On a hill overlooking the village, a Burmese-style golden pagoda constructed in 1992, apparently at the behest of the Burmese government, stood shining brilliantly. But this was definitely a Tibetan village. There was no sign of any monks taking care of the pagoda.

We unloaded all of our trekking gear in the northernmost home of the northernmost village. It was a big house with two hearths. And in a room the size of around roughly 23 square meters, there was a television and DVD player. What on earth was digital technology doing in a place like this?