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The driver was indeed on time with his 4-wheel-drive Mitsubishi and our departure from Langmusi went as planned. What followed was a wonderful trip over a beautiful, yet desolate, white landscape of vast plains, hills, mountains, rivers, etc. in relative comfort, given the rocky road. According to Papa it felt like being on the Tibetan plateau (he'd been there in '87). We stopped for brunch in Zoige, a Chinese style town in the middle of nowhere where life must be quite hard. Towards mid-afternoon we abruptly left the plateau and drove down into a valley with trees. A couple of hours later we arrived in Songpan and we were dropped off at a hotel, the driver heading right back to Lanmusi. |
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Songpan is again a Tibetan/Hui town about the size of Xiahe. It used to be a walled town of which some large gates and covered bridges are still to be seen. Here too were many shops selling Tibetan articles and we bought some scarves. Songpan is on the backpackers' trail and primarily known for its horse treks, of which we had heard good things from various other people. So upon arrival we headed to one of the two recommended agencies and made arrangements for a 2-day trek leaving the next day. Some other foreigners, who had just returned, had truly enjoyed their experience and had some good tips for us. We returned the next morning with only daypacks and met with our fellow trekkers: a German girl (Daniela) and a Dutch/Japanese couple. Our horses were made ready and soon we left the square and headed into the mountains with 5 guides. I sat with one of them and everybody else had his own horse, sitting comfortably on a saddle loaded with blankets. Mommy was not impressed that out of the 10 horses she got the mule! And somehow the horse riding lessons .. oh so many years ago... did not include "Mule Riding 101". She just couldn't get him to do anything - and at one point her mule decided to take the "short cut" down a very steep zig-zag path. Thanks to the quick thinking of one of our guides things turned out just fine. The main trail was also super steep and narrow, very close to the void... Luckily a horse has 4 legs! We reached a snow covered ridge, followed it for a while and continued over other mountains. The views were fabulous: in the distance we even saw 5000 m. (18,000 ft.) peaks. Most of the time our friendly guides were singing which gave the trip a special atmosphere. After a pass we started to go down, so everybody unsaddled (safer for the horses) and it felt actually good to walk a little (even though I got to ride on Papa's shoulders because the trail was so slippery with mud and ice). Around lunch-time we reached our destination for the day, a wooden hut in the forest. It was also the entrance to a park and after lunch, while I was resting with Mommy, the others went for |
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a hike, past a series of beautiful, small icy lakes, to some hot springs. Dinner in the hut was simple but tasty (noodles and veggies), next to a roaring campfire (inside!). This provided for a very cosy ambiance, chatting with our fellow trekkers about the challenges and virtues of long-term travelling. Later I slept well, but the night was cold in spite of the numerous blankets and coats. |
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