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Published: August 22nd 2009
Lhasa
Nun friends that Fiona and I made. We nearly took the "Orders"We loved Lhasa and were sorry to leave but we started this final leg of the journey from Lhasa to Kathmandu with our minds firmly set on the Big “E” which undoubtedly was the highlight of this bit of the journey but we were delighted by the other unexpected highlights we came across along the way. For a start, the road between Lhasa and Kathmandu is known as the “Friendship Highway” which is another of the AA’s top ten roads to travel on in the world. We were on it for the best part of two weeks and it certainly was amazing. On the Tibet side we climbed over several very high passes of over 5000m and caught our first sight of Everest the day before we actually got there. The scenery was breathtaking. We stayed for a night in the beautiful town of Shigatse and spent a brilliant afternoon in the company of a monk who showed us around the Tashilhunpo monastery and explained a bit about the Buddhist philosophy. We also had the privilege of sitting in at the back of the Assembly Hall of the monastery to listen to the novice monks during their evening chanting. We found
Campsite at Turquoise lake
surrounded by cattle, prior to thunder storm - we're having a great time! a fabulous local Tibetan restaurant in the town and had two great meals there sitting next to two tables of monks who were out for the evening as well! They seem to have quite a free and easy life and appear to be able to come and go as they want. Another unexpected highlight was spending our last night of camping up at about 4480m on what is locally called “The Turquoise Lake” (Yandrok Tso Lake). The lake is absolutely beautiful and it was a very tranquil place to be except when some local nomads decided to drive their herds of cattle, sheep and horses straight through our campsite - and then we got flooded by a sudden thunder storm - at least it was a last camping night to remember!
Everest base camp is about 100km off the road, over yet another very high pass and over a bumpy sand and gravel track. It was, however another wonderful journey, passing through little settlements on the way. We were surprised to see how much grows at high altitude and there were fields of barley, corn and rice flourishing over 4000m. The road however was pretty bad and we all felt
Turquoise Lake
The name says it all, this was our last bush camp fairly well shaken and stirred by the time we reached the Ronbuck monastery which is the old Tibetan north face base camp. (There is also a Nepalese base camp on the south side of Everest). On the Tibetan side there are two base camps, the one which we went to which is really for “visitors” which is 5200m and the other one for the serious climbers (who have paid a lot of money for the privilege) at over 6000m. However, only people with climbing passes are allowed to go there and it is some distance further on. We decided to stay at the monastery which is a couple of miles away from base camp, mainly because it was quieter and you get better views of the mountain. The monastery offers very simple accommodation in old monks “cells” and very simple food from a little restaurant. It turned out to be great. We had lunch when we arrived and made our way first to base camp and then a couple of miles further on to the best viewing spot. When we passed through base camp we were glad we had decided not to stay there, it has become very “touristy” with
Temple
One of the many temples of the Shigatse monastery tented accommodation called “The Mont Blanc Hotel” and other equally naff names - it even boasts a post office and the usual tatty souvenir sellers! Having got over that disappointment we carried on to the viewing point only to find Everest under cloud cover - Kevin our guide kept telling us that it would improve any minute. However, just as we arrived my phone rang and it was Zena (thank you Zena, perfect timing as usual) It was amazing having a telephone conversation standing looking at Everest (in the mist). The funny story there was that my phone had been losing charge every time we went up to altitude and I assumed it was the altitude that was causing it. However somebody suggested that if I kept the phone close to my body the heat would keep the battery charged - it worked and for two weeks I had my phone tucked inside my bra - together with James’s spare camera batteries on the other side”. When Zena rang I had to dig through all my layers of jackets and thermals to find it! Sadly the mist did not clear on the first day and we left disappointed and hopeful
Shigatse Monastery
With the monk who showed us around excuse my hair Helen, it hasn't seen a hairdresser or hairdryer in two months! that the next day would be better. A few of us were up very early and saw Everest with stars moon still on it and then we made our way back up for the second time to the viewing point some 4 miles away. Steve was able to take us part of the way in the truck which was good. It was extremely bright and quite cold. We just sat and looked at it for about a couple of hours, and although awesome is a word I hate, it was “awesome” - none of us could believe we were actually there, feeling nearly close enough to touch it! We really didn’t want to leave and as the sun got higher it was really quite warm and we had to shed some of our layers.
After the amazement of Everest we thought that would be it, but as we approached the Nepal border the landscape changed yet again and we found ourselves surrounded lush jungle/rain forest terrain. The Himalayas protect Tibet from the monsoons and as soon as we were on the other side of them we were into late monsoon season. The Friendship Highway continued to wow us - the
Shigatse
Family Tibetan restaurant which was fabulous - we ate with the monks road snaking through near vertical hillsides thick with banana palms, fir trees, hibiscus and loads of lush greenery. People live perched on the edge of hillsides growing rice. Just before the border there was a landslide and vehicles couldn’t get through so we all finished up walking about 4 miles to the border town of Zhargmu between Tibet and Nepal which was great - we hadn’t had any exercise since leaving Everest the previous day. The truck finally caught up with us some hours later.
Border crossings don’t come much more bizarre than the Tibet/Nepal crossing. It was absolute mayhem. We were concerned because all baggage was being checked on the Chinese side and even knowing we were innocent of carrying anything illegal it’s still a bit scary when a man with a gun is going through your personal belongings. At the same time there were locals going through the internal desk carrying baskets of live chickens and other livestock, gas canisters and bales of fabric etc. It was really funny. On the Nepalese side of the border nobody cared and we just sailed through without so much as cursory glance at us and a stamp on our passport! Nobody
First sightings
The day before we arrived at base camp even suggested checking the baggage. It was total chaos but eight miles down the road we were treated to the perfect antidote to the three months of travelling when we arrived at “The Last Resort”. It was a perfect place to stay to unwind. It is a tented resort nestled into the hillside in the middle of rain forest/jungle in the Bhoti Kosi Gorge and all inclusive, apart from drinks. We were pampered to within an inch of our lives and had massages and sauna, plunge pool etc and just generally lazed around for two days doing very little. Fiona (Kiwi) kept the team spirit alive by doing a bungee jump and a “swing” from the suspension bridge crossing the gorge, a drop of 160m. She was definitely the hero in the bar that night. It is apparently one of the highest bungee jumps in the world. James and I wanted to do white water rafting, but unfortunately because it was the end of the monsoon season the river was still a bit swollen and it was cancelled - never mind, next time maybe.
We are now in the chaotic, frenetic city of Kathmandu after an interesting journey, having got
Rongbuk Monastery
This is where we stayed stuck in another land slide where we spent four hours helping people through, following by towing people out and then after all our good deeds we got a huge stone stuck between the tyres and whole wheel had to be removed. A four hour journey turned into about eight hours and we arrived late and exhausted, however we arrived late Thursday night, three days ahead of schedule and on Friday we just spent the day in a daze, hardly believing that after three months we had finally arrived. Steve, driver, who knows Kathmandu quite well took us on one of his famous walking tours in the morning and just confused us even more, so we went and had our “end of term” lunch, which then led on to the Tom and Gerry’s bar for cocktails and we finally left there some time during the evening! We have booked our flight home and will be back on English soil on Monday morning all being well.
To sum up the last three months is really difficult. There have been obvious highs and lows - but the highs are memorable and will live with us for ever and the lows will not! It’s
Phone Call
Speaking to Zena from Everest, but where's the mountain? It's somewhere behind the mist! difficult even to say what we’ve enjoyed most because most of it we have absolutely loved. We’ve made some lifelong friends in Mike and Fiona and Chris and Glen and a girl called Lucy “2” and now have open invitations to the French Alps, NZ and the Yorkshire Dales. There have been the people on the truck who have made life difficult, mainly Hank and Phyllisa the Texan couple who in the end were unbearable and the only reason they did not get chucked off the trip was that we were on a group permit for Tibet and there was no other way out of the country without the group. However as soon as we reached the Nepal border they left to make their own way to Kathmandu. Hank had even struck out at a couple of people and had to be restrained. He was obviously a very unhappy man completely out of his comfort zone. A few others also decided to find their own way to Kathmandu, so for the last couple of days there were only eight of us and it was party, party, party - all the way to Kathmandu.
This three monthsw has made us realise
Mountainb top experience
No words to describe how we felt yet again what privileged lives we lead when we have seen the abject poverty and difficult conditions that people live in, in every single country we have visited. We are never ceased to be amazed at their generosity and humour in such conditions. It may make us a bit more appreciative of our lives and maybe help us to moan a little less about the trivial things that really don’t matter.
It has been a fabulous experience which we wouldn’t have missed for the world but we are both physically and mentally exhausted and can’t wait to get back to bore you all!
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Vicki
non-member comment
Welcome Home
You must be exhausted and glad to get back to running water, flush toilets, showers and baths, and your own bed, but with wonderful memories of your excursion. I will be fascinated to hear a detailed report at some point. Your running accounts have been wonderful - most descriptive. Love, Vicki