Lazy Langmusi

On the long bus journey from Labrang to Langmusi we drove past a nomadic festival on the side of the road. Some of us were sceptical about joining in the party but Atisha assured us that we would be welcome. Needless to say we caused a bit of a stir as we rocked up with our cameras – it was a bit intrusive and we all felt a little awkward but no one really seemed to mind. The kids went crazy over the cameras and demanded we take their photos so they could see themselves on the screen. A group of boys saw me reading the Tibetan Lonely Planet and went nuts over it – they were all crowding around trying to catch a glimpse of the Potala Palace and other religious sites that they’ve never seen but have heard all about.

We spent a couple of days acclimatising in Langmusi - the small village sits at 3,300 metres, a 300m climb from our previous stop. I had felt minor symptoms of altitude in Labrang (breathlessness and mild headache) but I felt much better on arrival here. That was until my first truly restless night – another effect of the altitude. As a consequence I had to drag myself out of bed the following morning, but I am so glad I did.







Atisha took us around the monastery here (after a spot of basketball) and we learnt a lot more about Tibetan Buddhism before embarking on a beautiful stroll through the valley. We walked for about an hour before reaching a beautiful alpine clearing where we sat about relaxing and absorbing the scenery.












We spent the rest of the day reading on the hotel roof, relaxing and feeling guilty about not having joined some of the others on a long walk up a very high hill. Acclimatisation was our excuse - mustn’t exert ourselves before another climb in altitude tomorrow!