What a difference a day makes. Almost nobody in the group slept well at over 5100m, and when we awoke we were blanketed in low cloud, so we didn't get a glimpse of Everest all day. Consequentially we left pretty much after breakfast, having given a couple of cans of oxygen to another group that were having a high altitude emergency.
We backtracked over the same dirt road we came in on - 50 km up to the pass, and 50 km down to the Friendship Highway, out of the park, and back on to made roads. If this had been our day to see Everest, we would have been very disappointed.
However, we met up with Tashi Tensng and his group again at morning tea. He put us all right back in our place when he casually mentioned that his group had camped out last night - at 6800m!
Arrived at Old Tingri about 1:30, and went straight to the Snow Leopard Hotel to check in. It's definitely the worst accommodation of the trip so far. Basic accommodation is ok, and we can live with hot water only being available after 8pm, but this hotel looks like it actually doesn't get cleaned between guests. Most things on the lunch menu weren't actually available, and drinks were either water or coke.
We all reek of yak dung, as most Tibetans use it both for heating and for cooking, so most people spent the afternoon rinsing clothes and repacking everything. Being back down to 4100m has made life easier for everybody, so most people were happy to rest up for the remainder of the afternoon, not that there was any choice about it - the only thing in town is the army base, and they sure aren't keen on visitors.
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