From Base-camp we made our way to Shigatze, Lhasa and then out onto the plateau towards China proper.
Shigatze was an interesting pit-stop, notable primarily for a nice modern hotel and the Tashi restaurant where we got our first dose of western food for a while. I am pretty keen, in general, to try local cuisine, but, well sometimes, you just need a break and this gave us the opportunity to do just that. You can, after all, eat only so many momos.
Moving on from Shigatze we arrived in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. This is backpacker central, and there are a plethora bars, eating houses, and other trappings of western tourism. Plenty to see and do here the obvious first stop being the Potala palace, the erstwhile domicile of the Dali Lama, assuming you can get tickets - no easy task - along with the main temple square and the incredible scenery. The main attraction of Lhasa for me though, aside from the obvious pull of the Dunya bar, was the opportunity to indulge in some outdoors activities. Mountain biking and rafting here are a must-do experience and accounted for two very enjoyable days. The four days spent in Lhasa were a welcome respite from travelling and gave us an opportunity for some R&R post the rigours of base-camp and a welcome taste of normality.
From Lhasa we headed out across the Plateau for some long days driving and some incredibly beautiful rough camping on our way into lowland China.
From Base-camp to Lhasa, the Dunya bar and Potala palace, rafting and mountain biking and the wide open spaces and cold blue skies of the plateau, the astonishing achievement of the Beijing-Lhasa railway to the (less than wonderful) communal loos, Tibet has, to be sure, been a whistle-stop tour of amazing experiences.
Shigatze was an interesting pit-stop, notable primarily for a nice modern hotel and the Tashi restaurant where we got our first dose of western food for a while. I am pretty keen, in general, to try local cuisine, but, well sometimes, you just need a break and this gave us the opportunity to do just that. You can, after all, eat only so many momos.
Moving on from Shigatze we arrived in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. This is backpacker central, and there are a plethora bars, eating houses, and other trappings of western tourism. Plenty to see and do here the obvious first stop being the Potala palace, the erstwhile domicile of the Dali Lama, assuming you can get tickets - no easy task - along with the main temple square and the incredible scenery. The main attraction of Lhasa for me though, aside from the obvious pull of the Dunya bar, was the opportunity to indulge in some outdoors activities. Mountain biking and rafting here are a must-do experience and accounted for two very enjoyable days. The four days spent in Lhasa were a welcome respite from travelling and gave us an opportunity for some R&R post the rigours of base-camp and a welcome taste of normality.
From Lhasa we headed out across the Plateau for some long days driving and some incredibly beautiful rough camping on our way into lowland China.
From Base-camp to Lhasa, the Dunya bar and Potala palace, rafting and mountain biking and the wide open spaces and cold blue skies of the plateau, the astonishing achievement of the Beijing-Lhasa railway to the (less than wonderful) communal loos, Tibet has, to be sure, been a whistle-stop tour of amazing experiences.
posted by Al at 1:10 am
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