Day 18-21 Good Bye China

" A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving."

Lao Tzu

Day 18-21

The two day trip back to Lhasa was gruelling; we stopped briefly for food and the ‘open’ toilets. There were loads more monasteries along the way, however, much as the visits to the religious places were interesting, we enjoyed more the uncontaminated and raw beauties on the way back to Lhasa.

We were coming to the end of our trip, and wanted to go somewhere with Tibet feel before returning to the Western world. We spent our last day in Lhasa staying at the Brahamaputra Grand Hotel which located alongside the riverside Gong Ba Ri Mammon Mountain. It was really luxurious after the demanding trip. The hotel is also a living museum. On each level of the hotel along the corridors to the room are the Tibetan artefacts which are for sale too. The room was large and spacious with a computer and internet connection. Surfing the web costed nothing and it was fast. The beds were comfortable, and the most important thing – the hot shower. Oh, and the excellent foot massage which was provided in the health centre of the Hotel that was very helpful after visiting the EBC!

At 7am in the morning, we were transferred to the airport for flight to Beijing where I parted my friends and waited for my flight to Sydney.

It is truly an experience of a lifetime.

After this journey, I truly realised the joy of travel. Travel is not to visit a few attractions or post in front of the camera. Travel is to use your heart to feel, to observe, to learn and to share.

Day 16,17 Everest Base Camp

Day 16 – 17

Everest Base Camp situated at 5200 metres on the north face and is used by the mountain climbers when climbing via the northeast ridge. There are non climbers who come here to admire the panoramic and breathing taking views of Mt Everest. The area is crawling with tents and sellers. There is even a post office where you can send an overpriced postcard.

Everest Base Camp is an interesting place. As we approached, I saw a collection of tents running parallel on both sides of a dirt road, with names such as ‘The Hilton’, ‘Sheraton’, ‘Snowland Hotel’...

We retired back to our camp after an exhausted day. It was a bloody cold night, we put on all we had and buried ourselves under sleeping bags and shivered ourselves to sleep. The next morning, I woke up and needed to pee, it was still dark and snowing outside, I put on my hiking boots, found a land cruiser and did my morning duty behind. Ha, I wasn’t the only one!!

The actual base camp is a long walk from the tents. As the morning light draws in, we started walking up to Base Camp; the trek took nearly half a day. As we were walking along the rocky path, we’re overtaken by horse drawn carriages which carried passengers under blankets. We should have done that. The hike became harder and harder, the last kilometer was steep and winding. Eventually we got to the base camp, and our permits were checked. With all the hard work, we were only allowed to stay 30-45 minutes. There were one sign saying no one was allowed to go beyond the sign, another one saying could not take pictures of military post. However, our effort was completely worth it. We staggered to the top to be greeted with magnificent views of the summit. Walking back down was great, a real relief, and I could actually enjoy the panoramic views.

The two day stays was a blessing. We had a clear blue sky and uninterrupted views of Mt Qomolangma. The mountains were beautiful and they changed color during the different times of the day. In early morning and late evening, Everest is shining like a diamond in the sunglow. I can only think of one word to describe it - breathtaking. The view is as breathtaking, the altitude is as breathtaking and the temperature change from day to night is as breathtaking!! EBC is definitely the highlight of the trip.

Day 14,15 Shigatse-Tingri-Everest Base Camp

Day 14- 15

It was about one and half hours easy drive to Shigatse, which is the second largest city in Tibet. It is a city full of history and culture. Like many Tibetan regions, it has undergone major modernization over the past few decades. The town is divided into an old authentic Tibetan quarter, and a newer Chinatown. It is very interesting to see the difference between ancient Tibetan culture and the modern one. It is like a smaller version of Lhasa.

The big draw in Shigatse is Tashilunpo Monastery, the largest functioning monastic institution in Tibet. It is also the home of Panchen Lama.

Tashilunpo is a huge monastery with many attractions, we only visited the two main ones, the "Thangka Wall” which displays images of Lord Buddha for three days in the month of May, 14th, 15th and 16th of the Tibetan Lunar calendar, and the giant statue of the Maitreya Buddha which is crafted with gold and copper and encrusted with pearl, diamonds and other precious stones. As we were enjoying the tranquil and peaceful; suddenly...beep beep... a monk receiving sms!!

We then visited the local free market and bought some souvenirs before we continued our journey through the Tibetan plateau.

It was a further 7 hours bumpy road drive. We drove through empty landscapes, small Tibetan settlements, nomadic herdsmen wandering across the wide arid plains, sand dunes, snow-capped mountain peaks and crossed over Gyatsola Pass at 5,220 m. We finally arrived Tingri, the last stop before Everest Base Camp.

Tingri is a small town which lies at an altitude of 4390m, overlooking a sweeping plain and the towering peaks of Mt. Everest and Cho-Oyu. After a short night’s rest at a primitive guesthouse, we were back on the Friendship Highway heading towards Everest Base Camp. It took us 5 hours for just 100 km trip as we had to drive over cracked winding roads, scree and grass. But the views were stupendous. Finally, we reached Everest Base Camp, the first sight of the mighty Everest left us speechless. I’d run out of word to describe it.

Day 13 Lhasa-Yamdrok Tso - Gyantse

Day 13

Early in the morning, we started our adventurous journey across the ‘roof of the world’. We drove down Friendship Highway, however, it certainly didn’t look like a “highway” to me, some part of the road is a sandy road that now and then turns out to be jammed because of erosion. After a few hours’ drive on the winding, bumpy and dusty mountain road, suddenly there lined the colourful dressed yaks and souvenir stalls. We were up at the Kamba-la Pass at 4950m where there was the dazzling views of Yamdrok Tso which lies several hundred metres below. The scenery of the deep turquoise blue water in the lake, the transparency and the reflection of the surrounding snow capped mountains was awesome. We spent some quality time with the Mother Nature.

Yamdrok Tso, which is a coiling scorpion-shaped body of water, is one of the three holy
lakes on the Tibetan Plateau. It is one of the popular pilgrimages in Tibet. Tibetan people believe that the lake is sacred and the water has special powers: it can make old young again, and it can improve intelligence in children. Then we climbed the 2nd high pass, Kharo La(5560m). We had a brief stop to admire the jaw-dropping views of the Nojin Kangstang glacier.

As we approached Gyantse, it began to rain. We had a quick lunch and rest a little.

Gyantse is a small village with beautiful architecture. Gyantse is known because of its Fortress, the Dzong, a very special building, the Kimbum, and a monastery, the Pelkor Chode.

We gazed at a fascinating fortress-monastery perched on a hill at the edge of the city; the Gyantse Dzong is an old military fort which was built in the 14th century. We got off the 4WD and trekked up the snaking path and some very steep steps to reach the top in the rain. The inside of the fortress is mostly ruins, I fell a few times, but the top offers great views over the town and the surrounding Nyang-chu valley. It was definitely worth the effort.

At the foot of Gyantse Dzong is Pelkor Chode (monastery) and a strange building called the Kumbum (kumbum means 100,000 images) which is the biggest and most famous chorten (stupa) in Tibet. Many big stray dogs, lay around in front of the monastery, their coats were wet and covered with dirt. There is a Tibetan saying that stray dogs hang out around monasteries because they were bad monks in previous lives.

We stayed at a little guesthouse for the night. We had “Chewy” Yak steak for dinner which left our jaws aching for the rest of the night.

What a demanding but fascinating day!

Day 12 - Taste Bud Challenge

Day 12

Today we will be roaming round Llasa to challenge our taste buds.
There isn’t a lot written about Tibetan cuisine, and people always say Tibetan can’t cook. The Lonely planet Guide states that, “Tibet is unlikely to become a hot destination for foodies....... Tibetan food is more about survival than pleasure...”

So if they can’t cook, what then do they eat? Due to its unique geographic location, Tibetan food has to adapt. Tibetan food is not only sustenance, but also helps them survive the harsh climates. Tibetan cuisine is based on limited ingredients that are available to them. The main ingredients are barley, yaks, mutton, salt and tea.

Teamed up with Chin and Chong, we were on our mission. First we tried the air-dried yak meat. The dried meat was crisp and tasted good. It’s a bit like beef jerky.

Lunch at A’Luocang canting, we ordered Tsamthuk Soup, Fried lamb ribs, Bobi set and Tibetan sausage.

The Tsamthuk Soup was somewhat rich and thick with chunks of yak, shredded radish, spinach leaves, and thickened with tsampa.

The Fried Lamb Ribs was nothing like our BBQ Ribs, it was marinated in chilli powder, spring onions and mustard oil, then deep-fried till crisp and hard. It was very spicy and hot.

The Bobi Set was similar to kebab, with sautéed veggies and shreds of yak meat wrapped in unleavened wheat bread. Um, Yum.

Tibetan Sausage was stuffed with spiced lamb intestines, I only had one bite!

During our lunch, we were debating whether we should go to the Everest Base Camp, it was a long way from Lhasa and we were not geared to trek. Well, we were now. We went to our travel agent to change our itinerary and organised some trekking gears. We would go to Yamdrok Tso the next morning as planned and continue our journey to Everest Base Camp.

We went back to our hotel to have a nap before dinner.

Dinner at Ethnic Restaurant. We had a Tibetan Banquet. Wow, you wouldn’t believe what we ate. Quick boiled blood sausage (sausage filled with sheep blood); Steamed ox tongue; raw beef paste (a mixture of mashed raw beef and Tibetan herbs); Xiahe Hoof Tendon (sheep hoof tendons boil with agarics and lily); Yak meat stewed with radish and Roast Highland Pig. The dishes were mostly tasty and unique.

We were full, happy and satisfied.

Day 10 & 11 Nam-Tso

Day 10 & 11

Early in the morning we set off from Lhasa on a 7 seated Land Cruiser 4WD. It was for 2days/1 night to Nam- Tso. Our driver was a Chinese man living in Lhasa, named Yan. He came to Lhasa 10 years ago, and loved it so much , he stayed.

In Tibetan, Nam Tso means ‘Heavenly Lake’. It is located at 4700m high and is the second largest salt lake in China with surface of 1961 sq km. We headed steadily up into the mountains, we passed by large plains dotted with yaks and nomad tents. We stopped a few times to gawp at the views and went to toilet. There was hardly any toilet, we managed to find one but it was so disgusting that we did not dare to go in. We finished our business behind the bush. The winding road was very bumpy and dusty. Few more hours of driving, we got our first sight of the lake – stunning shade of turquoise. The sky and the mountains were of the same tint. It was simply breathing (beauty not altitude).

After walking around some hills on the shore, we had to find a place to stay, there were either tents or tin box to choose from. We opted to stay in a tent. There was no water and electricity in the tent. Inside the tent, there were 10 single beds, a cupboard at the entrance with instant noodle cups and hot water bottles in it.

After settling in, we walked towards the water to appreciate the beauty of the lake, taking millions of photos. There were birds, wild yaks, goats and other animals leisurely looking for food along the lake shores; thousands of prayer flags fluttering in the wind up in the sky, what a scenic vista.

By this point, the weather closed in and we were a bit hungry, however, there were only limited places to choose to eat. We decided to go to the one owned by our tent owner. There was no menu, actually, there was no need to have a menu. They only had Tsampa (roasted barley flour) and hot yak butter tea. Whaaaaat! butter tea again. Tsampa can be eaten as it is, usually by the spoonful, and washed down with butter tea. I quite like the taste of Tsampa, it tasted a bit like sesame powder, but the butter tea... I took a sip of the tea with Tsampa, the minute I put my cup down, the owner quickly filled it up, then I had another sip, she filled it up again. It suddenly occurred to me that like Chinese, it is Tibetan tradition to fill your guest’s cup if it isn’t full. I couldn’t eat the Tsampa without drinking something, it’s so dry. Butter tea was the only beverage in here, so I kept sipping it and she kept filling it. By the end of the dinner, I didn’t mind it as much. I now realised what the noodle cups in the cupboard were for. To my surprise, my companions seemed to enjoy their meal.

It was freezing at night; we drank many cups of hot water to keep warm. We got in our sleeping bags and piled blankets on top.

We didn’t sleep much because of the altitude.

Next morning, we decided to climb up the mountain to get some better views. It was not an easy job, we could feel the altitude, we had to stop frequently to catch our breath. The mountain top was really windy, but the views were indescribable. The lake’s colour was a storybook crystal-clear blue and was back dropped by snow capped mountains. Nam-Tso is a blessing from nature.

We made our way back to the tent, it was time to eat again. This time we tried the one in the tin box shelter. They actually got a menu this time, but it’s no use to us, we couldn’t read! The owner took us to another room (kitchen I assumed) to show us bowls of vegetables; meats and rice. We had no idea how they would be cooked. To be safe, we pointed at some veggies and rice. The food was edible, but the tea was terrific– sweet milk tea, also known as cha ngamo, very similar to western tea.

After lunch, we packed our stuff and headed back to Lhasa.

On the way back to Lhasa, we stopped in Yangpachen Hot spring. As we approached the town, we could see steam covering the whole town, as if we were driving into the clouds. There are indoor and outdoor hot spring swimming pools but we were not brave enough to jump into the water.

We were looking forward to a hot shower and a good night sleep.

Day 7-9 Lhasa

Day 7

Tibet, nestled between the Himalayas in the south and the Kunlun Shan in the north, is known as “The Roof of the World”. Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) has formed four tourism regions: Lhasa, Western Tibet(Ngari), Southwestern Tibet(Shigatse) and Southern Tibet(Nyingchi and Chamdo).

Our first stop - Lhasa.

Lhasa means "holy land" in Tibetan language. It is the capital city of Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), as well as the political, economic, cultural and religious centre of the Tibetan world. It has a history of over 13 centuries, sits at an altitude of 3,650 meters. With more than 3,000 hours of annual sunshine, Lhasa is also known as "the City of Sunshine".

I woke up at 6am, still feeling a bit dizzy, I drank a large glass of brown sugar water and took a couple of vitamins (recommended for High altitude Sickness). Jack and Andrew were still asleep. I took my ‘Lonely Planet’ and headed to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. A few people were already there, they were also accompanied by their ‘Lonely Planet’. ‘Lonely Planet is like a travellers’ bible, whenever I see people reading it, I feel a sense of intimate connection. We started chatting to each other. When I finished my breakfast, both Jack and Andrew were up.

The goal for the day was not too hectic, we needed time to acclimatize.

Lhasa was nothing like I expected, there are modern cars, shops, fast food chains and even night clubs. It is a mix of old and new. With the Potala Palace as a backdrop, modern facilities scattered on the main drag. I had a moment of doubt whether I was in the holy land. In Lhasa there are more Chinese than Tibetans. Chinese mainly live in the west (new city) while Tibetans in the east (old city). There are different building designs. The traditional homes are painted white with brightly coloured doorways and windows. The doors and windows are very small, making it difficult for evil spirits to enter. We noticed there are military police with big guns on every corner. Well, to think on the positive side, we probably would be safer here than anywhere.

We walked slowly to Barkhor which is a huge shopping area surrounding the Jokhang. The Barkhor is both the spiritual heart of the city and the main commercial district. There are devoted pilgrims performing the body long kow-tows around the huge square in a clockwise direction; others walking in the Kora praying, swinging their prayer wheels around endlessly, and thousands of shops and stalls lining the streets selling trinkets and souvenirs. We followed the pilgrims, circuiting the square a few time. Yeah, we felt a sense of inner peace.

We kept wandering and found our way into the Tashi 1 Restaurant ,a place recommended by Lonely Planet, for a lunch of momos (dumplings) and thukpa (noodles with meat), fired yak meat and buttered tea. Pretty yummy food but the buttered tea, well, very unique, it is actually quite salty; it is more like soup broth than tea. Not my cup of tea!!

Next stop, Jokhang Temple

Visiting monasteries and temples are an integral part of any journey to Tibet. Though we are not religiously inclined, walking with the pilgrims was a humbling experience.
The Jokhang Temple is situated in the centre of the city; it is a massive two story building, surrounded by many smaller temples. White and red are the main colours of the wall; it looks extremely peaceful under the intensely blue sky. Pilgrims move slowly through dimly lit chapels, refilling gleaming butter lamps. The air was filled with the aroma of incense and Yak butter. The floor was sticky and slippery. From the rooftop, we could see the Potala Palace in a distance.

We had our dinner at Lhasa Mayke Ame which is one of the most popular restaurants in Lhasa. It is famous because of the legend of the sixth Lama. We tried the spicy yak stew and potato soup. The stew was a bit too rich for us. We sat by the window which overlooked Barkhor street and viewed the sun disappearing in horizon. Never mind about the food, just sitting there was very enjoyable indeed.

We then retired back to our hotel.


Day 8

Woke up just in time to see the sun rise. Did the routine stuff, breakfast, brown sugar water and vitamins. We were off to Potala palace today.

We caught a taxi to Potala, a flat rate of ¥10.


Potala is Lhasa's cardinal landmark, situated on a hill overlooking the valley. It is composed of 2 parts, the Red Palace as the centre and the White Palace as two wings.

The Red Palace is the highest part in central Potala Palace and is mainly for religious use. It was painted red to represent stateliness and power.

The White Palace was used as the winter palace for Dalai Lamas as well as administrative offices. The wall of the palace was painted to white to convey peace and quiet.

The 13 storey Potala Palace has no elevator, so we had to climb up its stairways. We climbed as slow as a snail blocking people behind us. The palace has thousands of rooms, we just visited a few. Like Jokhang Temple, the floor of Potala was also sticky and slippery. The air was filled with scents of incense and yak-butter burning lamps. There were more pilgrims than tourists. Some have travelled great distances to worship, their deep devotion is truly admirable.

The views from the top of Potala are breathtaking. Below lies Lhasa city and, beyond, the valley countryside as well as snow-capped Himalayan mountains in the horizon. We were at the back of the Potala and we had many stairs to climb down.

After lunch, we went to a travel agent to get information on Yamdrok Tso and Nam Tso. ‘Tso’ means ‘lake’ in Tibetan. The travel agent only quoted us the price, but when asked about the weather, accommodation, he had no idea. We then had to go to another one to get more information. We met two other travellers from Guangzhou, Chin and Chong, they were planning to do the same. So we decided to join together to hire a Land Cruiser.

In the evening, we were sitting on the balcony of a cafe, having a drink and enjoying the views. The day is very long in here, it’s still quite bright at 8 pm.


Day 9

I woke up at about 8am and felt great, washed up and popped in my usual treat, sugar water and vitamins. My body have gradually adjusted to the new climate. We were going to have an easy day, just roaming around Lhasa. We went to organise our trip to Nam Tso and Yamdrok Tso. We walked along the Lhasa River which was lined by colourful prayer flags( blue for sky, white for the clouds, green for water, red for fire and yellow for the land). Then went to have our lunch, the sweet smells of a bakery caught our attention, so we sat in front of the bakery enjoying our pastries while catching a glimpse of Tibetans daily life.

To tell the truth, the air in Lhasa wasn’t very good, car sending out noxious smoke, the air was filled with odour of petrol and yak butter. Shouldn't the air in this holy land be fresh and clean?