Written on April 3, 2017 in
China
Our day started early with a nice heavy breakfast. There was curd. Please wait as my inner Tam-bram does a happy dance. Today’s agenda? The Everest base camp. Now anyone who knows me well would know that I’m petrified of heights. 17000 feet above sea level isn’t exactly in my comfort zone. In fact I...
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Written on April 3, 2017 in
China
Our next stop was Shigatse, the second largest city in Tibet. As we drove on, the landscape suddenly switched from green forest slopes to a barren desert like terrain. For a majority of the trip, we drove alongside this magnificent lake. A spectrum of the brightest blues merged together to create a sight one would...
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Written on April 3, 2017 in
China
Today, we explored old town Lhasa and my was it wonderful! The old city could aptly be dubbed the Wild wild west of the East. Men in cowboy hats gathered around, women selling beaded necklaces on the pavement and children frolicking in the cab of a horse cart. The experience was surreal and I felt...
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Written on April 3, 2017 in
China
Our morning started with rain. I’d like to think that the place was mourning our departure. I was pretty excited about the breakfast buffet. It had been a while since we’d had a filling morning meal. Chinese breakfast buffets are quite different from the ones we’re used to. It mainly consists of rice soup, six...
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Written on April 3, 2017 in
China
At around 7am we made our way towards Linzhi, the fifth largest city in Tibet. A few more passes came our way and the entire drive was along a river- a magnificent sparkling Jade color that was simply mesmerising. The landscape changed from lush green vegetation to barren mountains with only rocks to be seen...
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Written on April 3, 2017 in
China
Today we were supposed to make it to Pomi but we only managed to make it to Raou, a small highway town with just one main road. The distance wasn’t much but winding mountain roads slowed us down. By the time lunch rolled around, we had only covered 100km, despite setting out at 5 am....
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Written on April 3, 2017 in
China
The drive from Shangri-la to Markam was as beautiful as it was long. We passed through green forest, bare mountains and snow capped peaks all in one day. Of course, the changes in topography were accompanied by a constant fluctuation in temperature. By the time we reached Markam, temperature wise, we had come full circle...
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Written on April 3, 2017 in
China
We decided to spend an extra day in Shangri La in order to make some car repairs. Turns out, one of the tires of our car had been punctured! After a whole lot of continuous driving, we were finally getting a day out. Since our guide, Deji was needed back at the garage, we were...
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Written on April 3, 2017 in
China
Shangri-la calling! But first, there was a little bit of Dali that was yet to be experienced. We drove up to a beautiful lake. There was a walkway around it lined with street vendors selling everything from fried fish to dried fruits. After a quick photo session and sampling of the local dried fruit and...
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Written on April 3, 2017 in
China
The agenda for the day was to drive up to Dali, around 400km from Ruili. The Chinese highway system is extremely impressive! They’ve thought of everything from frequent rest stops to escape routes(in case of break failure) and some sort of construction on hill slopes to prevent landslides. And the road quality? Like butter. I’ve...
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