Mt Kailash day 3 / Lake Manasovar We woke to quite the sight outside our camp - overnight the mountains and campsites had acquired a dusting of snow. Though it bode unpredictable walking conditions it was incredibly beautiful to watch the nomads prepare their horses and pack up their tents for the rest of the hike. We had quite a late start because it was such a short distance to walk (around 7 km total). Our nutritious breakfast of yak jerky, peanuts, and chi...

Mt Kailash Kora - Day 2 Altitude: lower than we were last night, at some mud building near a monastery Well today did kick my ass, but not for the reasons I expected. We awoke about 6:15 to the sounds of Indians shouting outside and yaks protesting the weight being loaded on their backs. About 6:25 someone was shouting all over the guest house courtyard. They finally pounded on the metal door to our room. The only response I could come up with in my sleepy ...

Day 1 of Mt Kailash Kora Altitude: 4860 meters, Parmath Dirapuk Ashram, Dirapuk A long day today...will sleep well tonight. We stayed in Darchen, where The Very Large Stray Dog Population outnumbers humans about 2:1 (Unofficial Sarah estimates. I'm pretty sure the Chinese government would say there were no stray dogs). After dinner last night we had to spend 25 kuai on a thermos because Galek suddenly remembered it was a necessity. Not a big deal cost-wise ...

Zhongba to Darchen Another loooooong day in the 4WD, this time capped off with dust blowing in from every direction. Our bags and clothing (not to mention ears, nostrils, face) are covered in a layer of fine dust from the sand dunes we passed rolling along the trek. Did I mention that the roads go from bad to worse, usually worse? We hit pavement about 4 kms from Darchen and didn't know what to do with ourselves. The morning started out with the classic ...

Tingri to Zhongba Well it's been a hellish 10 hours of driving (plus an hour break in Saga for lunch and the last check of the e-mail for a good 6-7 days). All of it has been off road, with the road of varying quality, mostly bad, often worse. We woke up at 6:50 to loud chatter outside...wait, scratch that, we woke at 4:30 to a trip to the outhouse (literally) which can best be described as a "pit toilet" - a concrete slab with three 12" x 12&q...