We flew to Lhasa from Zhongdian and was immediately surprised by the modern facilities - the modern airport building and the impressive tunnel through a mountain range that cut travelling time from the airport to Lhasa.
On the way, a roadside fresco with offerings of silk scarves.
But of course we were all looking forward to seeing the Potala Palace, the winter palace of the Dalai Lamas which we visited on our second day.
The building was imposing and with nearly all of us suffering from one form of altitude illness or another, the ascent was most trying ...........
But we all managed it.
PETER'S LETTER (4)
Blessing of the Lord Budda upon you all,
Here we are at the top of the world, or fairly close to it, and having a riotous eve with our fellow travellers eating watermelon which our guide graciously gave us as down payment on his tip. Well that is my cynical assessment, but the watermelon is sweet and lovely, as is being here in Lhasa.
Had the most wonderful flight up from Shangri-la this morning on China Southern ( yep a real airline with real service and clean modern aircraft) but the highlight was the views from the window- every 5 minutes I am sure that I saw Everest but probably in reality it was over the clouds to the south. Wonderful shots of glaciers, lakes and valleys carved by the ice, living geography. The descent into Lhasa airport was spectacular too as we came down a parallel valley just over the ridge of peaks, did a sharp u-turn and made a smooth landing. Far better than I could have done on my flight simulator but I’ll have to try it when I get home- just for the fun of it. Mind you the place is about 60km out of town so there was some sightseeing on the way in, and a stop at a shrine where I did a marvellous trick of falling backwards into a rubbish drum. There’s a clown in every group.
On the downside I have come down with a bit of altitude sickness- well headaches at least. Have managed to eat a lovely meal tonight so there is no danger that I will waste away. We also managed a walk around our nearest Buddhist temple with hundreds of devotees who periodically stop and prostate themselves in the most energetic and athletic manner. Would remove my gut in a hundred moves I reckon so there’s an incentive if ever I could avoid one. Never feel too comfortable with all this obvious religion but there is no doubt that the people certainly feel and live their faith. That’s the native Tibetans but of course there are sizeable numbers of Han Chinese who make sure that the wheels of commerce move smoothly for things other than the nic nacs and handicrafts that the Tibetans sell. The new town is every bit a modern Chinese city but of course the colour and the movement is in the old part.
Since the last report we had our last days in Shangri-la, visiting the local monastery which was substantial and very vibrant, and dare I say it, colourful. The steps were a bit of a killer for Keir, who’s knees are not the best. Will have to gird his loins before we do the Potala Palace in the next day or two, hopefully he will be able to get a telescopic walking stick to help his effort.
Enough for now folks, will just have to sever this marvellous fibre-optic connection available in the hotel room as Kin Mun has need of his laptop. Should be back in a couple of days so get ready with the delete button!!
All the best,
P& K
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