Zuo Gong to Shangri-La
December 2013
"Nobody attempts Tibet in Winter"
The way back was more enjoyable and relaxing for me because the fear of getting discovered and arrested had diminished with my assumption
that the Chinese police would not bother being too thorough with outgoing vehicles. I was right.
At most of the check points on the way out, they did not even bother asking us to register. Many of them remembered our vehicle and
asked the driver and Kit Shan (Kit Shan is a Hong Kong citizen, she can travel in and out legally) why are we leaving so soon. This confirms my
suspicion that check points are only there to keep foreigners out. Despite that, I had been religiously hiding myself in the car boot.
I hence had more appetite to take more photographers of Chamdo on the way out - easily the most remote, beautiful and inaccessible of the whole Tibetan territory.
These photos are some of the most spectacular shots of my life. Chamdo is quinessentially the most remote and the most beautiful place on Earth.
I would rate this photograph below as my favorite shot in the whole journey.
We drove through Yan Jing and the same Police check point that had stopped us during our first attempt into Tibet. The police simply rose the barrier
and we passed right through. Thereafter, it was pure elation. I have successfully completed my highly illegal pilgrimage into Tibet!
We were back in Yunnan province, on our way to Shangri-La. We stayed one more night in Fei Lai Si. It was a memorable day for us because
we sat down with the ladies manning the sacred temple and one of them eventually treated us to dinner at her traditional Tibetan house. We
still have the video of the whole feast but it was hard to capture on film photographs. We drank butter tea and ate Yak meat. The dinner was
also accompanied by traditional Tsampa (roasted barley) and barley wine.
Sun rise over the Kawa Karpo. This is a sacred mountain. No one has successfuly climbed the peak before.
All joy turned to horror the morning we left Fei Lai Si for our final journey back to Shangri-La. Our driver was over confident and we almost drove
down the valley. We could have died that day.
We eventually took a domestic flight from Shangri-La back to Kunming and spent the last few days enjoying the modern conveniences of the city.
editor's note:
the photographs in this series are either digital (pentax k30, sigma 35/1.4, DFA 50/2.8, Tamron 10-24)
or analogue (Pentax ME Super, K50/1.4, assorted films including portras, provia, profotoxl)
home | travelogue | guestbook