No Sleep til Lhasa!!

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We have made it to Lhasa!!!

Starting in Zhongdian we drove for 7 days through some of the most amazing scenery ever: snow filled valleys and towering mountains, ochre gorges with powerful rivers running through, tiny villages filled with animals and smiling children, lush green valleys filled with vegies and grapes, thick pine forests and turquoise rivers and lakes that were so beautiful you almost couldn't believe they were real. At one pint we followed a dirt road through vegetation so lush it was almost jungle like. The road was up and down and bendy as anything - make it feel like a rally, pretty cool! Hitting 5013 metres above sea level was probably one of the highlights, and our photos of us amongst the snow and prayer flags will be some of our favourites of the trip. We're looking to go higher on the way to Nepal though, so we'll see.....

The animals along the way were pretty awesome - stubborn cattle, sheep, goats, horses and donkeys that wouldn't budge from their spots in the sun in the middle of the road, and piglets for Africa, running as fast as they could on their tiny little legs (so cute!). We spent every day trying to tell the difference between zo (cross between cattle and yak) and true tak - finally seeing a real one on the second to last day. The best was probably just out of Pasho where we saw two donkeys motoring along the road, one with mouth wide open trying to bite the other... on the ass!! It was nuts.

Our jeep was comfy and our driver was very sensible and safe and a good laugh too. The other passengers though were as painful as ever! John was a retired Aussie who resembled a bulldog, with more money than sense, who never stop talking but had nothing to say. Anne was dipstick who really didn't like roughing like it and didn't deal with the altitude too well. Dave was the worst. He was a sanctimonious *******, who always had to be right but seldom was. He dressed like an Indiana Jones wannabe with tight tan pants, a white shirt, a giant bumbag and a cowboy style hat. He tried to make out like he was Mr rough and tough, when his poor wife couldn't hack it and he himself struggled - always being the last ready in the morning and never taking his turn in the back of the truck, claiming he had motion sickness. Needless to say he annoyed the crap out of us and we couldn't stand him. At one point he was just downright dirty, trying to sneak into the better room and trying to buy us off. But we were strong and didn't budge - hahaha!

The weather was stunning - sunny with clear blue skies everyday, making it warm enough to step outside in a tshirt when we stopped for pictures. At night it was cold, getting progressively warmer as we came closer to Lhasa, hats and goves were definitely a bonus though. The accomodation was overpriced considering the quality, but it was often the only alternative and so we had little choice. The toilets were the worst of the trip, where all the waste had been left there for 10 years or so - we could smell them a mile off! At times we had rooms where there was cardboard in the window instead of glass, but with our thermals and extra duvets we curled up together and managed to get pretty decent sleeps the whole way along - the electric blankets in some places helped! One of the funniest instances was stand off between us and the PSB man in Markam who was holding our passports and permits ransom to make us stay in an overpriced state hotel. Refusing to budge we took up residence on the couch until the tour company ended up paying for our room - we got heater and all!!!! hilarious!!

The food along the way was good and bad. At Mieli Xue Shan we had some of the worst noodles ever and also tried yak butter tea which is a crime!! However in Rawok-tso we had a super tasty feast where the chef kept brining out little dishes for us to try - it was great, though our tummies ached afterward.

Overall it was a wicked experience, and despite the tensions with our fellow passengers we thoroughly enjoyed it. Got to say though, after 12 days in the same clothes, and 7 of those without showers, getting to Lhasa to get a room of our own, a hot shower and our laundry done was just heaven!

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Photos

The Roof of the World
Looking down towards the plateau was amazing, and it was a totally surreal feeling to be above all those mountains

Switzerland?
Had to fight to get the nice room in the hotel here, but it was all worth it as we had a great nights' sleep, not bothered by the many cows that wandered the streets, or by the locals playing pool in almost every second house.