Highlights, Heights, High..

Litang, at 4100m, without heating, and at that moment also no water/electricity..

I was sitting at the central square in Litang, at an altitude of 4100m one of the highest cities in the world, overlooking the snowcapped mountains where I just came from, surrounded by locals (here being mostly Tibetans) who were turning their prayer wheels or polishing the beads of their prayer necklaces, meanwhile both chatting and mumbling some prayers.

Yes, I'm alone

Wow, I have done it! After some weeks of tough cycling, with passes up to almost 5000m, I have reached my ‘destination’, at least that’s how I have been considering Litang for the last few weeks. I felt proud! Actually, this route was something I was kind of afraid for, but also curious to; what would the height do to me, to my body and mind? How would I stand the cold? And how tough would the road and the climbing be? A (maybe more mental than physical) challenge, which I had to face from myself. I had been tempted to choose another route, an easier one, but probably also less beautiful. But no, I would have been a coward, running away from things I fear, which I realize I always tend to do. So since this trip is also about learning about myself and grow mentally, I wanted to do this! And I managed!! And for sure, it was the most beautiful part of my whole trip, both culturally and landscape wise!

And yes, at times it was tough, being above 3000m for almost four weeks. I took enough time to acclimatize, so didn't have any real altitude sickness.  But there were other symptoms; I had troubles sleeping, days withoutany appetite, a general lack of energy which gave me the feeling of apathy or not really caring. And then the cycling; a road that seemed to be quite flat was so hard to cycle, using my lightest gear and still having difficulties peddling. I was not really out of breath, but every now and then I felt I had to stop, to regain some energy (or motivation) to continue and drinking while cycling took too much breath. I felt I was High (because of the lack of oxygen) (or felt like being hung over..).

Every time I reached a pass (3500m, 3900m, 4300m, 4500m, 4750m, 4500m, …) the road descended all the way to a river valley again, around 3000m altitude, implying a continuous up-and-down, up-and-down… But the reward was more than worth it, lucky as I was with the weather of clear skies and sun, I had awesome views!

And since my day rhythm was climbing a pass, descending and doing part of next days’ climb, mentally it felt ok. Racing downhill, I knew I had to climb the same altitude up again (which could have been mentally killing), but that would only be tomorrow, then I would have a clear mind and rested body..

There were some really nice roads, perfect pavement and very little traffic. But there were also horrible parts; stones and dust which slowed me down even more, loads of trucks passing, creating a local dust storm, resulting in even more difficulties breathing and layers of dust all over me. And then, reaching the summit, longing for the reward of a long descent, nothing less was true… such a descent was maybe even worse than the climb…

My highest point (4750m)

The yaks of the nomads where I slept

Dry, bare mountains

At the start of the hardest part of this route, in Shangrila, I met Sophie, a Danish solo cycling girl. Since we were doing the same route, we thought it nice to join until Litang, to fight some of the loneliness and share whatever. However, maybe because we were both too attached to our independence, in the end we only shared the campsite, during daytime we cycled our own rhythm, which was ok.  

The mountains provided a perfect environment to camp, with little people and traffic (but many yaks).

The only thing I had to think about was that I had enough water for the night and (part of) the next dag. Somehow, the people here drink hot water (no tea, just water, and they can not imagine you drinking cold water, like they also can't imagine you not being able to read Chinese (sometimes, when I gestured I didn't understand a word of what they were saying, they wrote it down in Chinese characters. 'No, sorry, but I CAN NOT READ CHINESE...')).

This habit of drinking hot water was pretty convenient, since I could always warm myself on such a bottle of warm water (drinking I could not really get used to, always burning my tongue). And I found out that putting a bottle with warm water in my sleeping bag kept my feet warm during the night, which was very welcome, since the nights were cold at this altitude! Some mornings, my tent was covered in frost and the bottles of water I left on my bike were frozen.

A few times, I was so cold after a descent, I just entered a house looking for some warmth. I was invited to sit at the stove and extra wood was added to lit the fire up and hot water (or yak-butter-salty ('Yack..') tea if it were Tibetan people) and laughs were being shared.

Those are the best experiences, since it provided a look of how people lived, their houses, families and customs. I was always welcomed with so much warmth and friendliness! Also those times, at the end of a cold day, when I asked if I could spend the night at their couch, carpet or whatever. I ended up sleeping at grandmothers' shop, a nomad camp, the tiny house of an English teacher and police stations.

Arriving in Litang, I thought I was ‘there’, I had had (it with) the altitude and toughness. But no, to reach Chengdu, my true final destination in China, I still had to do 10 days in which I had to climb another 10000m (10 km!!) (on top of the other 13000m I had climbed). Maybe this was even a bigger mental challenge, since I really had to motivate myself again.

Moreover, although the landscape was still very beautiful, the road was more busy, which for me implied less enjoyable. This route, the Sichuan-Tibet Highway, was the route that hundreds of Chinese cyclists take on their way to Lhasa, and all their Ni Hao’s and thumbs up gave me some new motivation. And apparently I was so special for them that, again, I felt like a photomodel :)

And then, FINALLY! I reached Chengdu!! And I believe just in time, for the raining season seems to have started since several days…

Two months in China; two months being submerged in this strange, isolated, enclosed country with a culture so completely different from any. A country which I was kind of afraid to enter, not knowing what to expect, having heard all those stories about people not being friendly or helpful, not being able to communicate, etc… But no, I completely disagree with any of those stories! I might even say it was the best country I have been to, and for sure the most interesting! Ok, people where more distant, seemed to be less curious, which was great since they just let me do my thing and leave me alone. And despite the language barrier (I did not even try to learn any Chinese… I have to admit) I was pretty capable of communicating with them; I became an expert in imitating, which always caused a lot of laughter from both sides, and maybe this broke the ice, but people always helped me. (imagine, acting like sitting on the toilet.. , including sounds… :). With the young people, translation apps on phones worked pretty well.

I was surprised that, on one hand cities and their inhabitants are very modern(so from this perspective the country is not as enclosed as I thought), considering all the skyscrapers, the bars, the neonlights. But on the other hand, in their fancy clothes and hip hair dresses, people still wanted to take pictures (with their phones) from me, the white girl. If I have seen 20 foreigners in those two months, it is a lot. So from this perspective, the country is still so enclosed. Somehow, China has been capable of developing, creating a wealthy area (the cities, but also the countryside was way more developed then in any other SE Asian country) AND maintaining their own rather traditional culture, without all those leveling influences of our Western world/society. I am glad I have been able to see and experience this culture before it might be influenced too much by us and thereby become one of a kind…

I feel I have had this luck to be able to get some beautiful and intense insights into this strange, different, but fascinating country, its people and its culture. Although I've only being able to see such a small part of this huge country, I am pretty sure it's one of the best parts, with the (outskirts of the) Himalaya and Tibetan influence. There is so much more to see, but time is too short (you're only allowed to stay two months as a tourist) and I can't visit everything anyway, so better to enjoy those things I have seen and not think about all the rest. But one thing is sure, I have been 'afraid' for this 'Big, Angry Beast'  for nothing (again...); China is the BEST!!