Three days in Manigango
Manigango looked nice at first sight. And the first day was actually a nice day. The small Tibetan village on the junction of roads to Serxu, Dege, and Ganzi, looks similar to Xiewu, also on a T-junction. The road from Manigango to Dege goes over a pass of 5100m, and the peaks of the Chola mountain look very impressive. The through road from Serxu to Ganzi follows the valley, and most traffic goes here. My original plan was to go to Dege, taking the high-altitude pass. Manigango itself has an elevation of 3600m, and I had not felt the slightest hint of altitude sickness, even after passing several passes of around 4700m and sleeping in towns at elevations of 4000m or more (like Maduo, at 4300m) in the past 10 days since leaving Xining.
My first day in Manigango I walked around town a bit, which is not much more than up and down the street, and enjoyed watching the Tibetans as much as they enjoyed watching me. They play pool here on tables at the street side like in Xiewu, the shops and restaurant are like those in Xiewu, the main difference is that there are three 'real' hotels here. The catch is that only one has toilets (one of the most smelly ones I have encountered on my trip, worse than on trains!). Most of the clientele are Tibetan monks, on their way to a monastery, or for the more adventurous, to Lhasa through Dege, which is near the border of Tibet (we are still in Sichuan here). You see the occasional tourist, like me, or Shimon from Israel, a hardcore traveller away from home for two and half years already, and with no plans to return. I talked to him when I saw him standing at the side of the road to Dege, hoping to catch a ride. We talked for about half an hour, and when I returned from my walk he was still there, already for 3 hours without luck. The next morning he was gone, so he must have gotten a ride afterall, or...
That second day, I was supposed to visit a monastery an hour north of Manigango. I passed it coming down, and it looked very impressive, set against the foot of the giant mountains. But somehow, I didn't feel like making the effort. I felt a bit nauseous, with a slight headache. Altitude sickness after 10 days? I didn't know the incubation time could be that long. I decided to take it easy, and spend the day in the village. It was a nice and sunny day, after rain overnight, and a lightning strike the previous evening that caused a power failure and left me standing in the dark in the 'toilet'. Not the best moment for a blackout, but I managed to zip up and find my room. A candle was brought a few moments later. Power was restored after just half an hour, maybe by a generator, I don't know.
Anyway, that second day I felt somthing coming, and by evening I was running to the toilet and it was no fun. That night I had to make frequent outings, and eventually I had to bring a bucket to prevent accidents. Man, was I sick!
The whole next day, I was in bed, only interrupted by more runs to the toilet. I was completely drained, both physically and emotionally. Luckily I still had a full pack of antibiotics that was prescribed by the Mongolian doctor who looked at my infected mosquito bites a month before. They worked wonders, but I only started taking them after that sleepless night. In the evening I dared to venture out for a quick meal (had only apples and water in my room). And don't expect the hotel staff to do anything here, they only come to collect the money, and refill the hot water thermos, which I usedto wash myself (much needed!). I had to empty the bowl with dirty water myself into the toilet. The locals just throw it out of the window, but I could not bring myself to do that.
The third night I slept uninterrupted, so I was getting more positive in my chances of getting out of this place. It was obvious the bacterial infection was caused by the horrific sanitary conditions in this town. People just shit on the street (including the monks), nobody has toilets. That's why everybody is dressed in long robes. When they squat down, everything is hidden. I've seen this habit in all Tibetan towns, but never realized that is was normal for everybody (including the locals who live in these places) to shit and piss on the street, but it is!
Of course, the animals that walk around town (mostly yaks and dogs) do exactly the same. Not to mention all the spoiled food, dirty water, and other trash which is dumped on the street. Makes an interesting mix for a bacteriologist! I suddenly remember that biologist from Manchester whom I met in Chengdu, who did her Ph.D research in exactly this region!
I dared to take a minivan to Ganzi, a much bigger town just two and half hours away, to get away from this shithole.
My first day in Manigango I walked around town a bit, which is not much more than up and down the street, and enjoyed watching the Tibetans as much as they enjoyed watching me. They play pool here on tables at the street side like in Xiewu, the shops and restaurant are like those in Xiewu, the main difference is that there are three 'real' hotels here. The catch is that only one has toilets (one of the most smelly ones I have encountered on my trip, worse than on trains!). Most of the clientele are Tibetan monks, on their way to a monastery, or for the more adventurous, to Lhasa through Dege, which is near the border of Tibet (we are still in Sichuan here). You see the occasional tourist, like me, or Shimon from Israel, a hardcore traveller away from home for two and half years already, and with no plans to return. I talked to him when I saw him standing at the side of the road to Dege, hoping to catch a ride. We talked for about half an hour, and when I returned from my walk he was still there, already for 3 hours without luck. The next morning he was gone, so he must have gotten a ride afterall, or...
That second day, I was supposed to visit a monastery an hour north of Manigango. I passed it coming down, and it looked very impressive, set against the foot of the giant mountains. But somehow, I didn't feel like making the effort. I felt a bit nauseous, with a slight headache. Altitude sickness after 10 days? I didn't know the incubation time could be that long. I decided to take it easy, and spend the day in the village. It was a nice and sunny day, after rain overnight, and a lightning strike the previous evening that caused a power failure and left me standing in the dark in the 'toilet'. Not the best moment for a blackout, but I managed to zip up and find my room. A candle was brought a few moments later. Power was restored after just half an hour, maybe by a generator, I don't know.
Anyway, that second day I felt somthing coming, and by evening I was running to the toilet and it was no fun. That night I had to make frequent outings, and eventually I had to bring a bucket to prevent accidents. Man, was I sick!
The whole next day, I was in bed, only interrupted by more runs to the toilet. I was completely drained, both physically and emotionally. Luckily I still had a full pack of antibiotics that was prescribed by the Mongolian doctor who looked at my infected mosquito bites a month before. They worked wonders, but I only started taking them after that sleepless night. In the evening I dared to venture out for a quick meal (had only apples and water in my room). And don't expect the hotel staff to do anything here, they only come to collect the money, and refill the hot water thermos, which I usedto wash myself (much needed!). I had to empty the bowl with dirty water myself into the toilet. The locals just throw it out of the window, but I could not bring myself to do that.
The third night I slept uninterrupted, so I was getting more positive in my chances of getting out of this place. It was obvious the bacterial infection was caused by the horrific sanitary conditions in this town. People just shit on the street (including the monks), nobody has toilets. That's why everybody is dressed in long robes. When they squat down, everything is hidden. I've seen this habit in all Tibetan towns, but never realized that is was normal for everybody (including the locals who live in these places) to shit and piss on the street, but it is!
Of course, the animals that walk around town (mostly yaks and dogs) do exactly the same. Not to mention all the spoiled food, dirty water, and other trash which is dumped on the street. Makes an interesting mix for a bacteriologist! I suddenly remember that biologist from Manchester whom I met in Chengdu, who did her Ph.D research in exactly this region!
I dared to take a minivan to Ganzi, a much bigger town just two and half hours away, to get away from this shithole.
posted by marc at 11:00
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