vysean

We departed the hotel promptly at 8:30 to allow for enough time along our intended route. We first tracked south along the route to the airport. Our route soon began to climb to cross our first mountain pass – Karo-la which sits at about 15,500 feet. Our trip towards the top was accompanied by the oddest of musical accompaniments – the driver turned on his MP3 player and was playing “Jingle Bells” and other Christmas carols as we ascended. It was lightly raining as we came to the top of the pass – but before we could do so, we had to show our travel permits to a bored-looking police officer. As soon as we crossed the top of the pass, Namdrok-tso (Namdrok lake) came into view. It is one of the three holy lakes of Tibet and a glorious turquoise blue color when the sky cooperates (it didn’t for us). We stopped to take pictures and were inundated by offers to take pictures of a local yak or some kind of holy dog (which we declined – I now wish I hadn’t). The lake is massive – especially for those of us living in the desert southwest – we drove for more than an hour just along a part of the coastline.

While driving along, we came across a minibus full of Chinese tourists. They were attempting to catch fish from the lake. Our driver pulled alongside to see what they were doing and when he saw them with the fish he became very agitated and yelled at them in (I assume) Mandarin. They didn’t seem interested in dropping the fish, but did offer our driver a few cigarettes to leave them alone (he declined). A short while later we stopped for lunch in a tiny village. The food, though basic, was surprisingly good, and though the weather wasn’t cooperating and it was cold and rainy out, we were happy. I had noodles with egg and tomato, and Wesley had yak fried rice.

The sky started to clear as we came across our last mountain pass before reaching Gyantse. We stopped at a gorgeous small turquoise lake and took some pictures before departing for Gyantse. Gyantse is a small city located about 3 hours southwest of Lhasa. It has historical significance as the city that the British first invaded on their way to Lhasa. The monastery in Gyantse is both very pretty and very impressive – it’s an entire walled-in compound situated on a small mountain. Nearby is Gyantse-Dzom (Gyantse fort). We toured the monastery and as we were leaving entered a small building where a procession of sorts was going on. Our guide informed us that it was a funeral ceremony meant to ensure a safe journey for the deceased’s spirit. We were permitted to watch and listen, and for 10CNY (about $1.50), photograph the event. It was impressive and interesting to experience.

Leaving Gyantse, we drove another hour or so to Shigatse, our final destination for the evening. After a twenty minute wait to get yet another permit, we drove on to the hotel. The hotel was supposedly a three-star tourist hotel, but I have my doubts – it had no hot water, a broken window, and a leaking half-functional air conditioner. There appeared to be no power in the lobby – there were no lights on and the staff were operating by candlelight. The lack of hot water proved to be incredibly frustrating the following morning. We had a choice of cold or freezing, so I chose cold and took quite possibly the shortest shower of my life. We ate dinner at the hotel restaurant which initially had no power, but which came on prior to our food coming out. Wesley had a yak burger with fries, and I had chicken fried rice. Both were good, though I don’t think Wesley enjoyed his yak cheese on his yak burger.

After the meal we went back to the room to catch some sleep before our busy day of driving ahead.