took us six days to get from Kathmandu (at about 1200m) to Everest base camp (5200m) and the speed of the ascent from leech-infested rain-forest (of which I had first hand experience) to the barren moonscape of the high Himalaya literally leaves your head swimming. The rapid reduction in oxygen levels make even the simple task of putting up a tent a major undertaking as we found out on our first rough camp in Tibet. The scenery as well as the lack of oxygen takes your breath away, however and leaves you in no doubt that this is a journey through one of natures masterpieces.
I fell in love with the Himalayas last time I was there, and while Tibet does not have the 'up-close-and-personal' drama of the Nepalese mountains, it is every bit as spectacular in its own way. This land is about wide open spaces and distant mountain scenes, barren high passes and lonely, far-away figures. There is rural landscape here too and it comes as more than a small surprise to see impossibly picturesque villages surrounded by fields containing the bright greens of unripe wheat and barley and yellows of mustard flower. Parts of this landscape could almost have been created in homage to a Don McLean song. It is astonishing and wholly unexpected.
It is so that you approach the rear guard of the high Himalaya. The final stop on the road to the roof of the world is Dingry, another scab on the mostly clear complexion of Tibet. Situated within view of Everest, this is a one-horse town that provides the last bastion of civilisation on the road to base-camp. Tumbleweeds welcome, oh and we met the horse.
Despite appearances here we stayed in a quaint and relatively comfortable hotel which among other things introduced us all to the novel experience of communal crapping. The loo quality, shall we say, was on an inversely proportional trend to the landscape. It is at Dingry that you pick up the 4WD's that carry you on your penultimate stretch to base-camp and the following day that was our intention.
posted by Al at 1:39 am
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