"Chew them slowly," he said with a smile. "They help with altitude sickness." He then offered me a cup of chai (tea).

Like many others here, Khamoosh comes from the Gilgit-Baltistan region in northern Pakistan, bordering China — the very region I was heading to the next day. The village where he grew up lies near Sost, the first Pakistani town after crossing the border.

Beside trading goods, Khamoosh and his brother run a cross-border bus service and organize tours for Pakistani visitors entering China.