snow and ice

the scenery on the way down from litang to kanding was even more breathtaking than on the way up, if that's at all possible. it was almost indecent.

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at one stage i glanced at a sign as we were going over a pass. it said '4659m'. i thought: shit - that's higher than annapurna base camp! and so, groggy with fatigue, barely able to walk, sitting in the back of an old bomb surrounded by fields of pregnant horses with a crazy tibetan bus-driver calling the shots, i reached the highest point i've ever been in my life. what sort of a deal is that? i've gotta go climb a >5km peak to get some self-respect back.

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i arrived in the small town of moxi at the base of the hailuogou glacier national park. i was limping through the street in the rain with my backpack and walking stick late at night and i came upon a hostel run by a man with a prosthetic leg and his wife with deformed knees. needless to say, we bonded.

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i got a double room with a private bathroom and hot water for just $3/night. (if you're not sure - that's incredible). in fact the best deal for the best accommodation i've had since leaving australia.

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i crawled to a local buddhist temple the following morning where 5 old ladies took me in and fed me one bowl of noodles after the next. i had to cry out in desperation to make them stop re-filling my bowl. they gave me the best spot around their campfire and played buddhist chanting mantra-type songs on their little hand-held stereos. i felt so...connected. it was a bit of a tear-jerking kindness-type moment. wish i could sell that one on e-bay too.

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that night we had a huge dump of snow, so the following day as i took the cable car to 'number one glacier' (the lowest glacier in asia) on the slopes of gongga shan (7556m), i was surrounded by pine forests all dusted in white powder. a regular 'winter wonderland' type affair. beautiful.

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i had a limp and a walking stick, and crowds of people were pointing and laughing. it didn't bother me personally, as being a tall white guy i'm used to being the walking circus freak, but when i thought about how people with real disabilities are treated in china, it filled me with an explosive rage. i felt like breaking faces and screamed at a number of by-standers, telling them to go and get fucked and all other sorts of nasty things. the anger was irrational, but i just decided to go with it. it felt so good.

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anyway, it was time to get back to civilization.

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pic 1 - looking down glacier number one

pic 2 - looking up glacier number one

pic 3 - the person doing the looking at glacier number one

pic 4 - trees and hills and delicious powdery snow