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Published: April 11th 2012
Lake Yam-DrokWe left Lhasa at 0730 hours to begin our three day drive to the Nepal border. Joining us are two travelers from Hong Kong, who I had been in contact with before this trip and we had all planned to travel together to defray some of the vehicle cost.
Our new guide, who I’ll call Damian, is young, intelligent and full of energy. For the tourist season he is a travel guide, during the winter months he returns home in the country where he helps his family herd yaks. He comes from a nomadic background, living in tents and following the areas that have grass to feed the yaks. The yak is the lifeblood of the Tibetan nomad, and they treat them almost as their family pets, giving each their own name. They adorn them with colorful feathers that hang from their ears.
Damian occasionally gives us pop quizzes to test our knowledge, such as the famous Buddhist question of “What is the meaning of life?” or asking which Buddha is which by the position of the hands. Happily we are apt pupils and are not completely embarrassing ambassadors to our country.
The drive today was about an eight hour journey
on the Friendship Highway. This road was paved a few years ago, and was previously a very bumpy dirt road which we experienced in some small sections.
The scenery was gorgeous as we snaked through mountain passes and through the countryside. Our first stop was Lake Yam-Drok, one of the four holy lakes in Tibet. The color was a deep turquoise green, and absolutely crystal clear. No one is allowed to swim or fish in this lake due to its spiritual significance; however the Chinese do not abide by this. In recent years a hydroelectric dam was put in the lake, causing the water levels to decrease. I read that this lake may be dry in 20 years because it is dormant and not spring fed.
We visited a monastery along the way called Pelkor Chode in Gyantse. It was built in 1418, and like all other monasteries, looms over the town on a high ridge. It is surrounded by a large wall that was used as a fortification to protect the riches of the monastery. Each monastery had a small contingent of warrior monks that would defend themselves.
As we entered the large stupa, I saw that many of
the walls that once contained murals were blackened and damaged. I asked the guide what had happened, and again I was told we could not discuss such things. He later whispered to me out of earshot of anyone else that most of this monastery had been destroyed by the Chinese during the cultural revolution. Apparently there are “spy monks” in all the monasteries, who are watching and listening for the Chinese gov’t.
We spent the night in Shigatse, the second largest city in Tibet, and went straight to bed. It was an exhausting and long day on the road.
In the morning we went to yet another monastery, Tashilhunpo Monastery, right outside of Shigatse. Here the Panchen Lamas are entombed. The Panchen Lamas are the second highest religious figures next to the Dalai Lamas. The Dalai Lamas are manifestations of the Bodhisattvas (enlightened beings dedicated to saving humankind) of Compassion, whereas the Panchen Lamas are the manifestations of Insight.
From here we traveled to Everest Base Camp, known by its local name of Qomolangma. We left the main paved road and traveled on a very bumpy dirt road for the next 2 ½ hours. The road winded up up and
Nomadsaway in a barren and stark landscape. We crossed over a mountain pass, reaching our highest elevation for the entire trip. I stopped for a bathroom break at the world’s highest bathroom, and was breathless after the short walk.
The road descended past a few quaint villages and ruins into a fertile valley full grazing sheep and yaks. We got a flat tire while we were passing through a village and stopped to fix it. In no time it seemed like every child, dog and yak descended upon us, curious to see what the tourists were doing. It seemed like this was the most excitement this village had seen in years. I took several pictures of the children, who were gorgeous and friendly, and loved having their photos taken. With each one, they wanted to see what they looked like, and then asked again for another.
We reached base camp, which luckily had opened the previous day for the season. Everest was completely covered in storm clouds so we could not see past the base. Hopefully the clouds clear by the morning.
The camp consists of about 30 tents, all comprised of woven yak hair. The tents are “hotels,” in
which you can rent them for the night. Our tent, the Everest Peace Hotel, was a cozy nomadic tent with a stove, and room for about 8 sleepers. We were given bottomless cups of tea, and ordered food from the nearby restaurant tent. It was really chilly that night, but the stove fueled by yak dung kept it cozy, and we were each given three blankets. The toilets were the absolute most horrendous yet. I am learning that it is much preferable to just go outdoors, then to use these filthy nasty excuses for bathrooms. I shudder to think what they look like at the height of tourist season.
Tomorrow we head towards the Nepal border and bid farewell to this beautiful country and its people.
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