Karakora Lake

Before I jump straight into the journey, let me briefly describe the daily ritual of the convoy. It was important that we operate according to certain rules and regulations to ensure our safety, especially since we were travelling into spots where the people and especially the authorities were going to be less accustomed to foreigners.

The convoy had to adhere at all times to instructions and were not allowed to leave the team unless it was for emergencies or if we were given permission by the team leader. Vehicles are given numbers where the sequence must be in order whilst on the road.

Every morning, we would gather at a designated time and spot decided by our team leader, Thomas (or Tango while on the road), where he would brief us on the day’s events after which we would do some stretching and prayers before rolling out. 

Oh yeah, we were also required to wear matching t-shirts as uniforms and put on name tags in order to allow people to recognise us as an entity. We were told that if the locals knew we were travelling as a large group, we would be less likely to be targeted.

Today, it was long-sleeved shirt day. After our morning briefing, we were finally officially out on the road with Lucky Seven at 10am sharp. We were headed to Karakora Lake for our first camping night with more than 200km ahead of us.

Morning Briefing

Nadya took on driver’s duty for the day and drove us all the way to the lake without batting an eyelid. But this was just the beginning and there were days where she and I pushed through behind the wheel going more than 500km, but you can read more about that in the upcoming posts. Along the way, we were treated to so many beautiful and amazing sights.

On the road

Beautiful scenery on the way to Karakora Lake

While we were excited about the adventure on the road, we can’t help but feel a little inexperienced. Our team was actually the youngest in the convoy, being made up of people in their mid to late twenties. On top of that, none of us had actually had any experience on a trip like this, except Zain, who had joined the expedition’s previous trip to but unfortunately proved to be little help. The thought of setting up camp by ourselves got us girls feeling more than a little apprehensive.

I was determined that the convoy, made up of mostly expedition veterans, would not view us as babies based on our inexperience. We may be an all girls team (Zain couldn’t count as he seldom joins us unless it was in Lucky Seven or maybe we might have thought of him as a girl as well), but we were not going to be viewed as damsels in distress. I was already organising in my head on what items to prepare for the campsite.

In order to get into Karakora Lake, the convoy had to go through a checkpoint, as entering the premises required a special permit. It was also on this first journey that we discovered the horrors of using a toilet in China. I’ve heard plenty of terrible stories about the toilets here, but coming face to face with it was another thing. In many situations, going out in the open air in the middle of nowhere with just an umbrella for cover was much more preferable than using what the locals would think of as a real toilet.

The moment we reached the designated campsite, car number 6, which housed our mechanic known as 00, recced the area for the best camping spot. When confirmed, the rest of the convoy would join him, make a circle with our vehicles and set up our camps in the middle. 

Campsite for the night

It was said that 00 got his call name by being the best driver in the worst road conditions. At one point while roughing it out in the jungle without proper roads, he was so fast that the convoy behind him claimed the title of number 01 could not hold him any longer. He was instead crowned 00 and it stuck.

The moment we hopped out of Lucky Seven, the girls immediately went to work putting up the tent. Surprisingly, we worked well together and our temporary home was set up in no time. This marked the great start of good rapport among the girls in Lucky Seven. I think it was then that we really knew we would be getting along just fine.

Putting up the tent

Karakora Lake is 3600m above sea level. The main worry of the convoy was succumbing to altitude sickness. We were given pills beforehand in the hopes that we will get acclimatised to the height, which we eventually did. We were advised to not exert ourselves and move slowly within the area.

Karakora Lake was really a beauty. The weather was a little chilly so we had to put on our jackets but the warmth of the sun made it comfortable for us to sit in the open and enjoy the breeze. It was one of those rare moments when being under the sun is considered a blessing rather than a curse. We climbed up a little hill near the campsite and took in the breathtaking view that stood before us. Right behind the lake was the majestic snow mountains covered in glaciers, which of course prompted many clicks on the camera. 

Karakora Lake

Along the side of the lake, many locals were busy trying to sell the convoy jewellery, rocks (which some claimed was jade), horse rides and camel rides. Rumour has it that one of the expedition sponsors, a man from China who owned the outdoor equipment brand, Beaume, called David, actually traded a pair of pants for a huge block of rock that could probably be jade. I say ‘probably’, because no one knows for sure if that green block is genuine, something that is always playing in our heads when buying from small stores in China.

To our surprise, we were told that dinner would be prepared for us in a nearby yurt. The walk was around 500 metres away but when the sun set, the temperature took an immediate dip that tortured most of us. Nadya especially seemed to be dying in the cold. She and Suzhen didn’t own proper gloves, lucky for them, I came to the rescue as I had two extra pairs with me. Dinner in the yurt was an interesting experience, who knew an infrastructure so simple could feel so warm and cosy. Benny the local guide told us that the yurt was build to be portable. It could be assembled and disassembled at a moment’s notice.

Entering the yurt for dinner

Yurts around the lake

Trying to fall asleep that night was a terrible experience. It wasn’t that the tent was not comfortable, but the cold was so intense that the three of us woke up repeatedly during the night. And if we did manage to fall asleep, we were plagued by weird dreams.

At zero degrees, it was not surprising that we suffered quite a bit at night. Suzhen and I tried keeping Nadya as warm as possible as she was the only one without any thermal wear. We wrapped her up so tight in between us that she was nothing more than a towering mountain of sleeping bag and warm clothes. Suzhen claimed that Nadya nearly crushed her in her sleep, but luckily had the will to survive in order to continue the trip.

When morning came, we woke up again for what was the umpteenth time in the cold to pack up, fervently hoping that the next destination would be a warm one.