The China Journal - Day 21

We spend the day in and around the small town of Tagong situated in the middle of a vast plateau some 3500 metres above sea level. Lush, green grasslands stretch out for miles, as do gentle, rolling hills that at times reveal themselves to be deceivingly steep. We are knee deep in yak country, quite literally in fact, as the large turds the size of wedding cakes prove themselves to be significant obstacles in navigating through the open fields.

The town itself resembles the setting of a Spaghetti Western, had Spaghetti Westerns been shot in Tibet rather than Italy, and starred the Dalai Lama rather than Clint Eastwood. Built in the Tibetan style, the two and three storey buildings that line Tagong's one main road nonetheless resemble the false facades of a North American Gold Rush town. The horses, however, have been primarily replaced by motorbikes, as men in cowboy hats and long coats roar thunderously down the street in search of a bank to rob or a glass of straight up yak butter tea to drink at the local saloon.

It is bitterly cold and the wind has left its mark on our burned faces, but the view is one of the most majestic and enthralling I've seen in Asia. It's a shame that our stay would be cut drastically short...