Blogs from Tibet, China, Asia - page 5

Quinghai Railway. This was one of the highlights of the tour more so that the Everest Base Camp is now closed. After checking out of the hotel at 0800hrs I had problem getting a taxi and in the end had to settle for a motorised cycle rickshaw. It appeared that they were not allowed to carry foreigners as he was doing everything he can to avoid any police, there were plenty of them at every corner, on the route. The alternative was for me to hide my face to prevent recognition. The navigator maps were great as they were "off-line" which saved me a few times. The rickshaw was trying to take me to the bus station that run buses directly to the airport. So much for communication. At the station some of the information was ... read more

Despite 10 days of acclimatisation almost all the group had some degree of breathlessness, headaches and lack of sleep last night. While cold there was ample bedding to stay walm with the problem due to very hard beds, difficulty breathing at the altitude & only squat loos 3 floors up. Despite this waking to a clear sunrise was some compensation for the discomfort. The day ahead was another 240 km over 8 hrs. We had to retrace the corrugated road down the mtn back to the highway, a juddering 60 kms over 3.5 hrs but still a suitable time to reflect on a wonderful experience, while not life changing, it will still be remembered for the rest of our life. The rest of the trip was still substantially at altitude with our last pass (Lalong La ... read more

Two days ago we let Lhasa on a seven hour bus trip through the MountainS . We drobe over three passes each more than 4000 mètres one was actualité 4700 . The roads were good but Travel is slow with Switch backs . It was a beautiful sunny day and quite warm . We stoppée se réal Times for photos and the spectaculaire viens . There was one area that had a séquence of lakes créât ed by Aa dam . The water was that beautiful blue Green col our . Bluer than Lake Louise and very intense..It was a good journey,. We arrivée àt a ´small city caillée Gyantse which had been a capital in the 14th century. The mine start there was impressive . I had an intérêts ing encontre there with a little ... read more

Another cloudless blue sky & a little walmer than yesterday. Just need it to hold out for a few more days. I thought I was all templed out but today we visited the famous Tashilhunpo Buddhist Monastery in Shigatse & l was really impressed. Founded in 1447 by the 1st Dalai Lama the monastery expanded & by the time of the fifth Dalai the abbot of Tashilhunpo became known as the Panchen Lama (literally the ‘Great Scholar’). Since then the monastery became the principal site of the Panchen sect. During the Cultural Revolution much of the Tashilhunpo and the nearby fort were destroyed, but have since been rebuilt. Inside 3 of the many temples & stupas were amazing. The Maitreya (future) Temple is a recent addition & holds a enormous 30 mtr gold-gilded bronze statue of ... read more

Woke to another clear blue sky day but a chilly7c. Gyantse is a remarkable place in that it has escaped much of the Chinese influence evident in other major Tibetan towns. High on a hill the town is dominated by the recently rebuilt replica of an ancient fort (Shigatse Dzong). The fort was besieged by British forces in 1904 during the famous Younghusband Expedition which was essentially an invasion. We also visited the octagonal shaped Kumbum Stupa built in 1444 inside the Gyantse Monastery & founded by the 1st Punchen Lama. The Monastery was vast but has been significantly destroyed. It is now only sparsely occupied & somewhat rundown but it original grandure is evident with the extent of the frescos on all the walls. Shigatse is only 95 km from Gyantse but still a 2.5 ... read more