April 17 2013: Around Deqin
Happy
to say we had a two night stop in this delightful village, so took another hike
up into the hills in the morning, passing the large farmhouses, the local stupa
being circumambulated – always clockwise – by a lovely old lady with mobile
phone pressed firmly to her ear, round and round she went….
 |
| Multi-tasking - circumambulating on the phone |
And a really pretty mountain stream with an ancient small water mill that sets a prayer wheel spinning permanently to bless the village below – but oh, did we tread slowly, the thin air giving us little oxygen to drive our legs.
And
then after another healthy lunch, we all drove off to explore the Deqin area
and check the Mekong Valley as far as we could, given the landslide of the day
before. The mountain views all around of
the Meili Snow Mountain range were simply spectacular, the main peaks being
over 6000m high. The highest is Kawagebo
at 6,740m and the first of the six most sacred mountains in Tibetan Buddhism –
as yet, none have been scaled, as Tibetan Bhuddhists believe Great Spirits
dwell in these 6 mountains. It’s all but
impossible to scale peaks that high with no local support though I daresay some gung-ho non-believer will do
it one day and make the rest of the world poorer for his glory
 |
| The Mekong |
The
town of Deqin is really strange – a complete mélange of new and old, large and
small, monks and con-men, peasants and gloriously clad Government employees. There are lots of new municipal high-rises
being built which seem incongruous in this barren region, but as ever, I guess they are looking to the future…..politically and economically, as them thar
hills are full of minerals.
 |
| Freewheelin? |
Home
to the lodge, where the local farmer was driving his yak herd into the
farmstead next to our hotel – so we jumped quickly out of the car and dashed
back with cameras, to be made welcome to watch the nightly round up and
separation of the milking cow-yaks, (properly called a dri) into the barn,
leaving Mums and babes (sooo cute) and bulls in the yard. I am inordinately fond of yaks, and most of
their produce, though not of the salty yak-butter tea that sustains these
people through the cold and hard life they lead. However, the life is not without reward – the
glorious scenery, their comforting faith,
and their glowing, ruddy cheeks – they are certainly doing something
right.
 |
| I think the collar means his "special" and not for the pot |
 |
| Future "head" of the herd? |
And so to bed – but nor before a nice
warming hot pot. Yak, anyone?
Happy
to say we had a two night stop in this delightful village, so took another hike
up into the hills in the morning, passing the large farmhouses, the local stupa
being circumambulated – always clockwise – by a lovely old lady with mobile
phone pressed firmly to her ear, round and round she went…. 
And a really pretty mountain stream with an ancient small water mill that sets a prayer wheel spinning permanently to bless the village below – but oh, did we tread slowly, the thin air giving us little oxygen to drive our legs. 
And
then after another healthy lunch, we all drove off to explore the Deqin area
and check the Mekong Valley as far as we could, given the landslide of the day
before. The mountain views all around of
the Meili Snow Mountain range were simply spectacular, the main peaks being
over 6000m high. The highest is Kawagebo
at 6,740m and the first of the six most sacred mountains in Tibetan Buddhism –
as yet, none have been scaled, as Tibetan Bhuddhists believe Great Spirits
dwell in these 6 mountains. It’s all but
impossible to scale peaks that high with no local support though I daresay some gung-ho non-believer will do
it one day and make the rest of the world poorer for his glory
The
Mekong valley was very different to the Yangtze – starker, dryer, steeper, more
like the Tibetan plateau and very
similar to the road up to Anconcagua from Mendoza in SA, with multi-coloured geology – in places
showing turquoise and purple shales (?), bare slopes with little scrub
surviving there, except down by the river, way, way below.
The
town of Deqin is really strange – a complete mélange of new and old, large and
small, monks and con-men, peasants and gloriously clad Government employees. There are lots of new municipal high-rises
being built which seem incongruous in this barren region, but as ever, I guess they are looking to the future…..politically and economically, as them thar
hills are full of minerals.
Home
to the lodge, where the local farmer was driving his yak herd into the
farmstead next to our hotel – so we jumped quickly out of the car and dashed
back with cameras, to be made welcome to watch the nightly round up and
separation of the milking cow-yaks, (properly called a dri) into the barn,
leaving Mums and babes (sooo cute) and bulls in the yard. I am inordinately fond of yaks, and most of
their produce, though not of the salty yak-butter tea that sustains these
people through the cold and hard life they lead. However, the life is not without reward – the
glorious scenery, their comforting faith,
and their glowing, ruddy cheeks – they are certainly doing something
right. 
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