Art Refuge UK: The hell-hole named Darchen

So 2 days later of gruelling travel and we've arrived at Darchen, a real hell- hole of a town. Medieval but sleezy; Tibetan but filled with soldiers and aggresive Tibetan shop keepers; Dirty and shabby and full of obnoxious tourists (just hope we're not included in that last bit). The journey here was long, with a night of camping west of a town called Puryang ( a dust ridden no-horse town with a shop in a tent). The camp site was ok- surrounded by goats and aggressive local kids who wouldn't go until Rik handed out some balloons (wonder who told them he had balloons?) and some tents where our driver and guide spent the night drinking and carousing. Only after dinner did we find out that there was no spare oxygen provided by the tour company- it was supposed to be included but Rik couldn't find any in the car. So me & Gyaltsen went over to the tents to shout at the guide who professed no knowledge of it. And amazingly, there happened to be a fellow Tibetan in the tent who just so happened to have some spare cylinders with him. So we purchased one, for Tom just in case, and retired for the night- this time Rik sharing Tom's tent to keep an eye on him, which made me & Tim tent buddies for the night. It's like playing musical chairs!

And then on the way to Darchen the following morning...I got sick- Giardia, the bane of all travellers. I apologise now for the eggy burps everyone! I know they're vile, just didn't realise others could smell them too (groan!) And all this just as we were approaching Kailash too- our first sighting and all I wanted to do was find a loo! Mind you, at lunchtime (which was a trial) I swear I saw some offering dakinis (goddesses) in the clouds- long floating creatures with arms held out with offerings in their hands, heading in the direction of Kailash. I'm pretty sure I wasn't hallucinating. Was a quiet source of comfort.

Anyway, arrived in Darchen and sent the boys to research rooms- I refused to stay anywhere there wasn't a toilet! Ended up in a guesthouse which was sort of clean but which had the worst toilets in Tibet- made me even iller and I spent the afternoon sleeping it off. Tom also spent the afternoon sleeping, or holding his head in his hands frozen in pain, poor love.

Later that evening there was intense discussion about Tom and what to do. It was clear he wasn't well enough to make the kora round the mountain, but Rik wanted to stay with him. We persuaded Tenzin, the guide, to stay instead with firm instructions that if Tom got worse, to find a car to drive him to a lower altitude. And we all went to sleep, anxious about what the morning would bring...