Last night I didn’t sleep much. Next door there was a hard-rock club playing until the morning – in this monastery town. Then the road continued in the sun, up and down along this steep sided canyon. I’m at the base of a massive climb. Tomorrow will be an early start.
The valley
Prayer flags
The valley
Yak butter. The valley smells of yak butter. From every village, from every temple. I pass monks entering the temples – the yak-butter centres. Monks pass me buzzing along on their motor scooters while looking at their phone. I watch the monks circle around the temple perched on the top of the hill in Xinlong. Yak butter.
The cat looks on
I left early this morning, with the thought of cycling the whole valley to the base of the massive pass in one day – 150km. The road was good, but up and down and up and down – rising above the river, only to drop down at the next corner. The headwind slowed things down, so I accepted it. I’ll take this valley in two days as originally planned.
Village
The monk and his soul mate
Xinlong
Temple in Xinlong
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