Litang, China - The road to Sacred Mountain
Bastian, Ivonne and I had requested a minibus trip to the Sacred mountain through contact of the Crane hotel where we were staying.
The person we had spoken to arrived 1/2 hour late and we discussed the trip, 3-4 hrs. driving there, a little walking/hiking around and return and the price would be 250 Yuan ($30). we followed her out to where we thought her minibus was and found out she only guided and expected us to pay for the minibus separately. This was not going to fly with us and we finally agreed to pay 260 Y if she took care of the minibus fee. She then stopped at the market and said she had to buy her food for the trip. She was gone a very long time and we were already frustrated with her, so we walked off and looked for another guide/minibus who could take us there. The only problems were that we didn't know where "there" was and almost none of the minibus drivers spoke English. We ran into our "guide" again and decided to risk a trip with her. She then said we were going to drive for 30-minutes to a place and then hike for three hours. That also wasn't going to fly us.
We started on the road to the Sacred mountain area and the views were gorgeous. It had snowed the night before and the mountains were sparkling and awesome.
We reached the top of a pass and decided to climb to the top of the nearest peak. It was covered in snow. It was a short hike, about fifteen minutes, to the top. It was a great place for photos!
We continued driving and stopped at a plateau to view the mountains and walk around a bit. We could see parts of Sacred mountain, but the clouds continued to envelope the rest of it. We convinced our guide to continue further.
We stopped at another area near a herd of yaks and decided to climb a hill (no snow)to get a better view of the mountain range, including Sacred peak. The hike up was beautiful. We walked right next to the yak herd of about 50-animals. We had a peaceful stay near the summit and were rewarded with a clear view of Sacred mountain on the way down.
When we arrived back at the minibus, our driver, our guide and a local yak herder were engaged in a local game played with stones. We waited until they finished. It was another gorgeous ride back out, but now most of the snow on the mountains had melted. Where we had hiked to the summit by the highest pass was completely free of snow.
We made it back to town and paid our guide the 260 Y and overheard the driver complaining, she had given him only 100 Y and pocketed the other 160 Y. Her part in the process was knowing where the road to Sacred mountain was (not at all hard to find if you're acquanted with the area, I'm sure the minibus driver knew where it was) and more importantly, knowing enough English convince foreigners that it was worth it to pay her for this knowledge.
It was a great trip, but we were fairly exhausted from dealing with our "guide" all day long. After returning, Bastian, Ivonne and I had a 3-entree meal at a local Chinese restaurant where the food was quite good (tasty Kung Pao chicken!). There were no leftovers.
Bastian, Ivonne and I had requested a minibus trip to the Sacred mountain through contact of the Crane hotel where we were staying.
The person we had spoken to arrived 1/2 hour late and we discussed the trip, 3-4 hrs. driving there, a little walking/hiking around and return and the price would be 250 Yuan ($30). we followed her out to where we thought her minibus was and found out she only guided and expected us to pay for the minibus separately. This was not going to fly with us and we finally agreed to pay 260 Y if she took care of the minibus fee. She then stopped at the market and said she had to buy her food for the trip. She was gone a very long time and we were already frustrated with her, so we walked off and looked for another guide/minibus who could take us there. The only problems were that we didn't know where "there" was and almost none of the minibus drivers spoke English. We ran into our "guide" again and decided to risk a trip with her. She then said we were going to drive for 30-minutes to a place and then hike for three hours. That also wasn't going to fly us.
We started on the road to the Sacred mountain area and the views were gorgeous. It had snowed the night before and the mountains were sparkling and awesome.
We reached the top of a pass and decided to climb to the top of the nearest peak. It was covered in snow. It was a short hike, about fifteen minutes, to the top. It was a great place for photos!
We continued driving and stopped at a plateau to view the mountains and walk around a bit. We could see parts of Sacred mountain, but the clouds continued to envelope the rest of it. We convinced our guide to continue further.
We stopped at another area near a herd of yaks and decided to climb a hill (no snow)to get a better view of the mountain range, including Sacred peak. The hike up was beautiful. We walked right next to the yak herd of about 50-animals. We had a peaceful stay near the summit and were rewarded with a clear view of Sacred mountain on the way down.
When we arrived back at the minibus, our driver, our guide and a local yak herder were engaged in a local game played with stones. We waited until they finished. It was another gorgeous ride back out, but now most of the snow on the mountains had melted. Where we had hiked to the summit by the highest pass was completely free of snow.
We made it back to town and paid our guide the 260 Y and overheard the driver complaining, she had given him only 100 Y and pocketed the other 160 Y. Her part in the process was knowing where the road to Sacred mountain was (not at all hard to find if you're acquanted with the area, I'm sure the minibus driver knew where it was) and more importantly, knowing enough English convince foreigners that it was worth it to pay her for this knowledge.
It was a great trip, but we were fairly exhausted from dealing with our "guide" all day long. After returning, Bastian, Ivonne and I had a 3-entree meal at a local Chinese restaurant where the food was quite good (tasty Kung Pao chicken!). There were no leftovers.
posted by Chris at 10:00 PM
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