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Singing at 4749m =hard work and intresting songs.

We had booked our tour with a company in Kathmandu that would take us to the border and deal with all of the formalities there, and then hand us over to the Tibetan guide. Thats where they said that things were out of their control, and things might not be so smoothe. We were heading into the unknown, abit.

The first day started out at 5am, and would be the sign of things to come. We left the Kathmandu valley and stopped for breakfast a few hours later. We headed up the Bhote Kosi river valley stopping off at the Boarderlands Resort where the Bungjy site is, for a quick break before heading up to the border crossing. The guide took our passports at the beginning, and we were suprised that he still had them when we got there, as he left them by an open window all the way there, with bumpy roads and people every where, we were sure we were about to loose them at any moment.

The check point on the Nepali side was very informal, but when you crossed the Bhote Kosi river, which looks a very hard technical 5, may be 6, have to give that ago some time, you definitely knew that you were entering China. Power craised border guards standing to attention, fancy banners over the entrance and smart uniforms were every where. We had to wait for an hour on the bridge, attracting odd looks from the gaurds, while we waited for the Tibetan guide to arrive.

When he eventually got there we got on board a very smart Land Cruiser and headed to the border town, where we got something to eat. We were informed that they were building the road at the moment, and a 30km stretch of road was clossed until 1am when it would open, and be closed again at 6:30am. We decided to get an early night and at 4am the next morning we left. The road was, almost a road, more an off road circuit, great fun for half an hour but for 3 hours, it was hard work. We got to the next village (4900m) at 9:30am having crossed some amazing scerney, of what we could see and missed lots in the dark as well and came to a hotel where we had breakfast.

We were then informed that we would not be able to get to Rongbok monastery or Everest Base Camp as the road was to muddy, and we were on our own so they wouldn't risk getting stuck. Very frustraiting as that was the main point of the trip. So we waited there all day and the next morning and left at 11:30am. May be it was a good job that we didn't have a long walk as the effects of alltitude were beinging to catch up with us, really bad headaches, right down the middle of mine and Marks head, as though somebody were driving a rusty stake through your brain. It was alright when we went for a walk, a slow and laboured walk, but a walk all the same. When we tried to sleep that day, as we were lacking in a few hours sleep, and had no energy for anything, we work up half way through and also half way the the next night in pain. What fun.

We did get to see the Everest range from the village but the peak was covered in cloud. We left to go and visit a monastery and cross a 5220m peak, Gyatso La pass. The monestary was suppossed to be a concolation prize, but wasn't at all that great. The next monastery that we went to see was in Shigatze, the 2nd city in Tibet, behind Lhasa the capital. The city was very, very new. There were huge communist style buildings, massive glass structures with nothing in them, except broken glass and the rock that had caused it. The city was very new and modern.

Its hard to see any negative effect the Chinese have had on Tibet from the outside, they have invested billions of dollars in schools, health care, roads (empty roads, with only tourist in very smart Land Cruisers and the odd bus, lorry and horse drawn truck with locals on), bridges, and very Chinese modern western cities. But I guess thats what they want you to see. The only evidence is a reduced monk population from 6000-600 as with the Monastery in Shigatze, and there aren't that many young monks visable, a few european ones, but no young ones,  I guess that they must be relaxing their tough grip on the country/state, you can even study there now, as well as in Lhasa. There were also huge military complexes every where, that ceartinly made you feel that you were being watched all of the time.

The monastery was huge, the surrounding buildings covering an area bigger than the Potala palace in Lhasa, it contained the biggest Bhuddist staute in Tibet. The next day we headed to Latze to see the tallest Stupa in Tibet. It stood at 38m tall and had 108 cells around the sides with different images of the Bhudda in each, 100,000 to be exact. Surrounding the stupa and monastery at the base was the castle walls that the Tibetans used to keep the English out when we were trying to invade at some point in their history. We failed!

We headed next to Lhasa, the capital and from here on we were on our own. The guides job was finished. There was a trip to Namptso lake, the highest in the world at 4749m high. We we a bit better acclimatised this time and felt the effects a lot less. The trip follows the new train line that has been built from Chengdu-China to Lhasa-Tibet for most of the way and then goes into the back country heading north to the Chinese border. All along the route there are small villages and towns, and further into the countryside, huts of nomadic Yak hearders, with huge flocks, stretching for as far as the eye can see.

When we eventually got to the lake, a small town had been built up to accommodate the bus loads of tourists that come out for the day or a couple to see the lake. Its a very holy lake with lots of monasteries surrounding the rocky outcrop by the small town. Lots of prayer flags were hung between the different peaks of the outcrop and on some, silk scarfs were hung. Thrown there with a rock attached and some how stick to the rough surface of the rock. We went for a walk and a sun bathe in the heat of the day. There were blue skies and a blazing sun. We made it back to the camp for dinner and then headed out again to see if we could catch the sun set. Unfortunately there was a lot of clouds hanging about and a few storms building up on the far side of the lake. Whilst waiting for the sun set we sat singing random songs, but at that height there wasn't much oxygen to be had so, the songs had some intresting pauses in, and didn't sound quite like they were suppossed to. On the way back to the town we were treated to a lighting show on the far off banks of the lake.

The lake is huge, and its really strange not to see any boats on there. The outcrops had some amazing climbing routes and the lake was crying out for a windsurfer, but, unfortunately the lake was a very religious place and its not a loud. Some times religion really does get in the way. Windsurfing at that height, or climbing would have been a very spiritual exprience, if not religious.

We headed back to Lhasa for a couple of days before we flew out. We were hoping to see Potala Palace, but it was not to be. You had to buy voucher the day before in order to get a ticket for the day that you wanted to go. The office opened at 7:30am but at 7am on our way to the airport, there was already at least 1000 people qued up to go and see the palace. Just seeing it from the outside was almost good enough as going inside. Its a spectacular site, huge, high and impossing. Lhasa its self is a very modern city, pictures from 1916, compared to the present is staggering. There used to be only a handful of houses then, and now there is a sprawilng metropolis. Hotels, resturants, shops and malls or all sizes.

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