The trek begins! In a few hours I'll be off for a second trip to Mount Kailash, this time mit Gefühl! Whereas the first trip involved a large detour and many hours driving in a minibus, with just the three-day circumambulation on foot, this time we're doing as pilgrims of old did it,
well, part of it. We leave tomorrow for JFK, fly from there to Boston, fly from there to Dubai, fly from there to Kathmandu. The next morning (Thursday) we catch a small plane to a place called Nepalgunj, from which another small plane takes us to Simikot, from which point ...
it's our legs doing the work for four days, following the Karnali river up to the Nepal/China border at Hilsa, where there will again be a driveable road. The scenery should be spectacular, the sense of treading the path of centuries of Hindu seekers and saints sublime... but it's also a lot of walking, at high altitude. I will probably just be concentrating on putting one foot before the other! I'll be able to take in the sights when we return, two weeks later, seasoned ... and going downstream!
During all this time I will be incommunicado. No blog, no e-mail, no phone. (No laptop!) Like once upon a time when travel meant severing one's connections with home. It spooks me a little, but we're in good hands with a professional tour company. And Kailash's an old friend...
Still, I could use your thoughts and good wishes. I should be back on the blog by August 13th, perhaps already a few days before that. Til then...
During all this time I will be incommunicado. No blog, no e-mail, no phone. (No laptop!) Like once upon a time when travel meant severing one's connections with home. It spooks me a little, but we're in good hands with a professional tour company. And Kailash's an old friend...
Still, I could use your thoughts and good wishes. I should be back on the blog by August 13th, perhaps already a few days before that. Til then...
