Today we left our comfortable basecamp for the spartan surroundings of a small Tibethan village. So why would we leave our sauna, great food, fruit juice, PC's and other luxury? What does the town of Taschi Dzom have that our BC doesn't?
One simple thing: about 20% more oxygen in the air. The town is located at 4200m above sealevel, so one kilometer lower than our Basecamp.
We stay here for 3 nights, to relax, and let the relative rich air heal our body and mind.
The Jeep ride takes about an hour and a half and the first impression is quite depressing: dark smoky and dusty rooms, no water anywhere..
Lynne looks like she rather be anywhere else, but once we settle ourselves on the sunroof life seems a lot sunnier.
For lunch we go to a small chinese house, where the couple running the place have no menu and speak no western language. But no problem, I can follow them into the kitchen, point out the ingredients I like (everything besides mushrooms and pork fat...) and 20 minutes later we get the most fantastic vegetable dish with rice, very spicy and tasty..
Later that day the second shipment of climbers arrives and we all have an improvised dinner in the dark livingroom. While looking at a chinese dubbed Russian women's version of love and peace on TV (!) we wonder when the small children finally go to sleep, until we realize that we are eating and playing cards in their bedroom...
We are supposed to relax, so this is what we do on the 9th as well. Besides an early morning photo shoot through the village which gets me some nice shots of the weather-and-life worn faces and white houses, we do nothing but playing cards, eating great food and sunning on the roof. Only worry is to change sides every now and then to prevent sunburn...
The FBC getting tanned on the roofSong of the day:
Madonna, Holiday
"It could be so nice"
Discuss about the highest mountains on the seven continents
