Litang - The highest town in the world!... (December 2-3)

We woke up at 5am and caught a cab to the bus station with our new posse. We sat in an absolutely frigid and dilapidated bus for 8 hours, driving over very high, unpaved and curvy cliffside roads. Throughout the course of the ride, we climbed over 1500 meters! We started from about 2500 meters above sea level in Khanding and ended up at a grand total of 4016 meters above sea level by the time we were in Litang, with passes at even higher altitudes along the way.


Road to Litang

Despite being about as uncomfortable as any time either of us could ever imagine, we saw some of the most beautiful scenery! High jagged snow capped peaks, rolling mountains covered with light drab bushes and yaks. This was our first true peek into the lives of everyday Tibetans. Their houses were humongous affairs which we could only imagine many families would live in. Despite the relative simplicity of their lives, every house was ordained with complex architectural portions and brightly coloured window frames. Other Tibetans were actually nomadic yak herders living in large black tents or yurts.

Our final destination was a town called Litang, an entirely Tibetan town very close to the Tibetan border. At 4016 meters asl, Mark felt fine for about 4 hours until the altitude began to catch up with him.

Starting to feel sick but not wanting to miss out on the fun, they all went to a little Tibetan disco. This was probably one of the most interesting experiences of either of our lives. About 30 Tibetans of ages between 15 and 20 crowded into a tiny little room drinking Coke and beer and dancing to techno versions of Tibetan songs in their yak fur winter coats. It was a blast until Mark started to feel very sick and we rushed back to our guesthouse so that Mark could vomit in peace.

For anyone who is interested, altitude sickness feels like a stomach flu except with a bad headache that ibuprofen/acetaminophen don't help. I had to stay up all night, sitting upward, to keep fluid from building up in my brain (which usually ends up being fatal).

Due to Mark's illness we booked a ticket that same night to leave Litang first thing in the morning... a very sad way to leave such an interesting little town.