The two women say they will help me to find a minibus to Litang today, so I am downstairs with my luggage at 8am, only to find that as it is the first day of the 8 day long China national holiday and also the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic Of China, no transport is being allowed in the region. I guess it's to try and limit the hordes of people who will be travelling during the week and also as it's a sensitive area, to make sure no trouble sparks up. I am assured that I will be able to get a ride tomorrow though and so put my bags back into my room and go back for a power nap.
The next par
t of the day is pure magic. A walk out to the edge of town, which yields a shaky old rope bridge over a river and into a forest of trees that are changing from deep green to an autumnal yellow with monks walking through in their deep red robes. At the edge of the forest I take a walk up a road lined with prayer flags and off out int
o the fields and hills. After around 45 mins of walking a man on a tractor pulls up beside me and asks if I want a lift and where I am going, I say I have no idea and am just walking and he tells me to hop on board. We drive past fields and through villages with plenty of Tashi Deles and people waving 
hello, eventually pulling up at his wooden house, where his three children (maybe 5,9, and 12) grab my hand and lead me inside. Once inside we all sit down and I am fed tea and then a hearty lunch of noodles and vegetables. I can communicate in Chinese partly with his eldest son who is learning Mandarin at school, the rest of the family speaking Tibetan. They are amazed at my camera and my pictures of the area and my travels so far. I make a couple of Origami models for them, which go down a treat and then the eldest son takes me on an explor
ation trip of the village. We pop into one of the neighbors houses where they are equally as hos
pitable and give me tea and want to make me some food, but I explain I have just ate. We then leave with another two children and climb up to the top of the nearby hill with commanding views of the landscape below. The whole climb is magical, the laughter of the 3 kids, the constant picture taking and them holding my hand guiding me up the paths, they are so kind and so joyful it's unbelievable. Once we come down 
from the top, the first family insist that I should stay with them tonight for free, but once I explain that I need to catch an early bus the next morning they understand. I leave with enough time to get back before nightfall and I can only describe the whole experience as magical. It feels like I have just walked through the wardrobe in a C.S. Lewis novel and into a magical world. Back along the prayer flag road, through the colour changing forest and over the rickety bridge and back to the normal world and the town centre. It has to be one of the best days so far, the people so kind, friendly and pure of heart. Absolutely wonderful.
