Lhasa to Chengdu - High Altitude Trains Having missed our original train to Chengdu we had to wait another 4 days for the next one to carry us out of Lhasa. Not a big problem as there are floods in China and we really like Lhasa. This is no ordinary train and is a marvel of engineering. Its the highest train in the world and has an average height of 4000m, topping out at 5072m. Completed in 2006 the track is built on permafrost. All the pylons have a cooling system within them to keep the ground below them frozen throughout the year. Preventing the track from buckling in summer! Construction of the line between Lhasa and Golmond required 160km of bridges and elevated track, seven tunnels, and 24 hyperbaric chambers to treat altitude sick workers. ... read more

h2) Mt Everest Base Camp - EBC (5150m) to Gyantse, Shigatse and Lhasa Day 15 - Saga to Old Tingri, Peiku-Tso and Everest Base Camp Leaving early to beat the last of the road blocks we had a quick set of dumplings for breakfast. Back on the rough terrain we left the reserve and were only a few kilometres from it when we burst a tyre in spectacular fashion. All four of us stared at each other in disbelief. Realising we had 2 spares on board, we set to fixing the situation. However being in the desert, the Jack would not lift the car and stones in sand dunes are hard to come by. An hour or two later and problem solved we made our way to back to the friendship highway. We stopped for a ... read more

Guge Kingdom to Darchen via Rutok Monastery Day 8 - Tholing Zanda to Ali (4280m) Packed racked and ready to go after another portion of pork dumplings for breakfast, we began the 6 hour, 200km drive to Ali. Following the Sutlij river past the Guge kingdom and turned north back into the clay canyons. The canyons and valleys were broken with the odd village. The road zig-zagged up and over 3 high passes. Ayi-La (5167m), Zongchung-La (5076m) and Lalung -La (5300m). From the passes we could see Nandi Devi, Indias highest mountain. We entered the Gar valley flat as can be and passed the newly constructed airport. (Soon this will be a far easier way to access the far reaches of western Tibet). Once in the valley we joined the tarred road, a compete result for ... read more

Kathmandu to Lake Manasarovar Day 1- Kathmandu (1300m) to Zhangmu (2250m) via Kodari The alarm kicked us out of bed at 4:45am to meet Suraj, our Nepalese guide/escort to the border. A big world cup match the night before meant the driver of our vehicle never arrived due to a severe hang over. Suraj in guiding mode organised a 3L Nissan to swing round at last miuntes notice. Suraj, a guide for many years and speaking near perfect english gave us a running commentary of every town, village, valley and strange thing we came across. He pointed out jungle honey bees' nests from an alarming distance, and ensured we stoped at every point of interest. Including the Bunji Jump at the last resort that GP, Skunk and I launched ourselves off only a week earlier. (Suraj ... read more

Our chosen Travel Agent to Tibet - Gorkha International Travels (P.) Ltd. Overland by Landcruiser - organised by Gokul Adhikari Liff, GP and I begun the week long task of organising a bespoke trip into Tibet. We ploughed through the mountains of information, books and suggestions we had received form other travelers. Eventually we produced a clear brief of the trip, specifications for vehicles, Monasterie's we wanted to visit and Treks to be included. (and even how many Yaks we would require while completing a Kora circuit of Mt Kailash) Armed with our Itinerary we began trawling the travel agents of both Thamel and Boudanath to find a tour agent we trusted and that could offer us the bare basics at an affordable price. We approached, Trekking Team, Eco Trek, Responsible Treks, Tibet International Tours and ... read more