Tibet Found

The sensible place to go after Xiahe was Langmusi about 5 hours away by bus but seemed much further due to its size and scenery. We arrived and it was snowing slightly but the day warmed up as the sun came up for a little bit. The place was another Tibetan town further south surrounded my snow covered mountains, farms, monasteries, and prayer flags. We opted to skip Tibet, but felt that we got a good feel for the religion maybe minus some of the really mountainous scenery.

Langmusi was tiny compared to Xiahe and after stopping in to see some Tibetan handicrafts, we saw a line of yaks and cows coming down the road being driven by Tibetan nomads on horses followed by hundreds and hundreds of sheep and rams. The narrow street was completely overrun by animals and the sounds of their hooves and the little dust storms they created was quite a site. When we arrived in the town, it was pretty cold during the day and downright freezing at night. The hotel that we stayed at due to the low tourist season had no water to speak of or heating. The nice owner, however had beds with electric blankets that somewhat took the chill off but I think I still spent the night partly thawing and with freezing fingers trying to update my diary.

The hikes around town were picturesque and offered great views of the valleys and the surrounding countryside. The flavor of the town was definitely Tibetan and so the food consisted of yak meat and yak butter tea, which is supposedly good for digestion but I found it to be salty and not very thirst quenching. We exited out the next day for the balmy weather of the Sichuan province.

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