I must admit that I was apprehensive, about the altitude (5500 mtrs). The night before I slept very badly and had little appetite. I was well awake by 3 a.m. an unappetizing breakfast at 3:30 and departure at 4 using a bright headlamp. Two hours took us to lower camp Torong La where I momentarily considered halting for the night. My breathing was very labourious at that altitude but rest with sugar and tea got me going. It was very slow going and there was no cycling whatsoever. Eventually I reached the summit at maybe 11 a.m. My (useless) guide was feeling ill, and looking it, and asked to immediately start descending. I of course said no and relished observing his suffering. Momentarily 2 cyclists pulled up, Michael from Germany and Suraj from Kathmandu. Now there was a guide….
In the small hut on top i had a nice tea. In walks another German who thinks 250 nepali rupees is a rip-off. This ill-tempered complaint was not appreciated by the genial young man who somehow manages to run the place alone with everything sold there making the long journey by pony all the way from Manang.
The journey down the other side involved some fantastic mountain biking. It wasn’t easy and there were places I couldn’t ride. Eventually we arrived in Muktinath in the Mustang region. Many Hindu pilgrims come to this temple that has both Hindu and Buddhist worshipers.
Just a word on Tibetan tea that I was offered by the gallons years ago when I was in Lhasa. I learned to like that peculiar taste back then. Here when I tried it, it didn’t have that strong taste and was, for tea, expensive. I then found out that here, it is made with amul butter from India instead of yak butter which is available here but very expensive.
Met my Estonian freinds from the night before. They were staying in the Bob Marley hotel. I wish we were staying there. It really looked nice. Our place was nice enough and besides the 2 cyclists I had met at the pass, Laxman, from Pokhara mountain biking from where my guide came from was there with his 3 British clients. The next day we were all going on a single track mountain biking only trail down to the kali gandaki river.
