Mt Everest Base Camp - EBC (5150m) to Lhasa via Gyantse & Shigatse

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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 quick toilet break and realised the spare tyre we had just put on was also making a loud hissing sound, by the end of the toilet break it was as flat as the original. Again we stared in disbelief and smoked a few more cigarettes. Kaisan set to trying to release the 3rd tyre from under the Jeep. After an hour of swearing, kicking the Jeep and and all of us putting our weight behind the release bar we gave up. It was well and truly stuck. We flagged down a few passing Jeeps but unfortunately none had the correct spare. In desperation we drove on the flat to the nearest village (10km away) Liff and I disappeared into a local house and pillaged some hot water to mix up a few 2min noodles. Kaisan and Dhondup eventually managed to flag down a Jeep with the correct spare, (it was the german's guide !!!) Spare on we continued to Old Tingri with the owner of the borrowed tyre following us to collect it when we got there.
In old Tingri we returned the borrowed tyre and had the 2 spares fixed. A welding torch was required to free the 3rd from under our wounded vehicle. Liff and I entertained, and were entertained by several snotty sunburnt kids amazed at our hairy arms and legs (well mine anyway)
Fixed and sorted we drove a little known route to EBC. A few high passes and random nomad tents later we arrived at Everest, well as close as we could get by Jeep anyway. We opted to stay as high as we could and found the Nomad tents. Dhondup found us a very comfortable warm tent. Green tea and fried noodles and it was time to explore. When asked why we opted to drive to EBC using the road rather than treck the 20 days from the Nepali side? We had to answer - Because it is there.
We met an Englishman (Roy) and his Guide Samye soon after arrival and being the tiny world that it is, it turns out he went to University with a collegue of mine from Engenica - Andy Pearce. Roy, Liff and I wandered towards the mountain, peak in full view. Mt Everest (Oomolangma as it is known locally) at 8848m was very impressive. We wandered several kilometres closer to watch the mountain turn pink at sunset. A major feat at that altitude. The surrounding area was covered with travellers' chortes (piles of rocks) Believe it or not there were even a few nomads selling the odd trinket, Liff set to work.
Amazingly enough there is perfect mobile phone reception at EBC and we called a few family members to explain what we were seeing.
Back in the tents we prepared for a late night wonder. Once dark we set out beyond the light of the camp. We thought we had seen clear skies before but this was crazy, we wandered around watching satellites, shooting stars, and could see the path of the milky way clear as day. The temperature dropped well below freezing soon after sunset so we retreated to the tent and prepared ourselves for the night ahead. All sleeping together in the tent we climbed into bed wearing all our clothes and many many many blankets. We passed out early to ensure we got up for the sunrise hitting the highest point on earth....


Day 16 - Mt Everest Base Camp to Rongphu and Sakya Monastery and Shigatse (3900m)

Up early we leaft the cozy tent to be presented with a clear view of the mountain. The sunrise illuminated the mountain a bright pink. Awesome sight.
Liff, Roy and even our guide Dhondup woke with severe headaches. A few more Ibuprofens please.
The EBC nomad tents are around 4km from the base camp used by the 1924 British Everest expedition (The furthest you can go without purchasing a permit to climb the mountain) An hour or two watching the sun rise and we made last push to the British camp. Now here is the bugger, we had to get bus to base the british base camp...The driver making us wait for ages. 30 mins later we set off as cloud cover pulls in!!!!! aaaaarrrgggggghhhhhhhhhh
Unfortunately by the time we got there cloud had covered most of the mountain. It took several hours of patient mist-viewing before she showed herself to us once again. The british camp is at the end of a long glacier track running down the mountain with high cliffs on either side. Even when the mountain was hiding there was plenty to keep us captivated. Even at this amazing spot there is a small chinese military base and we had to watch where our cameras pointed! We sat on a prayer flag strewn hill for hours watching the mountain with Roy and our guides praying and even shouting at the mountain to stay away from the cloud, or was it the other way round?. A moment we will treasure.

Returning to the nomad tents we packed and headed off to Rongphu Monastery. At 4900m its the highest Monastery in Tibet and hence the world. A holy site for hundreds of years it was only established officially 1902, Liff and I wandered the Monastery which is more like a tiny village while Dhondup sat in the car nursing his head pain. We did find a granny spinning massive prayer wheel and had to join in- good fun when feeling giddy from the altitude. It was certainly a wrench to leave this stunning place, knowing we were unlikely to return (certainly not for a while anyway) to the highest place we have ever been!!

Next stop was to be the holy town of Sakya..... it was hard to feel too sad as we left Everest, for we drove back along a different, very scenic route. We passed a multitude of high altitude villages, swathed in the picturesque yellows and greens of their crops, the architecture of small roadside hamlets hardly changed in centuries. The highlight of our exit route was a seemingly unending series of switchbacks, that carved a snake-like route up up up up up and down down down down the Nam -La pass(5250m), Kaisan kept himself sane, and his mind off his aching arms by singing folk songs the whole way (radio was still broken after our dip in the lake). We sat back and marvelled at the swirling rock formations on either side of the steep valley. A few more kilometres and we were blessed with paved road once again... hurrah! suprise suprise we passed another army checkpoint before finally joining the road to Sakya.(4280m)
At regular intervals along the route we saw groups of 30 - 40 people, seemingly camped by the side of the road.They were waving and smiling and seemed just as puzzled to see us as we were them. Not really knowing what was happening we pushed on toward our goal. Just a few kilometres from our intended destination and we were pulled over by a friendly policeman who explained all the activity.... a very important Buddhist lama was expected to arrive in Sakya sometime in the next day or so , and all the local (some not so local) villagers had paused their regular lives and come to wait for even just a glimpse of the holy man. Sakya town was awash with devotees and pilgrims, monks and well-wishers from miles around...He wished us luck in Sakya, and also warned us that we may end up getting 'stuck' there, for when the lama arrived all roads would be closed.
Undaunted, and rather excited we continued on to see the festivies for ourselves.
Wow!! people were lining the streets 4 men thick, there were groups of beautifully costumed dancers, monks in their finest gear, special parasols, old and young mingled excitedly waiting, it seemed like the whole town was holding its breath in anticipation. Shops and restuarants were closed meaning street vendors did a roaring trade, in satisfying hungry revellers.
Guy and Dhondup missioned off to see if there were any vacancies in town, but no, all hotels were full to the brim. Disappointed that we wouldn't be able to stay, we reached a compromise...... Kaisan sensibly drove to the town's outer limits, preventing us from getting stuck if the roads were to close, and Dhondup took us on a guided walk through the throng, explaining all that we were seeing to the best of his ablilty.
The crazy part of all of this was that the pilgrims had arranged themselves carefully along the pavements and footpaths to allow the procession to a smooth passage BUT this meant the only free space for us to walk was, you guessed it, right down the middle of the road!!! Guy being a foot taller than the Tibetans and all three of us wearing western clothing we stood out like sore thumbs, everybody stared at us, their eyes following us the whole way down the street..... we felt like film stars!, for luckily the stares often turned to smiles and giggles and we greeted everyone with the traditional 'Tashi Delee'
Blushing we made our way past the magnificent main monastery that was established in1268 by Rigsum Gonpo . It's walls are 16m high and 3.5m thick, and coloured with special grey and red stripes (Sakya means pale/grey earth) which symbolise authority and the trinity of bodhisattvas the area is famous for.
It was and still is one of the most important scholastic monasteries in Tibet. One of its main scholars even made a 3yr journey to meet with the mongol(a son of Ghengis Khan) who was threatening to invade Tibet and managed instead to secure his nephew as head Abbot of Sakya monastery and with the mongols' backing became ruler of all Tibet, the first religious/king of Tibet, who made his base Sakya!! (tricky to remeber all the details!!)
Due to the craziness and fesitivies we were unable to go inside this, or the other monastery on the other side of town across the river. But we felt extremely lucky to have stumbled across what , for some might be a once in a lifetime opportunity.
After successfully navigating past ever increasing numbers of pilgrims, carts, monks in protector costumes and the odd stray dog, we found our jeep, and headed off for the large town of Shigatse a few hours east.

Approaching what was to be our biggest town to date, we felt the rural ancient Tibet slip through our fingers.Thousands of neatly arranged new trees had been planted along the roadside in an effort to curb desertification, this gave way to acres of neon and concrete, which was more than a small shock to system. There were still plenty of people lining the roads for a glimpse of the lama ( who was rumoured to be passing this way), but their traditional clothes and tractor transportation seemed ill at ease in this modern setting.
Soon enough we were there, and decided to head straight for food in a well known spot serving .... WESTERN FOOD! After 3weeks on noodles and dumplings we were delighted and not in the least bit embarrassed to order pizza and beer...marvellous, to top it all, who walks in, but Roy, our friend from EBC... we enjoyed a lovely meal together before heading off to find our room for the evening.
To our suprise and delight we found ourselves in a very swish 5*hotel..complete with bell boys(who actually offered to clean our dusty backpacks), room service and western bathroom....we were in heaven!


Day 17 - Shigatse (3900m) to Gyantse via Shalu Monastery

After a fabulous night's sleep and two baths (couldn't resist) we had a hot traditional breakfast in our fancy hotel, packed the jeep, and headed off to tour Tashilunpo Monastery:
This massive monastery is the traditional seat of panchen lama, and certainly has a very strong, powerful energy. This was one of the first monasteries we had visited with a large complement of busy monks scuttling around, performing religious rites, mending old scriptures, tending to yak butter candles, giving blessings and even preparing food and cleaning! It felt alive!!
Dhondup took us around first few chapels, there were plenty in this village-like complex, showing us all the murals, and explaining all the activities going on. Unfortunately he got called away to help sort some permits for another group. Tenzing (no not the sherpa!) then became our new guide for the rest of the visit, and we spent a few more hours marvelling at this vibrant, colourful place.
Reunited with our regular guide and driver we had a bite for lunch, and set off for the next large town of Gyantse. As a quick side trip on the way we stopped off to see a traditional watermill in action. A small stone barn housed several stone flour mills, each grinding away almost silently powered by the stream that flowed underneath, producing large clouds of flour dust as they turned roasted barley into the tibetan staple of tspama. Large sacks of barley were suspended from the ceiling , and gravity was all that was needed to keep the hungry millstones busy 24hrs a day.
Next stop Shalu Monastery: This time all four of us took time to visit this quaint little monastery, Kaisan bringing gifts to give to the gods in the protector chapel (booze!). This was an unusual monastery for two main reasons, firstly although on first sight the layout seemed traditional (courtyard, protector chapel and main chapel) the style of the roof was completely different. Here the Chinese influence was apparent, stunning green-glazed tiles composed the roof, with the charateristic 'flick' on the corners.....beautiful. Shalu was also famous for its 'self-warming' and levitating' monks, sadly those practises seem long gone, but it was great to visit a place of legends. Wandering around with Kaisan added a different dimension to this visit, although a practising buddhist he had no problem in joking around with statues, and making us laugh as he pulled faces mimicking murals and gods!. It was here that we noticed four 'flag poles' at each corner of the complex, but when I quizzed Dhondup about them, he explained that due to the large ammount of gold and other metals used for roof decorations, monasteries take the precaution of installing lightening conductors to try and reduce the fire risks (several monasteries have been damaged in the past due to fire)
Shooing a few stray dogs that were taking shelter under our jeep, we set off again, passing villages, farms, and tractors on lovely tarred roads to Gyantse.
We arrived early afternoon and after finding our hotel decided to go exploring on foot.
The town had two distinct areas: the old Tibetan quarter, and new, modern chinese part complete with KDC (KFC)!!, both parts overlooked by the town's famous Dzong (hill fort) Apparently us lovely Brits had once waged war here. Colonel Younghusband had been tasked with opening trade routes with the Tibetans and when they refused (or ignored) demands to trade with the British they were attacked! Although the Tibetans had the fortress like dzong to protect them, the Britsh had cannons and machine guns....the British lost 4 men, and the Tibetans over 300!!
Naturally we were drawn towards the Tibetan quarter and were guided by some young schoolkids through the maze of alleys and courtyards, all the while breathing in heady wafts of burning juniper. Family cows and sheep were tied up outside the houses providing milk and dung 24hrs a day, and old grannies could be seen carrying back breaking bundles of fresh grass to feed them with. The kids grew shy and ran off home, allowing us to find our own way around. We soon stopped at a hill at the edge of the town (turned out to be the back side of the Dzong), which we scrambled up .It proved a fabulous vantage point, we had a view over the whole town... we spied the Dzong, Monastery, Nunnery and could peer peeping-tom style onto the roofs and courtyards of the Tibetan houses. We stayed until large very brooding storm clouds forced us to find shelter. On the way back we quickly tried to gain entry to the Dzong, but it was after hours and closed,. The local owner of a museum dedicated to the Younghusband fiasco, saw us and decided the best way to lure us in to see his exhibit was to shout and scream at us to come in, he practically chased us down the street, needless to say, we didn't go!
We made it to the hotel just as the heavens opened and settled in for the night.


Day 18 - Gyantse to Lhasa (3595m) via Yamdrok Tso Lake & Samding Monestery

We set off early to explore the town's main attraction Gyantse Kumbum. It was comissioned by a prince in 1427, and as well as the regular monastery chapels, has a unique (we think) 35m special chorten called the Kumbum which means 100,00 images. Heading in a clockwise direction we spiralled up the steep stairs of the almost circular chorten and were greeted on each of the six levels by tiny rooms each containing special statues and murals dedicated to different gods. Some statues were so huge that you glimpsed feet on one level, and the head on the next, the whole effect was quite dizzying.
The main chapel was also impressive with mini chortens inside, as well as the reading benches for monks and enourmous 'shelves' housing hundreds of birch bark scriptures.

Unfortunately there was no time to explore the Dzong and we headed off in the direction of Lhasa... Several kilometres out of town, and we felt the weather change dramactically, there was a definate chill in the air. For just around the corner was a massive glacier coming from Mt Nojin Kangstang. We retrieved our warm jackets from the debris in the boot of the jeep, and wrapped up ready to explore.... Sadly this natural wonderland had been turned into an horrendous tourist attraction. Local girls dressed in traditional country clothes cradled small goats in their arms DEMANDING photos for money, jewellry and trinket sellers screeched at you to buy buy buy, and they even charged to use the toilets. We spent as little time here as possible.. Guy got some great shots of the glacier, blue and gray and white, before making a sharp exit.
The next pass we climbed was much more picturesque, with rolling hills, yaks and a glimpse of the lake, and we watched as Dhondup hung a prayer flag . From here we started to follow the banks of massive Yamdrok Tso (lake). We stopped off in a small non-descript town for a lunch of dumplings before turning off road (still following the lake) towards Samding Monastery.
The monks here definately lucked-out on location. Perched on a small hill it was almost surrounded by the blue and green waters of what the locals call the Scorpion Lake. Although a long-established religious site, most of this monastery had been built in the 1980s. Still traditional in style and layout , it was inhabited by some very young teenage monks who had enthusiastically decorated it to include a roof terrace, and 'lounge area' with modern sofas and modern art versions of traditional murals. Dhondup explained that this was a a great place for young monks to study and to be honest it really felt like a funky tibetan college, rather than a musty old monastery with balconied dorms and a lovely atmosphere.
Still several hours from Lhasa we hopped back in the jeep and followed the stunning lake before descending an enourmous pass into the Bramaputra river valley. The gentle zig zag route took almost two hours and we were afforded great views of the valley floor far below us.
Entering the valley traffic built up, and we knew Lhasa was fast approaching. Modern shops soon decorated our our route and it wasn't long before we saw the airport, trainstation, and with a few more turns we skirted the famous Potala Palace!! Our hotel was located only a few hundred metres away off the main road, and unloading the jeep for the final time we bid fond farewells to Kaisan and settled into what would be our home for the next few weeks.

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Photos

Rosaries & mani stone at Everst Base Camp
Jill one of them is on its way to you. Keep an eye on the post!

Comments

[Jillian]

OMG OMG OMG ....... thank you!

[Jillian]

Incredible Experience .......... just love all the prayer flags! My friend Theresa will love this journey of yours you have to meet up with her while you are in China ....... some of the prayer beads on my coffee table are from her journeys ....... My Everest Rosary ...... Ohhhhh how special!