Enroute to Nylam

Fortunately my stomach survived the night although there were more ‘tummy’ complaints from a few others and a communal bathroom made me realise that I was not ‘suffering’ alone. A 6am wakeup with a view to be on the bus and leave Zheng Mu by 7am for a 10am brunch in Nylam. Andrew, who had travelled through Tibet when he climbed Cho You hinted that Nylam night not be the ‘Hilton’ that we’d hoped for after our basic hotel in Zheng Mu - 4 walls, a bed and a small window looking onto a building about 4cm away.

The road from Zheng Mu to Nylam was under construction but am fairly sure that even if it was a perfect road it would still give those unafraid of heights an quickened heart beat. The switchbacks climbed steeply from 2300m - 3700m and we had all but a few centimetres to spare between the bus and a 1000 foot drop into the valley below. It was not for the faint of heart..! As the sun rose over the valley the local construction workers emerged from their tents and stoked their fires with yak dung as the bus blew by in a giant billowing cloud of dust.

Nylam was less ‘built up’ than Zheng Mu and had a rather bizarre ‘feel’ to it. Cows and dogs grazed together along the side of the dusty road, eating cardboard boxes and whatever garbage they could find while the local people went about their morning routines - rolling up their shop windows, washing their hair, dusting off their front steps whilst eating their dry chapattis ready for another day of business. All the streetscape lacked was a roll of tumbleweed bouncing down into the Himalayan panorama to make the ‘wild west’ image complete.

We were escorted to a hotel with a rather imposing looking gold-painted gate and shivered in the morning light under a row of prayer flags as logistics were arranged and keys were handed out. The hotel did not disappoint - it had been opened the week before and it was clear that great care had been put into the quality of the rooms - huge queen size beds, giant snow-white double duvets, heaters, flat screen televisions, silk robes in the wardrobes - it was total luxury..! It was such a stark contrast to our initial observations of the town. The only thing the hotel lacked was a working shower and toilets that flushed… unfortunately two key ‘luxuries’ that were much needed given the number of people on the team now suffering from various stomach ailments.

After a quick lunch (another rice extravaganza) we went out for an acclimatization walk to stretch our legs and get a feel for the altitude gain. I really struggled as I had not been able to eat ‘with confidence’ since Kathmandu and was running low on energy. The walk did however provide some fantastic views of the Himalayan mountain range and a taster of things to come.

The rest of the afternoon was spent basking in the mountain sunshine, exploring the shops with their array of wares and trying to find a store which sold chocolate bars (preferably Mars or Snickers) which didn’t predate 2008 and cost less than $2. The locals, specialising in rice and cabbage dishes obviously realised the demand in the market for chocolate and did what they could to exploit it...With the profits they were raking in they could easily have paid for a European equivalent of an Eton education.

Having said that, I was a happy victim. Whilst taking photographs of the streets prior to dinner I was chased down by about 15 children looking curiously on at us shouting, “I love you..!!!” - likely because our chocolate investments did much to pay for their education.! That night I collapsed into my crisp white double down duvets with an overpriced Mars bar in my stomach and a content smile on my face.