Blogs from Everest, Tibet, China, Asia - page 4

Asia » China » Tibet » Everest October 29th 2008

Tibet conjures up all sorts of images, ones of remote monasteries, scarlet robed monks, prayer flags and, of course, snow capped mountains. Sitting in a café in Lhasa, reflecting on our past 8 days here, Tibet certainly delivers on all fronts. Outside of Lhasa (and within it in some places), Tibet is so different from our daily lives, it really is from another time and needs to be seen to be believed. Given the political situation, we had thought hard about whether to come here at all. But everything that we read encouraged visitors, asking that we use Tibetan guides, buy Tibetan goods and go to Tibetan restaurants. Getting here isn’t easy. The Chinese government closed Tibet to foreign nationals after the riots in March and only started to allow visitors again a couple of months ... read more

Everest

Asia » China » Tibet » Everest October 3rd 2008

Everest

russandkathryn

Day 11 - Shergar to Rongbuk (EBC) The day started with a Chinese breakfast consisting of soup (a bit like rice pudding), with a plain dumpling. Needless to say, no-one ate very much and we were glad for the cereal bars we had brought from home. The condition of the roads deteriorated unto dirt tracks full of potholes and boulders, meaning the our driver had to concentrate on every move. We made our way upto the La Pang Pass to catch our first glipse of Everest and the surrounding mountains. The view was breathtaking, and we were able to see Everest crystal clearly, which was a great relief as a number of other groups that had just come back hadn't seen it at all. Also in view were 3 of the other 10 highest mountains in ... read more

As the song goes welcome to the Hotel California

Kathryn at the highest post office in the world

I found my Everest

Asia » China » Tibet » Everest August 12th 2008

Arriving at Everest base camp (EBC)

klund182

So what do I say about spending time at the highest point on earth? First, as a disclaimer, I must say that I am not sure I can quite put it into words... We began our drive to Everest Base Camp at 10:30am not quite sure how long it would take. The road itself had amazing scenery that was constantly changing from green hills, to lakes, to desert like conditions to dirt roads. Due to all the new regulations after the unfortunate events that occurred in March, we had to go through about 8 checkpoints to even get to base camp. Our big joke with our guide was the second we stopped saying "passports" and whipping them out as fast as possible since that is exactly what they needed each and every time. Our guide had ... read more

EBC and back

Asia » China » Tibet » Everest December 24th 2007

River

MattyV

Day 1 - 20th December: The Driver From Hell Our driver turned up at 9am at our hostel in his pride and joy, a 4500 series Landcruiser, which he spent a fortune on 1million yuan to be exact (which really is a fortune especially if you convert it into AUD $150,000) but as he said this is his livelihood so he needed to invest in some decent equipment. We left at about 9.30 which wasn't a bad turn around for getting people organised and a few last minute arguments with the driver who wanted to bring a fifth person and jack the price up another 700yuan. But after all that was sorted out we were on the road. After driving about an hour we stoppoed on the side of the road next to a large river ... read more

Everest Base Camp and the Tibetan Platuau

Asia » China » Tibet » Everest December 12th 2007

Everest Base Camp- I SWEAR

boardnsurf00

10-11-DEC-2007 We rise extremely early so we could make it to Everest for sunrise. Nobody else seems to realize the significance of my statement that the sun rises in the east. But alas, I go along with it because it's easier than arguing. On the way to base camp from the village, we are confronted with ice sheets on the road and large snow hunks (or very white rocks) along the steep roadside. It is most definitely a four-wheeling adventure the entire way. We finally arrive, but do not realize it because we do not see Everest or the heaps of people camping in tents sipping tea from lounge chairs. Apparently no one else is stupid enough to trek out here this time of year. And unfortunately for us, it is cold, blustery, and cloudy, with ... read more

Hardie har har!

Asia » China » Tibet » Everest November 23rd 2007

Tibetan nomads

Shanghai Sheri

My goodness, but those mountain climbers are a hardy stock. Here we are at Everest Base camp, 17,060 feet, and are still some 12,000 feet below the summit of this beastly mountain. I have succumbed to the headaches and decided to take the altitude pills we picked up in the states. Jessie decides to try the extremely bad tasting natural Chinese medicine. Matt and Ty, being the tough fools that they are, go au naturel. Yes, they have headaches from the water collecting on their brain. We all are extremely short of breath. Ty is complaining - why Tibet? Why not some relaxing, hot beach? He’s subsisting on spicy dried noodle packets and the energy bars that he’s grown tired of. Note the joy on his face in every photo! Even though the wind howls ... read more

Ohm mani peme hon!!

Asia » China » Tibet » Everest November 11th 2007

Yamdrok lake

Eva

The route was Yamdrok Lake, Shigatse, Gyantse, Shegar, Everest Base Camp, Rongpo Monastery, Tingri (and not Tring as I said in the previous blog) and then back to Lhasa in six days. The trip went smoothly, there were 12 of us in different jeeps, Portuguese, Swedish, Polish, Irish, Indian and our guide, Jingme, who was Tibetan. One thing that is indisputable is that the scenery in Tibet is stunning. However, as we are now in fall/ winter time, it can also be said that it is BLOODY FREEZING!!! Lhasa has sunshine almost every day, which makes it somewhat warm. Outside of Lhasa it is cold, and many places are as basic as it gets. In Tingri I spent two nights, as did the Polish/ Irish couple. The other nine people headed for the Nepalese border and ... read more

The Best Bar in the World!

Asia » China » Tibet » Everest November 10th 2007

The Mighty Mount Everest

Jaysus

EBC Trip, Saturday 10th November After a very cold night we were up by 8am, the earliest I've been up on a Saturday morning for years - well, I had a good reason! We set off not long after rising, as cleaning our teeth wasn't the first thing on our minds in the subzero temperatures, not to mention the state of the "bathroom" - a hole in the ground under a semi sheltered hut from which emanated such a putrid stench and was so disgustingly foul that most people were relieving themselves outside last night, running the risk of frostbite in the worst place possible rather than risk entering! Just after leaving we realised we didn't have any water with us so I ran back to get some, but it was evidently too early in the ... read more

Journey to the Top of the World

Asia » China » Tibet » Everest November 9th 2007

Entering Qomolangma National Park

Jaysus

EBC Trip, Friday 9th November With a bright and early start (sort of...) we set off for the small nondescript town of Shegar where we stopped to purchase our Everest Base Camp (EBC) permits - yet another section of red tape on the bureaucratic highway we seemed to be travelling, but one which we hoped would be the last. Shortly after departing Shegar we reached the Everest turnoff from the Friendship Highway and started a long off road stretch; EBC is only about 60km from Shegar but it took the best part of three hours to get there because of the road conditions; much of the time was spent on long narrow dirt tracks clinging to hillsides and it soon became apparent why a 4x4 was necessary for this journey. As tourism to Tibet increases it ... read more

The Tibetan Himalayas

Asia » China » Tibet » Everest October 15th 2007

Rongbuk Monastery

Kataline

As part of the Jeep tour we have passed the Tongla Pass and enjoyed some awesome views of the Himalayas. We have stayed in the Rongbuk Monastery at the foot of Mt Everest, walked to the Everest Base Camp,from where the expeditions starts with hope of reaching the summit. I also spent some time in local villages, did some trekkig at 5200m in hope of a better view and enjoyed a memorable sunrise and many beautiful sunsets... I hope you will enjoy the pics! A Dzsip túra részeként megáltunk a Tongla Hágon hogy élvezzük a tökéletes kilátást a Himalája Vonulataira . Az Everest lábánál lévő Rongbuk Kolostorban szálltunk meg pár napig. "Elsétáltam" a 8 km re lévő alaptáborig, ahonnan az expediciók indulnak annak reményében hogy felérnek a csúcsra. Eltöltöttem pár napot a régió falvaiban és korán ... read more

Brief history of China

For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. A...more history

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