Thangka Hotel Lhasa

... in Tibet. There was a massive prayer hall with lines of cushioned benches where the monks pray and chant daily, this was a serene place and less crowded so gave us a breather on our tour here. We were lead up some narrow stairs to the roof where only tourists are allowed and this was a bonus as from the roof we could admire the ornate golden roof carvings and from the edge of the front we could look over the square and see the masses of people moving and praying in front of the ...

... Shields and and Tear Gas guns).<br><br>Lhasa finished the following day with some quiet time writing blogs, while Fiona and her buddies shopped around the Tibetan Dropeling Arts and Crafts institute. This is a non profit organisation setup to preserve traditional crafts and got a good chunk of the holiday gifts budget. Couldn&#8217;t be a better place.<br><br>The evening allowed a short walk down to the Plaza in front of the Potala palace to watch the water fountain and listen ...

... into exile in India and Tibet has since, slowly but surely lost much of it's traditions and unique identity, becoming just another province of the vast and increasingly powerful country of China. That was basically the extent of my understanding.<br><br>Books on Tibet are completely banned by the Chinese government and I didn't get the chance to read anything before I went, so it wasn't until I was leaving on the train from Lhasa to Beijing that I managed to gain a better ...

... is strange to see them on their PDA's texting and surfing the net!! How bizarre!!<br><br>The altitude sucked though, the highest we went was 5200M (Everest is 8028M) and everyone on the trip felt pretty sick - horrendous headaches, nausea and extreme breathlessness. Luckily i had bought altitude sickness tabs before i left Nepal so i got better. Simon was fine though!!<br> <br>Charlise and Simon++

... I did my duty and ate almost all of it! Why do I keep eating all of his food too?!<br><br>Bill went to videotape the pilgrims while I finished all the food. Some monks were a different style of hat and I want to get it on film. While he was gone a mangy tom cat showed up looking for food. He jumped up on Bill's chair, looked around and then laid down! A few minutes later, he jumped down and walked away. LOL! When Bill returned I told him that I could find another dinner ...

... the northeast who wear sheapskin coats and don huge gold earings, and folded red scarfs intertwined into their hair. Went to see the Potala palace and Jokang temples today with our Tibetan guide Dohprung. Despite the Cultural Revolution they seemed to have managed to preserve almost all of the ancient artifacts including gold budhas, thrones, murals, and scripts. It is all a bit overwhelming. King Sonsten Gampo, High Lamas, Budhas, Budavistas ...

... strong wind threatened to blow us off the morane from which we had some beautiful views of the sheer glacier-clad north face of Mt Everest (8850m) which the Tibetans call Chomolongma ("Mother Goddess of the Universe" - or "Princess Cow" - dependig on the translation). It's sheer size has a magnetic appeal and it certainly dominated the entire valley as it poked far into the clear blue sky. We returned to Rombuck by foot, stopping frequently for one perfect ...

... dans la vallee : une seule route le traverse et descend la vallee. Melange de populations chinoise, tibetaine, nepalaise, et occidentale (touristes!). 2 octobre au matin, passage de la frontiere. Comme la veille : routes toujours en reparation a cause des glissements de terrain, tibetains au travail tout le long. Passage perilleux. Nous arrivons enfin a Kathmondou dans l'aprem, decalage horaire : -1h45.

... from Kazakhstan into western China. These mountains might be the inner ring guarding Shambhala. For 18 years, I had needed to go back, to go beyond memory, to see that one imagined valley beyond what I had known, the impossible beyond the possible. Rinpungpa urged me on: 'Although you feel exhausted and sick from the rigours of the journey, hold on to your aim and continue.' We passed the same lake I remembered from 1988, up towards the glaciers, crossing into the narrow valleys where ...