Just Another Day in Lhasa....

What began as an iffy day weather wise in Tibet, turned into another beautiful one.  It appeared as though it might pour down rain when we left our hotel.  The clouds came over the mountains near our hotel and thunder rolled.  We loaded into the van and headed to the Access Tibet office in order to pay the remainder of our tour fees.  It began to sprinkle lightly but never really turned into a significant rainfall.  After a short while we had paid our fees and were on our way to Yam Drak Lake, an hours drive up the mountains. 

We settled into our seats and made small talk as we wound our way through the mountains.  We passed over the second largest river in Tibet and began our ascent up the mountains.  Once again it tested my limits a bit as the winding road soon turned into hair-raising turns back and forth up the mountainside, with a steep drop off the side of the road.  As we approached our final landing point Tsedan informed us that the lake we were going to see was a holy lake.   The story says that it had been a small lake until Buddha number 5 threw a stick into the lake and it became salty and large.  Now it is one of the larger lakes in Tibet and is turquoise in color.  By this time the clouds had lifted a bit and the blue sky began shining through.  We have steadily become convinced that the sun is following us everywhere we go, and Tsedan agrees with us.  We finally arrived at our destination and climbed out of the van.  As we did so, several locals approached us and tried to sell us a variety of items.  David taught us to say,  “Wo bu yao” or “I don’t want it”, but this did not deter them.  They were very persistent but we resisted temptation and walked away as quickly as possible.  The locals also were offering Yak rides, and the opportunity to pet their Bernese mountain dogs.  This of course came for a small price so we also declined their offers. 

We walked over to the edge of the parking lot and took in the view.

It was magnificent with the lake below, the blue skies above and the mountains off in the distance.  Tsedan informed us that we were somewhere around 14,500 feet in altitude.  We were also instructed that we had thirty minutes to look around and hike if we would like to do so.  David, John and I set out for the top of the hill.  What appeared to be somewhat easy turned into a daunting task as the incline was much steeper than any of us anticipated.  After a few stops along the way we made it to the top and took in deep breaths.

Mind you, none of us are athletes in tiptop condition, but we are not out of shape by any means.  With our hearts racing, and our lungs gasping in the thinning air, we walked to the peak, which lies at around 15,000 feet.  It was noticeably cooler and much more windy at the top and I had an earache.  As we had guessed the view was even more spectacular from the top.  We could see for miles and miles, and we could see more of the clear blue lake.  We snapped a few photos, a video to show family and friends, and then began our descent.  As usual this was a less arduous task than the climbing had been.   After about 15 minutes we returned the parking, where we took a few more photos with Fran and Mirjam and then we headed back down the mountain. 

The van came to a stop after about fourty minutes of driving and we looked around, noticing we had stopped at a village outside of Lhasa.  Tsedan told us that he was going to ask one of the homeowners if we could come and have a look at a traditional Tibetan household.  As we climbed out of the van five little children, likely ranging in age from 1-5 or 6, greeted us.  The youngest was barefoot and wearing only a coat and nothing else.  They had smiles on their faces and seemed pleased and a little confused at seeing us.  Tsedan got the ok from the mother and we walked into her front garden area.

There was a tractor, under which a barking dog was sitting, waiting to viciously attack us.  He was quite the guard dog, and did not take his eye off of us for less than a minute the entire time we were there.  The woman showed us around, into her dining room, which consisted of two sitting areas and a table.  There was also a TV on a stand in the corner and one of the cutest little kittens I have seen in some time.

The house was painted in traditional Tibetan style, with Buddhist markings throughout.  The detail of the paintings was very impressive as well.  After showing us to the dining room we walked back out to the porch and snapped a few more photos.  The dog of course resumed growling and barking at the invaders.  We thanked the woman, handed her some money and a few Olympic pins and began walking toward the van, which had parked across the street.  All of the children had gathered around and we more than willing to ham it up for a photo or two. The baby played a little patty cake with David and was thoroughly enjoying herself.  John was busy handing candy to the children who readily accepted it.  The children honestly made the day for all of us.

I really think we could have stayed and played with them for a much longer time, but we had to head back into town.

We climbed into the van and made our way to Barkhor Street for some final bargain shopping.   After a brief stop to purchase post cards, we decided it was time for some appetizers and an afternoon beer on the balcony of Ganki Restaurant. 

The five us were seated and ordered beers and a plate of potato momo, and began filling out the various post cards we had purchased for our friends back home.  In the background we noticed some familiar songs playing over the speakers.  We heard Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, and finally Celine Dion.  In the moment we began singing along and the local staff got quite the kick out of it.  They were staring and laughing at us, the Westerners who were performing in their restaurant.  As another familiar slow song came over the radio, John and Mirjam decided to have a slow dance in front of everyone.  This of course brought more laughter to the staff, as I am sure we were more raucous than their traditional clientele.   After finishing our drinks and momo, it was time for more bargain shopping.  Fran and Mirjam had some last minute gifts to purchase because they are set to leave in the morning.  David perhaps was the best bargain shopper of the day and returned with a bounty of gifts. 

At this point it was nearing 6:30 pm and we had made dinner plans for seven p.m. with our train buddies, Susie and Dan.  If you remember from my earlier blog, they were on our train to Xian, in Xian for one day and then on our train to Lhasa, where we met them.  They are from London and are in the midst of a yearlong trip around the world.  We decided upon the Lhasa Kitchen as a meeting point and sat and waited for their arrival.  Once they arrived, we ordered Lemon Ginsing hot tea to drink and a plethora of food.  Yak, as usual was the main item, as we ordered shabaleb bread, and steamed yak momo.  We also ordered mutton masala, Kathay momo, cheese momo, shomday with yogurt, sugar and butter, and yak barley soup, and vegetable barley soup.  The food in Lhasa has been amazingly tasty for all of us.  The food and the company were fantastic and the evening was a great success.  A nice send off for Mirjam and Fran and a nice welcome for Dan and Susie, who ironically will be leaving the same day that David, John and I depart for Chengdu.  Dan and Susie will have a much more difficult departure than us, as they are cycling through the mountains to Nepal.  We wish them the best in their journey, and are all very happy to have met them.  Throughout our time together, both on the train and at dinner, we have had the opportunity to share many great stories and experiences with one another.  As I mentioned, Fran and Mirjam will be departing tomorrow.  They have been great travel partners in Lhasa, and we are sad to see them go.  This group of five really has gelled well and I look forward to staying in touch with everyone.