Tsedang Hotel Lhasa

... of paint on the walls, statues and the ornate cloth wall hangings( thangkas) and draped colourful covers on the statues was somewhat overwhelming as we snaked through the temple with the heaving lines of devotees. Inside some chapel areas were bronze and gold gilded tombs containing ashes of past high ranking lamas. These were encrusted with large coral, pearl and turquoise stones amongst the ornate gilded patterned stupa shaped tombs. Sadly no photos were allowed inside here or other ...

... This is a source of much debate internationally, but I am forced to simply bow to the inevitable. Time spent in old Tibetan towns is not good. Chinese towns are sterile, but then again, if we look around at our own modern cities, there really is not much difference. We keep special areas like the Rocks in Sydney, or Parnell or Ponsonby in Auckland and then replace the rest. Is the western version any different. (Ok we don't have army guards marching around in groups of six with ...

... to assume that this is always the case. Of course the truth is usually accessible, should we wish to dig a little, but it does not necessarily live in the pages of our newspapers.<br><br>As far as I knew, sometime after the second world war, with the rest of the world, financially and emotionally exhausted, China marched on the independent country of Tibet, meeting little or no resistance. The Dalai Lama, who had been both the spiritual and political leader of the country was ...

... winter residence of the Dalai Lama before he went into exile in the 1950's.... Stunning. Inside though, it is a shell of what once was - it is quite sad:( The overwhelming smell of Yak butter wax burning and incense is nauseating.....<br><br>The monasteries were excellent and i lit a candle for my Nan and Simon's Nan who sadly passed whilst we were away.<br><br>Saw lots of proper monks although ...

... and went to the New Mandala Restaurant near Johkang Temple. We went to the roof top where Bill banged his head, that should be good for the headache, but went back down to the second floor because it was pretty breezy. <br><br>We ordered a pot of sweet tea (masala is better), Lhasa Beer, sizzling yak with rosemary and gravy, crispy noodles and fries, a huge order of delicious yak spring rolls (lettuce, carrot, noodles - lightly fried/baked) and naan. Since Bill was not ...

... the opposite direction symbolises burning. Spiritual wares and tourist baubles are hawked along every centimetre:prayer flags, block prints of scriptures and tourquoise jewellery, Tibetan boots, yak butter and juniper incense plus lots of Yak, Yak, Yak Tibet T-shirts. The pilgrims are captivating as they include lots of braided hairded Khambas from Eastern Tibet, women with incredibly ornate braids and coral headpieces and Goloks (Tibetan nomads ...

... up out of the hole. This served as a great shute for the wind to blow dust and who-knows-what-else into your sensitive regions while you were a-squat. If you then tried to throw your used toilet paper into the hole it would zoom straight up past your nose! I partook in this procedure twice before turning to aternative routes of alleviation. I'm sure you wanted to know... We then took the jeep for another 15 minute drive up to Everest Base Camp (5200m). Here the icy ...

... nouvelle lune, ciel degage, semblait etre a portee de main! 1er octobre toujours sur la route, nouvel angle de l'Everest. Le paysage est monotone, gris/marron, sec. En revanche les gens sont de toutes les couleurs et leurs sourires illuminent les montagnes. Apres midi nous redescendons, et la, magnifiques vallees, innombrables cascades, rivieres folles! Super beau! Au soir nous arrivons dans un village ...

... Only now, at the end, did the other journey begin. In those ancient times, the Dane and I had ridden into the mountains, up past a lake, to the high summer pastures where the nomads lived. My horse was called Slowpoke, and hers ******. That is the August I will be thinking about as you shovel me into my grave. It was another year now, another life, and not even August any longer. Seven weeks on the road, we packed light and went on foot into the long, spearing range of the Tian Shan that ...