Chiang Mai, Thailand to Yunan, China on a Honda CRF 250 L (& back)

[KTMphil]

40 km to go to Shangri-La, 3,400 meters, everyone's pretty cold

BMW glove warmers

 

[KTMphil]

An hour later, into the Tibetan hotel in Shangri-La

 

[KTMphil]

Big day yesterday, lots of photo taking and not one bit of straight road, time for a rest day -a traditional Tibetan shop-owner in Shangri-La

The wild horses get a rest day too

 

[KTMphil]

Shangri-La old town vicinity is bursting with steamed bun shops in the morning, the most popular breakfast along with noodles

 

[KTMphil]

Strolling around Shangri-La, we stumble on this Tibetan style hotel owned by a Chinese motorcycle enthusiast

 

[KTMphil]

He has some interesting plants growing, apparently not a problem here

Two of his Chinese friends have BMW f650's that they leave there

Nice rooms which range from 450 - 800 (suite) Yuan a night

 

[KTMphil]

Time to try some yak-milk tea (also known as butter tea).

We're told the reason this is popular in the region is because it is a great source of protein for the farmers.



Wiki:

Butter tea - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Butter tea[edit]


Drinking butter tea is a regular part of Tibetan life. Before work, a Tibetan will typically down several bowlfuls of this beverage, and it is always served to guests. Nomads are said to often drink up to 40 cups of it a day. Since butter is the main ingredient, butter tea provides plenty of caloric energy and is particularly suited to high altitudes. The butter may also help prevent chapped lips.[SUP][1][/SUP]According to the Tibetan custom, butter tea is drunk in separate sips, and after each sip the host refills the bowl to the brim. Thus, the guest never drains his bowl; rather, it is constantly topped off. If the visitor does not wish to drink, the best thing to do is leave the tea untouched until the time comes to leave and then drain the bowl. In this way etiquette is observed and the host will not be offended.[SUP][2][/SUP]Butter tea is also used for eating tsampa by pouring onto it, or dipping the tsampa into it, and mixing well.The concentrate, produced by repeatedly boiling tea leaves, will keep for several days, and is commonly used in towns. The tea is then combined with salt and butter in a special tea churn (Tibetan: མདོང་མོ་, Wylie: mdong mo), and churned vigorously before serving hot. Now an electric blender is often used.

Here's our end result. It was pleasant to drink, but all we could taste was butter and salt (you can have a sweet variety too).

The teamaker and his son looked a little apprehensive, worried that we may not have the acquired taste

 

[KTMphil]

A stroll around Shangri-La's town.



The street motorcycle mechanic

Preparing the restaurant food for dinner time

Some very stylish Tibetan boots

Street food

 

[KTMphil]

There is a huge percentage of ladies in Shangri-La that still wear traditional Tibetan dress

& some unusual tribal clothing too

A Tibetan monk out for a stroll

 

[KTMphil]

Mr. R decides he wants some yak tails for his truck, we're told the best selection is about 10km out of Shangri-La, so off we go in search of them.


Looks like this Chinese taxi driver has had better days

Quite a selection

The ladies are washing the lower tails and grooming them to get the tangles out so the will be more fluffy . Dried yak meat behind.

Yak intestines

Which ones???

 

[KTMphil]

On the way back to town, they'd started trying to get the taxi back on the road, might have been interesting to stay and watch

 

[KTMphil]

Back to Shangri-La town & a look around the food market

Not quite sure what this was but there were photo's of chickens behind so a good guess

The Benelli 600 - 40,000 Yuan / USD$ 6,500 made in China

Card game on the edge of the old town in the afternoon sun

People watching

The key copier

 

[Oddvar]

Here is a quick 2:06 min video that Flickr cut down to 1:30. Best riding day in my life. Enjoy.[video]http://www.flickr.com/photos/veiviseren/10035491233/[/video]

 

[skeedary]

Thanks Oddvar what spectacular country, looks live you all are enjoying the ride.

 

[skeedary]

Great photo thank you

 

[KTMphil]

Continuing with our attempts to consume the local delicacies, traditional Tibetan cuisine was ordered in Shangri-La.


Yak stew, brought to the table cold and heated over an alcohol burner






"Momos"


Momo (dumpling) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Momo is a type of steamed bun with or without fillings. Momo have become a traditional delicacy in Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, Darjeeling district and Ladakh. They are one of the most popular fast foods in many regions of the Nepal populated with people of Tibetan, Nepali or other Himalayan origins, and in places with a significant Tibetan and Nepalese diaspora, such as Assam, Delhi, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Shillong, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal. The same concept appears in Russian cuisine as Pelmeni, which is a Finno-Ugric loan word literally meaning "ear-chaped bread".










Yak jerky (delicious)







Barley bread, which is eaten with a mix of Yak butter and cheese







Unsweetened barley cake. A dense cake mixture actually rather good as not sweet, not eaten as a desert but part of the main meal.








A very cultural evening, all of us learning about local Tibetan food.








In this region being a cold climate, rice isn't grown nearby (needs a warm climate with lots of seasonal rain). Barley substitutes for this for the carbohydrates the locals need and for protein, instead of fish, the yak milk, butter and cheese suffice. These are the local delicacies we've been eating and it's fascinating learning why.

 

[Lao2stroker]

it would appear from the menu, in China, the astronauts eat Mackers and they sell it as Space Food....Out of this world!

 

[KTMphil]

it would appear from the menu, in China, the astronauts eat Mackers and they sell it as Space Food....Out of this world!

You've actually got a point, most of their food has a very long shelf life, good for the tea horse trail guys.

 

[KTMphil]

White Horse Pass 4, 298 meters

 

[KTMphil]

Oddvar relishing the mountains near the Tibet border

 

[KTMphil]

Our last night in Shangri-La, will really miss the place, a really special, ancient town









After dinner, still time left to go watch some of the traditional dancing in the old town square






Superb

 

[KTMphil]

Next morning, a very "chilly" start, as we head north towards the Tibet border. Looks like this lanslide gave the driver a nasty headache

You can see the unlucky boulder that hit him to the right of the picture

We looked inside the can, no blood anywhere, maybe he survived

 

[KTMphil]

North out of Shangri-La and the ridgeline road has been shut due to an earthquake in the region a few months back. There is an alternative and we hook up with the road that follows the Yangtkze River valley system

Not a road i'd ridden down before, excellent scenery, looks like the road on the western side of the river has just been re-sealed

 

[KTMphil]

Headed north and rising, we're now constantly above 3,500 meters, bloody cold

We talking about how far we could get up the dirt trail on the other side of the Yangtze River

 

[KTMphil]

This doesn't look good, what do we have here?

It turns out they were clearing some potential rock landslides - by hand!

 

[KTMphil]

We start the long accent up the White Horse Mountain, the pass to the next valley system (the Mekong River valley system) is 4,298 meters.

It gets bloody cold, Robert saw as low as 7 degrees C

About 4,000 meters and freezing

White Horse Pass, my GPS is actually showing 4,302 meters

 

[KTMphil]

White Horse Pass - northern Yunnan, near the Tibet border

Photo session over, 50km to go to Deqin, first views of Kawagarpo mountain

Kawagarbo Mountain - Wiki:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawagarbo



- Never has been successfully climbed to the summit & is now forbidden.

Kawagarbo is one of the most sacred mountains for Tibetan Buddhism as the spiritual home of a warrior god of the same name.[SUP][3][/SUP][SUP][5][/SUP][SUP][6][/SUP] It is visited by 20,000 pilgrims each year from throughout the Tibetan world;[SUP][7][/SUP] many pilgrims circumambulate the peak, an arduous 240 km (150 mi) trek[SUP][6][/SUP] Although it is important throughout Tibetan Buddhism, it is the local Tibetans that are the day-to-day guardians and stewards of Kawagarbo, both the deity and the mountain.[SUP][4][/SUP]

The ancestral religion of the Kawagarpo area, as in much of Tibet, was Bön, a shamanistic tradition based on the concept of a world pervaded by good and evil spirits. Bön encompassed numerous deities and spirits which are still recognized today, and are often connected with specific geographical localities and natural features; the major mountain peaks in the Hengduan Mountains are thus all identified with specific deities. Kawagarbo is one of these. Since its introduction, Tibetan Buddhism has been the dominant religion of the Kawagarbo area, with followers of Gelugpa doctrine being the most common.[SUP][4][/SUP][SUP][8][/SUP]
Tibetans believe the warrior god will leave them if human sets foot on the peak of Kawakarpo, making the ground unholy. Disasters will follow as they lose god's protection. Tibetans have also established a centuries-old sacred geography around the peak, maintained by religious leaders from local monasteries in negotiation with local villages. This sacred natural site preserves the natural resources and ecological health of the range.[SUP][9][/SUP]
[h=2]Climbing history[/h]The first attempt on Kawakarpo was made in 1987 by a party from the Joetsu Alpine Club of Japan.
In the winter of 1990–91 a group from the Academic Alpine Club of Kyoto University attempted the peak in conjunction with a Chinese group. Their activity caused heavy protests from the local Tibetan community due to the mountain's cultural and religious significance. On 3 January 1991, a nighttime avalanche killed all seventeen members of the expedition, in one of the most deadly mountaineering accidents in history. The Kyoto club returned in 1996 to make another unsuccessful attempt.[SUP][1][/SUP][SUP][10][/SUP]
American expeditions, led by Nicholas Clinch, visited the range in 1988, 1989, 1992, and 1993, attempting other major peaks, but were unsuccessful.[SUP][1][/SUP]
In 2001, local government passed laws banning all future climbing attempts on cultural and religious grounds. As of 2010, none of the significant peaks of the range have been successfully climbed.[SUP][1][/SUP]

A couple of km's north and the city of Deqin appears in the valley below

 

[KTMphil]

We're staying in a more fancy hotel north of Deqin with views of Kawagarbo, so regroup so we don't lose anyone

Not bad scenery while we're waiting

Crop drying

 

[KTMphil]

After poking around a little, we find the dirt road u the mountain to the hotel

 

[KTMphil]

The hotel is amazingly situated with superb views of Kawagarbo Mountain

The mighty CRF 250 L hanging in there

Kawagarbo Mountain

 

[KTMphil]

Time to go get checked in, doesn't look too shabby

Feels like something is up, we find out that there's a clusterfuck with the booking and they dont have rooms for us

This could be bad or very very good & it turns out it's very very good. They offer us an upgrade to the spar 400 meters away at no additional cost, we can't belive our luck, the Chinese give 10c pieces away like they are man-hole covers normally


The upgrade - doesn't look much from the outside but its gorgeous inside

Pretty sweet

Rooms!

The best bathroom ive seen in years

 

[KTMphil]

Morning, moody clouds surround us close to Kawagarbo Mountain, we're all hoping they will lift as we leave.









Really cold, Robert wrapped up and getting ready for the ride south to Weixi







Quite spectacular to watch the changing patterns in the moisture rising as the sun heats everything up

 

[KTMphil]

Time to start heading south away from the Tibet border. This time we'll be following the Mekong River valley complex & scenic it is for sure, some rider's said almost as good as Tiger-Leaping-Gorge for photo opportunites



See for yourself

 

[KTMphil]

Down through the Deqin valley & we pick up the Mekong River, we havn't seen it since we left the Tiger-Leaping-Gorge



Oddvar was totally impressed with this route












The Mekong meanders south, with the landscape very baron in places due to continuous erosion

 

[KTMphil]

Every 2km in the Mekong River valley, Yunnan, China you have to stop and get your camera out again. Some of the guys gave up putting gloves on as you had to stop so many times and get the camera out














We must have seen 20 suspension bridges connecting to villages on the western side of the Mekong

 

[KTMphil]

The last remaining French monastery on the Mekong in Yunnan, China, the rest have been destroyed. They still grow grapes and make wine in the area which had been taught by the French missionaries.









The Tibetan rebellion in 1905


1905 Tibetan Rebellion - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Under pressure from foreigners, the Qing Dynasty government allowed Christian missionaries into Tibetan Buddhist areas in Yunnan province. The Tibetan Lamas had long defied the rule of the Qing authorities and officials, and the Qing dynasty fought against a rebellion of the Lamas around 1905. The Tibetan Buddhist Lamas attacked and murdered Chinese officials, French Roman Catholic Priests from Paris Foreign Missions Society such as Jean-André Soulié or Jules Dubernard, and Christian converts in the area, in retaliation for the missionaries' success at converting the natives to Catholicism. The Buddhist Gelug (Yellow) Sect was primarily responsible for the revolt and deaths.
Scottish Botanist George Forrest was the primary Western witness to the rebellion, having spent most of it trying to escape from Lamas intent on killing him. He wrote an account of the rebellion which was published in botanical related publications. In 1905, the Lamas started a revolt against the peasant converts from the monasteries. Chinese soldiers were sent to crush the revolt.[SUP][1][/SUP]Forrest wrote that the majority of the people in the Mekong valley in Yunnan were Tibetan. The Tibetan Buddhist Yellow Sect was the dominant power in the region, with their Lamas effectively governing the area. Forrest had a negative view of their reign, since they used "force and fraud" to "terrorise the... peasantry". The Lamas completely ignored the Imperial Qing authorities in the region.[SUP][2][/SUP][h=2]Attacks on Christian Missionaries and Converts[edit][/h]The British invasion of Lhasa in 1904 had repercussions in the Tibetan Buddhist world. the Tibetan Lamas proceeded to revolt[SUP][why?][/SUP] in 1905, massacring Chinese officials, French missionaries, and Christian Catholic converts.The Lamas besieged Bat'ang, burning down the mission chapel, and killing two foreign missionaries, Père Mussot and Père Soulié. The Chinese Amban's Yamen was surrounded, the Chinese General, Wu Yi-chung, was shot dead in the Yamen by the Lama's forces. The Chinese Amban Feng and Commandant in Chief Li Chia-jui managed to escape by scattered Rupees[SUP][clarification needed][/SUP] (money) behind them, which the Tibetans proceeded to try to pick up. The Ambans reached Commandant Lo's place, but the 100 Tibetan troops serving under the Amban, armed with modern weaponry, mutinied when news of the revolt reached them. The Tibetan Lamas and their Tibetan followers besieged the Chinese Commandant Lo's palace along with local Christian converts. In the palace, they killed all Christian converts, both Chinese and Tibetan.[SUP][3][/SUP]George Forrest was residing at the Tzekou French Catholic Mission, which came under attack by the Tibetan Lamas. He fled through miles of mountains to flee the Tibetan Lamas who intended to "brutally" murder him.[SUP][4][/SUP] Along his escape route, he took refuge with Chinese soldiers, but his party was discovered when they past by the Patang Lamasary after the Tibetans heard their presence, the Tibetans blew a "signal whistle" to alert everyone to their presence in the area.[SUP][5][/SUP] Around the Mekong river every Catholic Priest was murdered by the Lamas; they even mounted a Father Dubernard's head on the Atuntze Monastery's gate.[SUP][6][/SUP] Forrest was targeted by the Lamas, who pursued him until a Naxi"King"[SUP][clarification needed][/SUP] named Lee rescued him.On July 22, 1905, the Tibetan Lamas killed the French Catholic missionaries[SUP][7][/SUP] Père Pierre-Marie Bourdonnec and Père Jules Dubernard[SUP][8][/SUP] around the Mekong.[SUP][9][/SUP] A Chinese military mandarin informed Forrest on how exactly the Tibetans killed his friends. The Tibetans "disembowelled, beheaded and quartered" the body of Pere Bourdonné after he was shot to death. Chinese soldiers guarded Forrest from the Tibetans pursuing him.[SUP][10][/SUP]Jules Dubernard had been tortured for days by the Lamas.[SUP][according to whom?][/SUP] His upper limbs were both fractured and restrained, he was secured on a stake, his eyes were gouged, his tongue, ears and nose severed, while he was living, his extremities were severed. The body parts of the French priests were sent by the Tibetans to be displayed at Lamaseries. Forrest lost a great deal of his scientific data, photographs and specimens of plants he was collecting.[SUP][11][/SUP]At the Atuntze Monastery the Tibetans mounted the decapitated heads of the French priests.[SUP][12][/SUP]At Cizhong Another Church was constructed after Tibetan mobs, under direction of their Lamas, wrecked the Christian mission.[SUP][13][/SUP]

 

[KTMphil]

A bit apprehensive about the road situation south of the monastery, the road is often closed & the earthquake that happened on August 31st, 2013 (A 5.9-magnitude quake has hit southwest China near border of Yunnan and Sichuan, U.S. Geological Survey reports.) won't help our odds.



Lady luck on our side, everything had been cleared and we could head south on the broken, rubble road.

 

[KTMphil]

Cliff-like walls in the Mekong valley









Looks like a tunnel is being made westwards linking to the Salaween river valley complex in Yunnan, from the Mekong River valley.








Tunnels are one of the most dangerous and off-putting things we encounter riding in China. Most of them are unlit and immediately curve when you enter them

 

[KTMphil]

A very unusual double suspension bridge across the Mekong'






Some of the first "terraced" rice fields we've seen, they'll be plenty more in a few days as we head SE









Rice fields on the banks of the Mekong River

 

[KTMphil]

On the way home from the gardens, looks like hard work
















Which way??







Gaoquan village, north of Weixi


















































Back down in the tropics, 25 deg. C warmer than this morning and into the hotel in Weixi, a great day