Pamir Silk Route

Great trips leave lasting memories

There are probably as many tales written about travel as there are travellers willing to write them. Every now and then we hear of something that takes our fancy so we thought why not share a story or two with our readers.

Brenda Barrie knows her way around Asia better than many. Here Brenda talks about a trip she made from Guilin to Kathmandu.

Holidays are a great way to occupy your time. If like me you are a keen photographer it can take months to sort, catalogue and review photographs on your return home. It’s like two holidays for the price of one.

A 26 day trip I made from China to Nepal was so full of interest that it seemed to last for months rather than days. The scenery, people we met along the way and the experience of being out and about in one of China’s most interesting regions kept me sane while Canterbury was shaking.

Our Silk Road Adventures tour started in Guilin amongst the towering limestone peaks of the Li River valley then headed for the rice terraces of Long Ji for an overnight stay in at an ethnic Dong ‘village in the clouds’. From there we burrowed into the Dong and Miao tribal region of wooded hills, drum tower villages and ‘wind and rain bridges’.

The next phase of the journey was by train from Kaili to Yichang then by boat up the Yangtze River to Chongqing. For the next two days we continued up river, leaving the boat for a couple of shore excursions. From Chongqing we took the road to Chengdu stopping at the surreal Dazu Buddhist rock carvings on the way.

Chengdu has a played a pivotal role in the history of Chinese sericulture. It is still an important centre for traditional silk weaving, tapestry work and brocading. It was rich and influential trade centre back then and still is today. This is interesting from a shopper’s point of view but for me Chengdu was the goal of a long-held ambition…the kick off point for the train journey to Lhasa.
I’ve always found it fascinating watching everyday life going on from the comfort of a railway carriage. Different landscapes and contrasts between rural and urban areas flicked by as the rails wound northwards to Lanzhou, then west towards Qinghai Lake on the edge of the Tibet plateau. Late evening gave us tantalising glimpses of snow covered hills and morning found us high on the Plateau, the soft hiss of oxygen being piped into our compartment, grey early morning light softly illuminating snow covered hills.

For the rest of the day my nose, or my camera, remained pressed against the window as the line tracked south to reach its highest point of 5072m near the Tibetan border. By late afternoon as we pulled into Lhasa station we could see the Potala Palace perched on top of a rocky outcrop overlooking the city. There was no mistaking where we were!

In Lhasa we got out and about around the monuments and I found it difficult to believe that I was actually at a place I had dreamed of since I read the book ‘Seven Years in Tibet’ about 49 years ago! We spent three nights in Lhasa, also visiting Deprung and Sera Monasteries and the Jokhang.

Our last four days in Tibet were spent travelling by road on the Friendship Highway to the Nepalese border. We headed for Gyantse, going past Yamdrok Lake and the 4960m Karo La pass. We saw Gyantse Fort perched on a rock above the town, had lunch, and spent some time exploring the Kumbum Monastery then continued on to Shigatse at 3840m where we stayed two nights and visited the Tashilhunpo Monastery.

At New Tingri, or Shegar, we caught a glimpse of Mount Everest in the distance. In the morning we were away at dawn to avoid road construction works. It was just beginning to get light when our guide pulled our vehicles over, pointed to the left and said “Everest”.

There before us was Everest floating above the mist in the valleys, and as we watched, the sun rose, painting the mountain in a pink hue. It was magical. Later, I realised that it was on this same date, 29th May, in 1953 that Hillary and Tenzing made it to the summit. They had also risen at 4 am on that day, but I think we had the easier time after that.

Three hours later the scenery was the complete opposite. We were in a temperate, tree covered gorge leading down the zig zag descent to ‘Friendship Bridge’ at the Nepal border. Our last night in Tibet was spent in Zhangmu, perched on the side of a steep hill, packed with trucks hauling Chinese goods down country. By late afternoon the next day we were in Kathmandu, the Nepalese capital, and spent the last three days of our trip around the sites.

I have had quite a few overseas journeys in the last twenty years and think that this would have to be one of the best. I seemed to have a permanent smile on my face and whenever I remember it, the smile comes back!

Click here to see the E-news “September”.

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