While Tingri and Baibi were not unfriendly these rough, scruffy one-road towns were characterised by countless dogs roaming the wide main streets. Yaks riffled through rubbish adding their excrement to the mix and while the children, always grubby but cheerful, returned our smiles and 'hello's' the adults were less open.
Public sanitation in Tingri in particular was poor and within a single glance one could see women breast-feeding children on the pavement while a stone's throw away a man urinated.
Things were a better in Baibi which features a new petrol station and pavements. There is evidence of investment in public works and it would be wrong to judge matters on the basis of a single visit. However the gulf between the living standards of these people and we visitors was embarrassingly vast and painfully obvious. Witnessing this at such close quarters was salutary. We were lucky to be staying in the best hotel in Baibi, but even here there was no water for 2 hours and the lighting failed several times during the evening.
I suspect I am not alone in looking forward to reaching Chinese base camp the day after tomorrow and focusing on our climb, leaving these proud but desperately poor people to make what they can of their lives.