Part One: In China….P00 101 – Licence to drive
China border crossings are notorious for taking a great deal
of time and patience. As we crossed the
Torugart Pass and snaked our way towards the China border, we had a couple of
Kyrgy checkpoints to get through before we leave beloved guide Anton at the
first of the China checkpoints.
It seems almost immediately that the terrain changes as we
snake downhill and towards China border number one. Calypso picks her way through the queue of
other trucks towards the front and this is where we wait for our Chinese guide,
as we can go no further without one.
It is a great relief when our guide turns up and it is Miss
Sophie. Having worked with her before it’s always nice to see familiar faces on
the road, but even better when you know your guide is organised, efficient and
competent!
We begin our race against time and pee stops to the official
border where we all go through immigration.
We are IN CHINA! But our wood
supply is not. Unfortunately all the hard work and effort put in by fire crew
Andy and Bruce is left scattered in a pile on the floor of Kashgar customs
where they have probably had some great barbeques.
On to Kashgar! An exotic mix of Uighur and Han Chinese
people this bustling town is the beginning of night market food heaven. Simon and myself spend our first day sat
waiting around for our china driver’s license and plate number for
Calypso. It’s a long and boring day but
makes those pieces of plastic all the more spectacular when they appear and the
number they have given Calypso makes everyone on the truck giggle.
Part Two: Bush camping China Style
From the hustle and bustle of Kashgar we hit the highway
hard. In China the people are very good
at making roads and the government likes to enforce areas of road where you cannot
stop and areas which you are not allowed to camp in. This makes it very interesting for an overlander
who is being told to stay hydrated but then you can not pee for 200km. It also makes it very awkward when it comes
to finding a bush camp. Sophie is doing
her best, calling on policemen friends she know, but no one wants us camping in
this Xingjian province because of a recent terrorist attacks and someone has to
be responsible for us. We are directed
to a petrol station, one of many that are being built along the highway, this
is where we are to meet the policeman, who we have to “check in” with and get
the ok from to camp. We are shown to the back of a newly built but empty shop
which is where we are to spend the night camping. It’s not ideal but it makes a great shelter
in the sandstorm which we find ourselves trying to cook in the middle of.
We leave our shop camp at the crack of sparrows with flashes
of lightening illuminating the dawn sky as we drive away from the service
station and towards Turpan.
Before we get in to the city we make a visit to Jiaohe ruins,
some of the best-preserved ruins of an ancient city in China.
With its elevation being 30m above sea level the streets of Turpan are
lined with grapevines to cool the scorching heat.
Part Three: Watch out KTV
Dunhuang. A great
jump off point for the gang to see ruins of the Great Wall and take part in the
popular past time in China, which is Karaoke.
They do karaoke like I have never seen before. Huge hotel like spaces are filled with
private rooms and decorated in a glitzy extravagant style. Disco lights drip
from the ceiling, huge sofas wrap around the back of the room and up front and
centre is a massive television set that plays the videos to accompany whichever
song is about to be murdered.
We hit the karaoke bars supermarket first and fill baskets
with beers, vodka, Bacardi breezers and salty snacks. Then as soon as Yvonne and Pernille get to
grips with the Chinese touch screen controls the English songs are queued up
and played at top volume. Best
performance of the night goes to Jo who threw herself in to the most
entertaining rendition of Copacabana ever witnessed. There is video evidence!
Part four: Golmud – Where the gang get their Tibetan Permits
The only reason one would go to Golmud is to get a Tibetan
permit. There is not much else going on
in this town and our hotel is situated next to a busy train station where the
train drivers seem to enjoy tooting their loud horns at three am.
It’s a tense time for the group as we await the phone call
to say whether we have our permits. If
we get the permits, Odyssey Overland will be the first overland travel company
to be issued permits to travel in Tibet since 2010!
As soon as the call comes through to Sophie she lets us all
know by shouting loudly “We have our permits!” We all whoop with joy and celebrate
by going out to eat at the night market.
Leaving Golmud is a relief and now we start our high altitude
climb.
Part five: Ti-bet!
Hayden instigates a new game for the truck, a sweep stakes
on when a bag of crisps will explode under the air pressure gained from high
altitude. There are a few tense moments
when other peoples snack supplies start to pop, but the official bag never
does.
Our drive in Tibet becomes a bit like a game. Whenever we get to a police check point they
give us a distance in kilometres to complete within a time scale. This slows down the drive considerably, but
we don’t mind as we can spend more time stopping and take photos of the
incredible mountain passes.
Bush camping at 4600m brings a new set of challenges, not
only is it difficult to move around at any speed but we also have to creative
with what we can cook and how to cook it.
Luckily for us Sophie was full of inspiration and helped us cook up some
great local Chinese dishes in our kitchen with a view!
Lhasa is our first stop in Tibet. Top of the list of things to see was the
Jokhang Temple, which has apparently been constructed over a lake in which the
King SongtsÃĪn supposedly dropped his ring before the temple, was built.
The other major sight is the Potala Palace. Constructed in
1645 and was the winter residence of the Dalai Lama until 1959. Housing temples and shrines
from various generations and stretching sum 300m into the sky it commands a
view over the city. Time flew quickly as it was spent haggling for bargains at
the market or eating the delicious local food. Some of us even found time to take a trip to the
monasteries on the outskirts of town!
Leaving Lhasa behind with heavy hearts we made the short trip
to Shigatse which was yet another stop for yet more permits, this time in the
hope of catching a glimpse of Mt Everest!
After spending two nights we were ready to hit the road and
start climbing yet again. With a stop
off to collect tickets for the national park we soon found ourselves making
camp merely a few hundred meters from the park gates with barely a snowy peak
in sight.
Five a.m. and breaking camp is normal to those mountaineers climbing
Everest but for some of us it was an unwelcome start to the day. After an hour of bouncing our way over the pass
in the inky blue skies of dawn started to clear. As we descended the other side and turned one
of the countless switchbacks we were greeted by our first view of the mountain
and our spirits began to rise. The drive started to pass quickly even with all
the stops for photos at every new glimpse of the mountain. As soon as we arrived at the ticket
checkpoint we were blessed with a full view of the mountain under a bright
blue, cloudless sky.
Arriving at base camp we took the time to enjoy a pot noodle
lunch before the group divided into two groups; those that would hike the 2
kilometres up to the official base camp site and those who would catch the bus.
The hike was worth the struggle at such high altitude as the mountain gods
blessed us with the best day's weather of the season.
Eventually we made our way back down to rest in the
tent-like yurts made warm and cosy with Yak poo burning stoves.
Two days of driving through mountain scenery placed us a
short drive away from the border town of Zhangmou and more importantly the
major mile stone of our last bush camp. We arrived in camp early so we could
make the most of the beautiful surroundings and smells as wild mint filled the
air with each step. This milestone could not pass with out celebration and Phil's
contribution of sake, the local Chinese spirit, ensured the party got started!
Yvonne turned quizmaster and tested our knowledge on all
things from movie theme tunes to geography.
The winning cook group partied until late in the night, a great way end
to our nights under canvas.
Making our way towards the border we found ourselves on the
most spectacular road. The drop in altitude meant the dry arid landscape gave
way to lush green jungle where waterfalls cascaded over the road.
Entering Zhangmou wasn’t a straight forward affair in
Calypso mainly due to the town clinging to the hill side and the roads aren’t
wide enough for two lanes of traffic plus pedestrians. When we eventually make it through the chaos to
our hotel the gang prepare for another China border crossing, as we head for Nepal…
