After some good luck we found two other people in Kashgar who were looking to share a jeep, and we also found the jeep! 1000$ between the four of us...  but we made it to Ali..    not the most amazing town in the universe, and not a Tibetan town at all! It has been okish to get used to the altitude, with passes as high as 5000m



After 2 days rest in Ali, we continued to Darchen, alias Mt Kailash!
Beautiful and magical place, of course trashed by the usual broken beer bottles all around the place...   but still great to be in the real Tibet!
2 more days of rest, and I did the kora around Kailash, 52km by foot, with a pass at 5600m, not the relaxing walk... but amazing feeling and landscape! 3 days later...    back in Darchen looking for a lift for Lhasa...



And 3 days later, here I am in Lhasa... just arrived...!! I left my friend Paul in Darchen,  I will give you some more news later!! I AM EXHAUSTED!!
:) but happy



Sorry for the images for I tried to upload some other ones, and it takes too long!!! so no Kailash for now... ;)

I arrived in Kashgar today after a few days in Karakul lake in a yurt...   this last bit of the KKH has been amazing, surrounded by 7000m high mountains, the landscape was just out of this world!
People in Karakul lake were so so friendly, it has been a sharp contrast with Chinese custom officers...
Now, Kashgar on the way to Ali...   Tibet...   Mt Kailash...
Kashgar is a big Chinese city, it is a bit of a culture shock to be here after the nice people in the mountains...   big roads, cars...  advertising all over the place...  fast internet connection ...   but a jeep to Ali is 2000 US , so no way!!
So off we go to Yechen tomorrow to find slow trucks...  ;)
More news when I can find a computer in Tibet...

For Nicholas, Phil, Antoine and the others...  you can access the info about the trip in the "on the road" pages

Here I am in Pakistan, the Karakoram Highway built on the ancient silk road from China... it is in the middle of a landscape which could be a crossover between the moon and a green swiss valley...  arriving here after 20 hours of bus and findind the road blocked by landslides and mudslides was quite a challenge! So after an other 3 hours of treking with the whole backpack under the sun accross what was the road... I managed to get a jeep and a minibus to Gilgit!
Just arrived in time for the Polo match celebrating independence day of Pakistan! Local people are very friendly and the tales of the views in the north are very promising...

So tomorrow leaving to Karimabad, and then Kashgar... China... then Tibet!
Some more news when I reach some computer linked to a modem...    that will be very lucky!

Peace !

Charlie.:.

I escaped India this morning, I didn't like very much Amritsar... so I ran away to lahore in Pakistan...  and here it is like a giant swimming pool inside a sauna....   it is pouring rain!! monsoon... now I know what this means... I should have brought some underwater equipement for my camera!
Anyway.. the hotel is very basic here, and I will look for something better if I decide to stay to explore Lahore a bit... but staying here one more week to see the sufis dancing next thursday seems like an eternity!! so I dont know...  I just can't wait to go in the mountains, somewhere dry and chilled out..   some peace and some space!!!
I will see...
Anyway, all is good...   on the way to the Karakoram Highway!
Peace and Love
Charlie.:.

I arrived back in India yesterday... 2nd of August...  the heat and dust of Delhi are still the same, and the humidity level is so high that it feels like I am in a constant sauna! After giving some thoughts on the bus journey in this heat, I thought I might go straight to Pakistan and will go to Dharamsala at the end of the trip. So tomorrow morning, train to Amritsar, the holly golden temple...
If any of you are in the area, drop me a line so we can have a cup of chai! ;)
I brought a few THINK POSITIVE stickers to give away too...

Peace and Love to you all
Charlie.:.