It was 12 noon in Tibet, on April 25, 2011. Twenty adventurers instinctively quickened their pace as they approached the Jokhang Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Lhasa. Their faces beamed with smiles as they admired the architectural styles of the temple, a four-storey timber complex with a golden top. They had set off from the Shangbala Hotel, where they spent the night upon arrival from their various countries, and their initial impressions of the temple, the ultimate pilgrimage destination for Tibetan Pilgrims, were positive. They were quickly attracted to a crowd of worshipers and some souvenir sellers. A military parade was also ongoing. The enthusiastic adventurers were beginning to take pictures and enjoy the atmosphere when something strange and unexpected occurred: As if possessed by some spirits, and with ‘confusion’ clearly spelt on their faces, the Tibetan locals suspended their activities and rushed towards one of the adventurers. Speaking to him in the strange local dialect, they held and touched and pressed his skin before proceeding to take pictures with him. Scores of people took pictures with him that day. The adventurer was Mr Muntaka Chasant, a 26-year-old of slight build and medium height from Aboaso in the Ashanti region of Ghana. As it turned out, the Tibetans had never met a dark skinned person, and were extremely fascinated by Chasant’s looks. Sharing his experiences with The Mirror on Tuesday, Mr Chasant, said the incident happened on his way to the Mount Everest. A former old boy of Kumasi High School, Chasant is passionate about sightseeing, and has spent a lot of money visiting many places of interest across the world. He has already visited all 16 countries that make up the ECOWAS. He funds his trips with monies he makes from Muntaka Publicities, an outdoor advertising agency he set up after he completed a course in Chartered Marketing (UK) at the Institute of Professional studies. Chasant is especially obsessed with climbing mountains. It was this obsession that took him to Mount Everest. Last month, invigorated by the pleasant experience of climbing 5364 metres to the base camp of the Everest, Chasant embarked on a more audacious mission to summit Africa’s highest mountain – The Kilimanjaro, at an altitude of 5,896 metres. Having set aside about $5000, he flew to Kenya, where he crossed the Namanga border to Arusha,Tanzania. The feedback he received when he told some of the Tanzanian locals of his objective was clear: “Climbing to top of the Kilimanjaro is not a child’s play. It’s not for small boys” one man told him. However, the lion-hearted ‘son’ of Kwame Nkrumah refused to be dissuaded by naysayers. Chasant promptly paid a trekking company to make the necessary arrangements for his ascent to the summit of the mountain. No sooner had he made the payment than he was provided with a guide, three porters and a cook. His journey to the top of the Kilimanjaro had begun. Chasant and his ‘aides’ set off from the Macrame Gate of the Kilimanjaro, which according to him was the second most difficult route to the summit of the mountain. The ascent of the Kilimanjaro was expected to take 6 nights and 7 days, so they carried tents, food, water and cooking items. In his back pack, Chasant had some tools and safety equipment to help facilitate relatively easy ascent. They followed a long, winding path to the thick and green Machame rain forest. Then it began to rain. After about 5-6 hours of hiking on the winding trail, they made it to the Machame Camp (3000 metres) just at the end of the forest. “My tent was erected and I quickly settled in it. After dinner, I gave in to rest”, he said. After breakfast on Day 2, Chasant and his team climbed 840 metres to reach the Shira Camp (3840 metres). They left the glades of the rain forest behind and ascended across steep rocky ridges onto the Shira plateau.