Our last day in Lhasa...

we picked a good one :) The weather is lovely and the place is crowded with Tibetan pilgrims for the Saga Dawa celebrations....we both have noted how different town feels between the Chinese holidays (first week of May) and the Tibetan holiday today. Night and day. Anyway, we have done most of our last minute errands and we are heading back to pack the luggage and bikes up for our morning departure.

We woke up early and walked the Jhokang kora with throngs of pilgrims and we also made it over to the Jhokang this afternoon to observe the festivities. They had put a cloth cover over the courtyard and the monks were all seated on cushions laid in lines on the courtyard pavement. There was a very special monk/lama/abbot that had his place on a raised platform across the back of the courtyard and he seemed to be leading the chanting that the monks were doing. People, and other monks, walked through the lines of seated monks handing out money an there were veritable piles of offerings lining one edge of the courtyard - biscuits, fruit, boxes of food all mounded up. There were many thangkas hanging around the perimeter of the courtyard and the biggest ones were across the back. It was thronged with people as well. What an experience!

For lunch A had her last taste of Dunya's steamed vegetable momos with special chili sauce and I had my last tuna sandwich and salad until I arrive back in the UK (these things are very very rare in India :) We are looking forward to riding at least some of the Friendship Highway as we make our way from Everest Base Camp to Kathmandu...we can hardly wait!!!!!

We don't know what the internet situation will be like over the next week (which is about how long it will take us to get to Kathmandu) so bear with us and don't worry - we will be fine :) If we do get some access we will update you as we go along.

Later!