Art Refuge UK: 8/12/07

.... was the daily routine wake up call from Gyaltsen, our superhero sherpa from Nepal. He was amazing, and I can't sing his praises loud enough! We met up with him, Prem (the cook) and the Tibetan truck driver (Nyima) at a place called Saga, a rather desolate town more than a full days ride away from Shigatse, and were very glad we weren't staying overnight there. We'd spent the previous night in a very basic Tibetan guest house in Sansang, all 4 of us in one small room, on bench beds lining the walls, a thermos of hot water and toilets outside way across the other side of the courtyard (delightful Tibetan basic squat loos too, which faced the outside wall, so anyone walking by could see you when you stood up). A bit smelly... and potentially embarrassing.

We also started suffering a bit from the altitude in Sangsang- minor headaches allround, and loss of appetite for Rik. It's only 3900 metres up here, and Dolma-la Pass is 5600- how on earth are we going to manage?

We were up and on the road again by 6 the following morning- a necessity because the government were working on the road and close it at 8am until the evening, so in order not to have to spend another day in the guesthouse in Sangsang, we legged it out of there. Mind you, it wasn't easy to leg it with 3 members of the party with upset tums and splitting headaches- the journey was a very quiet one, with tempers fraying and lots of miserable faces. At least they could sleep in the car, on the mysteriously tarmacked bits that appeared out of nowhere. But then they were jolted awake again when we had to make detours down onto the dried river beds, or forded a few rivers that had decided to cross the road.

But as soon as we arrived in Saga, the sherpas (who had only just arrived as well) leapt into action and before we knew it the tents were all set up (including the all important toilet tent) and lunch was served shortly after (chips!!! with cheese and tomato sarnies! cor!) Splendid chaps these sherpas ;)

After lunch, Rik must have felt better (either that or he was delirious) and decided to walk up to the top of the nearby hill- Tim & I watched his progress with the binoculars. When he came back down, tea and biscuits were ready in the mess tent. The rest of us attempted the same hill later, but from a more gentle angle, with Tom petering out near the bottom (he still has a splitting headache). Mind you, it got better later that night, just in time for the 3 course meal from Prem, followed by choice of hot chocolate, coffee or tea! Rik's appetite had returned and Tim was cracking jokes again so all is well.