On Wednesday morning, we all piled into our Landcruiser for our epic cross-country roadtrip to Everest Base camp.
First stop - Yamdrok Tso. It was astonishingly blue and absolutely beautiful.
I managed to enjoy the view even though we stopped at the Khambala pass, which is at 4,800m, and I was feeling a wee bit lightheaded from the altitude. I guess it's a popular viewpoint as the locals were ready and waiting and came at us pretty hardcore with trinkets and photo-ops with yaks and Tibetan mastiffs.
We hopped back into the car and drove down to the lake's shore, where more photo-ops abounded. I couldn't resist taking a picture of a teeny tiny goat, and I got to hold it in my arms - I want one!
The lake is considered to be sacred and the shore is surrounded by small cairns meant as offerings. We also spied several yaks, and one was just relaxing in the sun and calmly munching on his own poo. Nice.
We had hours more to go, and no opportunity to speed on the boring bits as there are speed checks everywhere. We had to check in at the stops, and they would know how fast we were going judging by the time between stops. Big Brother on major steroids. Sheesh.
Anyway, we made another stop on top of the Karo La pass, which is at 5,010m, to check out the glacier. It has shrunk significantly in the last 10 years, which is a bit worrying.
We also stopped to check out a dam that was built about 20 years ago. A village used to reside there and it had to relocate to the hills after the government decided that a dam was necessary to provide electricity. In any case, the water was an incredible color.
We also saw loads prayer flags tied all along the way. Pilgrims usually tie them at significant places such as high passes and bridges. The constant wind keeps them moving, and their bright colors look cheerful against the severe landscape of Tibet.
We finally stopped at Gyantse, where we were staying the night. The town looked pretty much abandoned, and dinner was another blah affair. I was just grateful that our room had a working heater and extra blankets - I didn't know then that it would be the last time I would feel warm for a while...
First stop - Yamdrok Tso. It was astonishingly blue and absolutely beautiful.
I managed to enjoy the view even though we stopped at the Khambala pass, which is at 4,800m, and I was feeling a wee bit lightheaded from the altitude. I guess it's a popular viewpoint as the locals were ready and waiting and came at us pretty hardcore with trinkets and photo-ops with yaks and Tibetan mastiffs.
I was pretty surprised at how aggressive they were and tried to steer clear - the salepeople, not the mastiffs. The dogs were remarkably well-behaved and would've given a supermodel a run for their money judging by all the poses they were throwing on command.
We hopped back into the car and drove down to the lake's shore, where more photo-ops abounded. I couldn't resist taking a picture of a teeny tiny goat, and I got to hold it in my arms - I want one!
The lake is considered to be sacred and the shore is surrounded by small cairns meant as offerings. We also spied several yaks, and one was just relaxing in the sun and calmly munching on his own poo. Nice.
We had hours more to go, and no opportunity to speed on the boring bits as there are speed checks everywhere. We had to check in at the stops, and they would know how fast we were going judging by the time between stops. Big Brother on major steroids. Sheesh.
Anyway, we made another stop on top of the Karo La pass, which is at 5,010m, to check out the glacier. It has shrunk significantly in the last 10 years, which is a bit worrying.
We also stopped to check out a dam that was built about 20 years ago. A village used to reside there and it had to relocate to the hills after the government decided that a dam was necessary to provide electricity. In any case, the water was an incredible color.
We also saw loads prayer flags tied all along the way. Pilgrims usually tie them at significant places such as high passes and bridges. The constant wind keeps them moving, and their bright colors look cheerful against the severe landscape of Tibet.
We finally stopped at Gyantse, where we were staying the night. The town looked pretty much abandoned, and dinner was another blah affair. I was just grateful that our room had a working heater and extra blankets - I didn't know then that it would be the last time I would feel warm for a while...
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