Located in the remote mountain plains of Western Sichuan, these towns are not served by airplane or train. So we’ve been hopping from minibus to minibus for the past week, cruising along the southern stretch of the Sichuan-Tibetan highway.
I know that spending 6 hours a day in a cramped minibus driving down treacherous, poorly maintained Chinese roads in the middle of nowhere sounds like an uncomfortable way to travel. And some of the bathrooms I have had to use along the way have been horrific. But the spectacular mountain scenery and mountain towns we have visited have been very rewarding.
So far, our journey has taken us from Chengdu to Kangding to Danba to Xingduqiao to Litang. It’s my first time journeying this far off the beaten path.
In Kangding, I tried yak butter tea for the first (and last) time. In Danba, our 6-year-old tour guide led us to the top of a holy mountain. And just outside Xingduqiao, we got hustled out of 10 yuan by a young Tibetan girl that insisted we pay her for taking photos of her.
We are currently stationed in Litang, an ethnically Tibetan town, which at approximately 4100m above sea level, has the highest elevation of any town in the world.
I will post more detailed entries and pictures when I get the chance.
No comments:
Post a Comment