Every memorable holiday must have its fair share of drama, and ours was no exception!
Even before we set off, we were already worrying about mountain sickness in JZG and Huanglong. We were talking about altitudes ranging from around 2,000 metres to a dizzying 4,000 metres above sea level!
Some friends helpfully suggested that we take medication to prevent altitude sickness. There was just one little catch. Apparently, one of the side effects was frequent visits to the toilet! Now, imagine having to make those trips while travelling through winding mountain roads, with no convenient toilet in sight! That certainly gave us something else to worry about!
After much discussion and deliberation, we decided to give the medication a miss. Our backup plan? If things got really bad, we would simply skip that part of the tour. Better safe than sorry!
Just when we thought we had to rely on sheer luck and good fortune, our local Chinese guide came to the rescue. She introduced us to a Chinese herbal remedy, neatly packed in small boxes, which she assured us would help prevent mountain sickness.
One or two of us thought the herbal remedy was a clever ruse to part us from our money, but we were so worried about mountain sickness that we weren't about to let a little suspicion stand in the way! We each bought a box, swallowed the contents over the next two days and crossed our fingers, toes and whatever else could be crossed!
Whether it was the herbs, our positive thinking or simply good luck, I'll leave that to your imagination!
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| The miracle herbal remedy to prevent mountain sickness |
One thing was certain: we were determined not to let a little thing like altitude spoil our holiday! After all, we had come all this way. We weren't going to let a mountain get the better of us! 😂
But when the moment of truth arrived, five of us, the more senior members of the group, myself included, came to the final conclusion, again after much deliberation, that at our age, it was wiser to admire the mountain from our hotel stopover rather than try to conquer it!
As it turned out, those who ventured up the mountain had quite a challenging experience. There were endless steps to climb and with oxygen levels getting thinner at such high altitudes, even the fittest among them found themselves struggling with tiredness and breathlessness. Some, in fact, didn't quite make it all the way to the top.
Sometimes, the wisest travel decision is know when to climb a mountain - and when to enjoy the hotel!
(To be continued)
Views from the mountain top
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| Snow on the way to the mountain |
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