Education Hotel Xigaze

... said many Tibetans believe that
the Panchen Lama died not of a heart attack but by poisoning.




So
who is the current Panchen Lama? Depends on who you ask. In May
1995 the Dalai Lama identified a boy as the next Panchen Lama. The
Chinese “relocated” this kid to a government compound in Beijing
and came up with a second choice – the son of a Communist party
member. The pictures of the 11th Panchen ...

... seed and potato plants, colouring the land illuminous yellow and stark white. The road out to the lake was built in 2006 and was impressive as it safely took us up, over, and through the mountain range and Kamba-la Pass, shaving some 9 hours off the previous journey time. We had to pay Y40 per person to use the road and view the lake from the top. You could also pay to have your picture taken with a yak in ...

... things unmentionable (or unidentifiable) sloshing around on the ground. A bad day to be wearing sandals perhaps (but probably a worse day to be a chicken...)

Off out for (hopefully!) a good dinner tonight, then back on the road again heading to Lhasa, which we should reach in a couple of days (weather/checkpoints/truck engine permitting). No doubt we'll update you again from there - best wishes to you all in the meantime x

... stomach starts to protest. I'm not feeling too good, so we turn to bed pretty much upon returning to the hotel, around 8.30 pm. It's really cold and I'm shivering in bed, but fall asleep almost immediately. About 2 hours later I wake up again, urgently, and I'm definitely not feeling good at all. The race to the bathroom in the dark sets a new local record. I'm ******** spinach soup. Dark green liquid is exploding from my sphincter. The ...

... the closure of the lake area. we heard rumours that the lake would reopen in a couple of days. when we inquired at a travel agent that had been recommended to us about booking a two day trip to nam tso we were told that they didn't know when the lake would reopen and they had no further interest in talking to us. we decided to give up on the lake and focus on getting to the nepali border, trying to see whatever seemed most interesting on the way. we decided to go to ...

... name that buddah' with our guide Samden. In the evening, after dinner, had a few drinks with Jo, Ivan and our head guide Bir Singh at the hotel bar. September 30th: Started early again to start our drive to Shegar, a 6-7hr drive that had amazing mountain scenery all along the way! We did 3 passes today, two at 4900m and one at 5200m! We had lunch along a river, with yaks+cows grazing nearby. Towards the end of the drive we came into ...

... of a lot of the Soviet-era architecture that I saw around central Asia that was either totally decrepit and nobody had got around to tearing down, or was brand new but had been ageing and crumbling since before the project had even been completed (mainly in Turkmenistan). Kind of reassuring to see little difference between the remnants of an evil empire almost 20 years defunct, and one that's supposed to be the next superpower : )

... muster was to flip through his official tour guide book, point to a statue and say "That future Buddha." I must admit that perhaps we were a little cruel. "Hey Tempa, what mountain is that over there?" Tenpa consults with Driver. Tenpa:"I don't know." Us:"Well, it looks very big. Isn't it important?" Tenpa: "Tibet has many big mountains. All important." Us: "What about that one over there." Tenpa: "I don't know. Maybe we see Shishibangma mountain later." Us: "Oh ...

... here it is Yak everything: - Yak butter, Yak milk, Yak meat etc etc. Today, I was up bright and early at 8am to the glorious sound of my Chinese neighbors clearing their throat and spitting in the hotel room next to me. Great! As I write that, the guy beside me is clearing his throat and spitting on the floor beside the computer. I tell you, that is one thing I wont miss - the constant clearing of the throat and spitting....AGH! This morning I had ...

... the now familiar scent of yak butter candles. Our eyes widen as we gaze with wonder upon the world's highest sitting statue of Buddha, made of gold and copper alloy, and encrusted with precious jewels. We listen as well to the soothing sounds of graceful bells and feel how the penetrating drumbeats absorb into and calm our weary souls. By this point on our travels through Tibet, we are not merely physically exhausted, but we find ourselves spiritually saddened by the ...