Friday, November 23, 2007

Lhasa to Kathmandu Overland

We left Lhasa on the morning of the 18th, headed for Gyantse - shortly after we left, our guide and driver started chanting Buddhist prayers, a theme that would continue for our entire trip. By Noon we started climbing up from the plateau towards Kambla Pass (4,794 meters) - the road was steep, the switchbacks tight, and our driver fast - it dawned on me that perhaps I should also be saying prayers! At the top, we got our first view of the snow capped Himalayas and the beautiful turquoise Yamdrok-Tso Lake below.

The road was closed on the other side of the pass so we backtracked and headed the long way to Gyantse. We eventually took a shortcut that involved off-roading through farm land for an hour and a half! Not much grows in their sandy, arid land so the farmers spend their days collecting brush to keep their fires going at night. Another chunk of their day is spent collecting yak dung (also for their fires) and sticking it on walls to dry (see picture) most of the rural Tibetan walls we saw were covered in yak patties! When we arrived in Gyantse, we found a spacious (but unheated) hotel room - it was a very cold evening and the first of many like it to come! Gyantse was a medium sized, two road town with a few stores and restaurants there were more tractors than cars! In the morning we checked out a local monastery thats more famous for the Kumbum Stupa (a tower like shrine) we climbed to the top and saw the town and surrounding farm land then took off for Shigatse.

The drive to Shigatse was quick - when we arrived we checked out the Tashilumpo Monastary - former home to the Panchen Lama and current home to a gigantic Buddha statue (40 ft). We saw a young monk trying desperately to ring a bell! We walked around the market afterwards and after some haggling, picked up some souvenirs and found the local meat market. That evening, we enjoyed some local beers at a traditional Tibetan restaurant!

The next morning we headed out to Shegar, a small town with only one road, a lot of yak, a few children and not a lot else. About 4 hours into our drive we reached the top of Gyatso-La Pass (5,220 meters) and caught our first sight of Mt. Everest (or Mt. Qomo Lang Ma to the Tibetans). The mountain is instantly recognizable and stands out from the others mountains nearby - it is simply breath taking. The experience was short lived though as we descended and Everest quickly faded from our view. When we got to Shegar, we found a cold and dirty room with no plumbing so we decided to spend our time in town. It only took about 20 minutes to check out every store, hotel and restaurant in the whole town, so we walked around looking for someone to talk to. A few children walked by, asking for pencils - we entertained them with pictures of Lhasa, Beijing and home. It was a surprisingly comprehensive conversation, considering neither us or the kids knew more than 10 words in the other's language.

We woke up early the next morning so we could get to Mt Everest Base Camp by noon - that involved about 4 hours of off-roading, two police check points and a lot of cold weather. By the time the sun rose, we were nowhere near towns or paved roads - the sunrise over the Himalayas was beautiful. There was not a lot to base camp other than a post office, a small sign and some prayer flags - during the summer the place is bustling with expedition crews and tourists - we were lucky to have it to ourselves. Contrary to we've read there was no garbage to be seen - although I suspect the Chinese may have cleaned it up in preparation for the Olympic torch's visit on the road to Beijing. On the way back we saw some nomadic sheep and yak herders. These people live in tents year round, tending to their animals which provide their only source of food, fuel and income. Its a rough life.

We spent that night in Old Tingri - which had even less to offer than Shegar. The hydroelectric dam that provides the town with its electricity broke last year and hasn't been fixed yet - the town hasn't had power for more than a year and there are no signs that it will get power any time soon. Our guide, Lukdha, recommended a warm local restaurant so Ellie and I went and stayed there for a few hours, enjoying the warmth from their yak dung stove (it doesn't smell that bad or maybe I've just gotten used to the odor).

The next morning we drove about a mile out of town to pick up Lukdha on the road near his family's home - I'm not sure what I should have expected but I was slightly surprised to see him riding up on a horse. He let Ellie and I ride around on it for a little while before pointing it towards his family's house and smacking it on the butt. As the horse headed back home, we started off towards Zhangmu, our final stop before crossing over into Nepal.

We drove for about four hours up to Thong-La Pass (5,200 meters) our last, and most spectacular, view of the Himalayas before heading into Nepal. From there we descended along a razor thin, unpaved road following a river bed. There were a few moments when Ellie was sure we would not make it. The road was treacherous but the Chinese were working on paving it - trying to squeeze around construction equipment was always an adventure. By the time we reached Zhangmu, we had descended nearly 10,000 feet from Thong-La but were still more than a mile above sea level. The town was built into the side of the valley we'd been following and houses were arranged on switchbacks, so if you walked 100 meters up the road from our hotel you would be directly behind but easily 100ft up from the entrance. The running streams and plant life were a welcome change from the snow and ice of previous days. The town was an interesting mix of Chinese, Tibetan, Nepali, and Indian people all gathered in a surprisingly isolated town that happens to be the hub for exports and imports between China, India, and Nepal. The roads were lined with trucks swapping goods with each other making it very difficult to get anywhere. Fortunately we got a few minutes on the phone to catch up with loved ones on Thanksgiving!







1 comment:

Unknown said...

Great pictures! Everyone's reading your blogging and reveling in the experience. Keep it up! Stay safe (and warm).