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.