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the white yak, the majestic, and the worm
day 199: 天祝藏族自治县 (Tibetan self-governed township of Tianzhu) – = 0km
A couple of friends took me out to the mountains west of the township:
It was a one-hour drive up to the valley, and when we got there, I was just…
…so overwhelmed…
…and – for once – at a complete lack of words:
Awesome.
…
Tibetan regions have a number of animals that you’re not very likely to find anywhere else, like this kind of sheep for example:
You probably know that yaks are also originally from the Tibetan regions, but have you heard of the white yak (白牦牛) yet?
Only here in 天祝 (tianzhu):
Any of these animals you see in any other region of the world – they are all originally from here.
…
These people were not looking for yaks though:
They were looking for one of the weirdest things I’ve ever seen:
It’s called “冬虫夏草” – “winter worm, summer grass”, and is also known as “caterpillar fungus”. Basically this is a fungus that infests certain caterpillars underground, kills them and grows a small plant-like body that sticks out from the ground resembling grass during Spring. This “虫草” – “worm grass” is a very expensive ingredient of traditional Chinese and Tibetan medicine.
…
Back to the yaks though – I went after a small herd:
…and I chased them down, since they eventually had to find out that they had been fenced in all along:
These particular ones were rather young animals who were naturally shy and not overly protective of the little one that was with them:
Did I say little?
What I meant to say was…
…just tiny:
Only a couple of weeks old, this baby calf with its adorable big black eyes.
…
When the sun was about to set in the west, I left the yaks to themselves and climbed up a steep hill to take pictures of the snowy mountains ahead:
At an altitude of about 3400m, I have to admit that I didn’t feel that comfortable exercising my flatland mountaineering skills, so I stayed up there for almost an hour, gasping for air and using the little digital camera to record 30 minutes of video that I shortened down a bit just now:
If this is not just majestic – blame it on me, for the reality was.
…
When I got down from the hill, I found out that my friends had not wasted their time either.
They had kept themselves busy fishing, and decided to invite me home to a dinner of fresh mountain creek fish.
Awesome!
It was already getting late when we finally left the mountains behind and rode past this lake on the way home.
I asked my friend 尕藏 to stop for one last photograph:
Reflections on the water. Reflections on the day.
And what an amazing day it had been.
Soundtrack: Myang Chu Gtsang Po – “Sems Pa Skyo Dgos Min ‘Dug”
—total: 2452,2km
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May 26th, 2008 at 08:45
Nice day. No walking. Just sights.
May 26th, 2008 at 09:22
ooooohhhh – mein kleines mädchenherz wird ganz weich :-)
ich will auch so ein baby-yak! ich befürchte nur, eine 1-zimmer innenstadt wohnung in köln ist wohl nicht das richtige…und auch das bett wird wohl auf dauer aufgrund des wachstums wohl zu klein für uns beide…mmh…schade…*gg*
May 26th, 2008 at 09:47
typischer Mädelkommentar bei den Yak-Baby-Bildern: oooooohh wie süüüüüß.
Zugegeben, sind ja echt niedlich. Und gegen meine sonstige Gewohnheit sag ich mal nicht: mmh lecker, am besten vom Grill.
Genau genommen kann der heutige Tag nur mit einem einzigen Wort kommentiert werden:
grandios!!!
Boah, dieses Licht und diese Farben. Eine Tüte Neid reicht da nicht aus, ist wohl eher ein ganzer Container.
May 26th, 2008 at 09:49
ohhhh, the last pic is so f**king awesome. love that!
guess u guys had a wonderful creek fish meal:)
i was confused by 尕藏 at first, 'coz i thought it would be a traditional title of the district. The chinese character 尕 gave me a wrong indication, 'coz i have never seen the character before even though i am from China. Now, i know that(尕藏) is a family name….
May 26th, 2008 at 10:02
wow…they are really white……unbelievable
May 26th, 2008 at 10:19
Sooo viele beeindruckende Bilder – und das alles ohne Marschkilometer! Landschaftsbilder stehen ja auf meiner "Hitliste" ganz oben – vor allem vor dem Hintergrund dieser grandiosen Gebirgslandschaft, irgendwie karg, aber dennoch unglaublich reich an reizvollen Perspektiven… Das wird ja immer besser: Eine Kombination aus Landschaftsbildern, Portraits der Menschen und der Tiere, Bilder der menschlichen Bauten… es fällt langsam schwer, sich vorzustellen, was da noch kommen mag – da reicht die Phantasie nicht aus!
May 26th, 2008 at 10:49
Hermann: Ich fand's soooo super!
Réka: Ha, das würde ich gerne sehen – du mit deinem RIESIGEN Yak!!
Barry: War wirklich toll.
Achille: Well, he has a family name as well, this is just his first name.
ataraxia: Never seen one before?
Florian: Ja, manchmal kommen die besten Bilder in der Pause…
May 26th, 2008 at 12:24
dann lass ich hier auch mal einen mädchenkommentar:
wie süüüß das kleine yak!!! ich hätte sogar nen kleinen garten anzubieten, und wenn es da nicht satt würde ließe ich es einfach nachts heimlich in die nachbargärten… :)
riechen yaks eigentlich wirklich so schlimm wie es immer heißt?? ich kenn nämlich den spruch: du stinkst wie ein yak!….
May 26th, 2008 at 17:16
Da kann man nur sagen ein traumhaft schöner Tag mit super Bildern für uns alle!
May 26th, 2008 at 18:40
What's wonderful day you had..!!
Masterpiece !!!!
May 27th, 2008 at 01:02
I try to click into your site every day, as I just love all your photos and the stories of the people you are meeting on the way. These photos would have to be some of my favourites – what a beautiful region. Good luck with your travels, I am looking forward to seeing what happens next in your adventures!
May 27th, 2008 at 10:08
jule: Nee, ich hab nicht gemerkt, dass die schlecht riechen. Aber vielleicht stinke ich auch einfach selber zu sehr.
Gisela: :)
Steven: Thanks to 尕藏, and thanks to the yaks!
Kylie: Glad you like it – welcome to the way!!
May 28th, 2008 at 16:11
…dann hier noch ein Jungskommentar: oooohhh ist das süüüüß!!!!
(aka wie Du schon sagtest: "auch Yaks haben süße Kinder!")