We leave Lhasa in three white Toyota 4-Runners, all-wheel drive vehicles that you might see the average yuppie family driving around on city streets. They can handle a bit more than city streets, by the way. Our group has now been joined by Zef, management in the travel company, fairly soft-spoken and perpetually concerned about altitude sickness. Our local guide, Anu, a shifty, cigarette-smoking Tibetan who dyes his hair jet black and adds an "s" to the end of most of his English words, will be continuing with us. And we have three crazy drivers, ours is named Pupu. The highway out of Lhasa is well-maintained smooth asphalt, and we comfortably head out through farmland, between hills and beneath overcast skies. We are heading east, not west, for our first stop is Yumbulagong, the oldest stone building in Tibet. It is a stunningly situated monastery at the top of a ridge. I hike up, some ride donkeys.
In the afternoon, Nigel and I explore the old town area of Tsetang, white stone buildings with elaborately colored doorways. Dozens of cows roam the dirt side streets. We come across a beautiful monastery, unrestricted by the usual entry fees, and go inside, passing several monks playing basketball in the courtyard.
The next day we are heading west again. The scenery is remarkable. Snow-capped mountains, blue lakes and high mountain passes. The most spectacular view comes at the top of Gampa La pass overlooking Yamdrok Yutso, also known as Scorpian Lake because of it's shape. We are so high up, everything seems to be below us, the aquamarine lake, the white mountains, the clouds. Only the sun continues to shine from above, keeping us warm.
We spend the night in Gyantse, and it is here that I spend my first night without heat. The high season is over, winter is approaching and the hotels, empty of guests, don't use heat. There is no heater in my room. The floor is too cold to put even sock-covered feet on. I spend the night in my mummy sleeping bag, under layers of wool blankets with only my nose and mouth exposed. In the morning, Nigel has us sing songs with the world "sun" in them. But it is another cloudless day and we are quickly warmed as we head to Pelkor Chode monastery. The monastery is dominated visually by the Kumbum stupa, containing over 70 chapels, each with a different image of Buddha incarnations. The stupa is tiered, like a wedding cake. In the afternoon, we head to Shigatse.
It is a short drive to Shigatse. The roads are still decent, the weather is perfect. The yaks are frisky. As the sun is setting, Lynette and I walk the Kora, the line of prayer wheels surrounding Tashilunpo monastery. We are now at 3900 meters, 12,800 feet, and the air keeps getting thinner. The next morning it is another monastery tour. We know we signed up for a trip called "Mountains and Monasteries," but now we're all feeling a bit oversaturated. I'm unable to retain any of Anu's "pachen lamas, dalai lamas, most important stupas, 7th king, 32nd king, 7th centuries, 8 centuries" blah blah etc., in any cohesive mental order. When's lunch?
The next day we are heading west again. The scenery is remarkable. Snow-capped mountains, blue lakes and high mountain passes. The most spectacular view comes at the top of Gampa La pass overlooking Yamdrok Yutso, also known as Scorpian Lake because of it's shape. We are so high up, everything seems to be below us, the aquamarine lake, the white mountains, the clouds. Only the sun continues to shine from above, keeping us warm.
We spend the night in Gyantse, and it is here that I spend my first night without heat. The high season is over, winter is approaching and the hotels, empty of guests, don't use heat. There is no heater in my room. The floor is too cold to put even sock-covered feet on. I spend the night in my mummy sleeping bag, under layers of wool blankets with only my nose and mouth exposed. In the morning, Nigel has us sing songs with the world "sun" in them. But it is another cloudless day and we are quickly warmed as we head to Pelkor Chode monastery. The monastery is dominated visually by the Kumbum stupa, containing over 70 chapels, each with a different image of Buddha incarnations. The stupa is tiered, like a wedding cake. In the afternoon, we head to Shigatse.
It is a short drive to Shigatse. The roads are still decent, the weather is perfect. The yaks are frisky. As the sun is setting, Lynette and I walk the Kora, the line of prayer wheels surrounding Tashilunpo monastery. We are now at 3900 meters, 12,800 feet, and the air keeps getting thinner. The next morning it is another monastery tour. We know we signed up for a trip called "Mountains and Monasteries," but now we're all feeling a bit oversaturated. I'm unable to retain any of Anu's "pachen lamas, dalai lamas, most important stupas, 7th king, 32nd king, 7th centuries, 8 centuries" blah blah etc., in any cohesive mental order. When's lunch?
Another dawn and another drive, this time to Sakya. The towns are getting smaller and the roads are getting worse. We go to visit the monastery, but it is closed. I think we all breath a sigh of relief. Instead we take a walk through the small town, up onto a ridge overlooking the valley. Later, we come back and play cards until the sun dips and the temperature drops instantly from 55 to 30. We find a restaurant called Sakya Farmers Taste with a room arranged around a stove. It's warm, a great place to play cards, and why go someplace else for dinner - noodle soup and momos. The hotel, of course, has no heat. I've purchased a completely unsafe space heater for $10 which I sneak in to my room. The room lights dim when I turn it on as 5 sides of the cube light up orange. It doesn't make a dent in the bitter cold. Tomorrow, we head for Everest.
