Tashi delay :-)

As promised...photos from our "6 months on the road" dinner :) This is the starter....


...and this is K attacking the starter before I can even get the camera out :-)


Needless to say...we never got photos of the mains because we finished them so quickly!

On to Namtso photos!

We had a great trip to Namtso lake despite having to get a bus there - we would have loved to have ridden (it would have been very hard work) but the Tibetan Mastiffs were perceived to be too much of a leg chewing threat. Hearing the dogs howling and barking all night when we actually arrived at Namtso it was a very good thing that we did not ride - more on that later :-)

We had hooked up with a couple from the UK - Zach had been away from home for four years and Imo for one. Although much younger they were well travelled and knowlegeable and great to be around. The bus that we had taken was a Chinese tour bus and we were the only non-Chinese speaking people (although Zach and Imo had a decent amount of Chinese under their belts having spent six months teaching English in China). Most of the people on the bus were on a day trip and we were on a two day trip - we were to stay overnight and catch the bus back to Lhasa the next day. The bus journey took four hours to reach Namtso and those that were going back the same day would only get one hour there before they had to return - we were glad that we had decided on the two day trip as the weather was lovely and the scenery beautiful.

The route took us along the Qinghai - Lhasa Highway and also followed the railway line that we had travelled in on. The road travelled up and up into valleys, gaining height the whole time. We were surrounded by mountains that had been blasted to make way for the road, the lose rock left behind had potential for landslides, occasionally metal mesh kept it captured as a preventative measure. We looked up at large vertical rocks that were precariously balanced above us, threatening and casting shadows down the slopes. Mountain peaks accompanied us, occasionally capped with snow. Rivers snaking their way down valleys varied from torrents and rapids to dried up washes, the water (or chu as it is known in Tibetan) transparent and clear or a mirky brown in colour from the mud that was being swept downriver. I would watch it flow over the grey and mauve rocks and pebbles as we passed by in the bus. Eventually I pulled out my MP3 player and K and I listened to music, I with my eyes shut as I tried to catch up on some much needed shut eye, sleep did not come but euphoria entailed from the music.

Our first stop was at some prayer flags in the shape of a pyramid that were placed in honour or offering to the heighest mountain in the area - Mount Nyenchen Tanglha (7111 metres). The view was spectacular and it was no surprise that this area had been chosen to celebrate the mountain. The range also seperated the road we were taking from the valley where Namtso was located. Everybody jumped out of the bus and took the necessary collection of photos in commemoration. Local Tibetans who had gotten wise to the timing of the arrival of the tourist buses tried to get yuan by posing for photographs. They hassled tourists who would have once oblinginly fed this habit whom now found it more troublesome and shooed the pushy people away or tried to take photos without getting the Tibetans in their shot.



Eventually we turned off the highway and headed up towards Namtso, the bus moved slowly, we could also see other buses ahead that were also challenged in their ability to make it up the twisting steep road. We came to a pass at 5190 metres, at the top the bus parked up to allow us to take in the view. More Tibetans greeted the tourists, this time they held baby goats and dogs in their arms in hope of gaining a better opportunity in having their photo taken and thus earning yuan. Nobody wished to take up the opportunity, the posers became pushier as a result but still had no luck. Snotty nosed children in dirty clothes put their hands out and asked for money, I refused as everybody else did. The people here were obviously poor, perhaps they were nomads, judging by their dress some were tribal too, still their desperation for money was not catered for as people kept their money close. One girl patted my trouser pockets and begged me for a photo or some cash. I had no camera on me and my money was secretly stashed away. I could see that she had a need for my yuan but I do not want to support this trade. After my saying "mei you" (not have) many times she eventually stopped her persistance. Now her attention turned to curiosity as she checked out my earrings and the ring on my finger. I pulled a few faces and a boy nearby mimicked them. Seeing that her nose needed a clean I gave her a pocket tissue that was scented with rose, I demonstrated to her to smell the scent, she did so and happily placed the tissue safely into a pocket, smiling at her reward but not blowing her nose. She took my hand. A boy arrived holding a kid goat, seeing that I was not going to take a photo he also became curious of me. I petted the goats head and said "ahh", he copied my speech over and over again. Very soon it was time to get back to the bus...



Going over the pass Namtso came into view. A beautiful blue lake, it is the highest salt water lake in the world, the sea water having been pushed up high into the sky when the Himalayas were created millions of years ago. It is also surrounded by mountain peaks over 7000 metres high which create a beautiful backdrop. The road took us past wide expanses of land that were dotted with nomadic tents and grazing livestock, the dreaded dogs lay resting in the sun...

We arrived at Tashi Dor Monastery, and the small "village" set up for tourists right next to it, right on the edge of the lake. We easily found a tent to stay in for the night and went about walking the two nearby hills - some rocky outcrops near the lake.

We breathlessly made our way up the slope - at just under 4800 metres the lake is positioned 1100 metres above the height of Lhasa and any climb up was incredibly strenuous. These chaps had the right idea, lying around was far easier! We quite liked their out turned straight horns :-)


Looking down at the campsite from atop the hill, yikes, it takes my breath away looking at it again :-)


We spent some time talking to Zach and Imo at the top of the hill whilst we had some much needed rest. We shared travel stories in particular and enjoyed the beautiful view.


Zach looking lively before the climb up the hill :-)


Prayerflags overlooking the lake.


The lake views were amazing from this high up.



We eventually skidded and slid our way down a steeper hillside in order to get to the lake edge. At the side of the lake there was a mound of snow, K took great pleasure in hurling snowballs at our companions who had not yet seen the snow pile and were taken by surprise as a result :-)


Crazily the others took off their shoes and socks and stood in the freezing water - not for long though :-)


We could not resist skimming some stones across the waters surface, the pebbles underfoot were the ideal shape and just beckoned to be bounced.


We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around Tashi Dor and taking in more views of the lake, occasionally seating ourselves and talking further about our exploits.

The Couple Stones as they are named which are seated across from the chapel.


The chapel: We did not go in, it was busy with faithful pilgrims who had travelled from afar. In fact many of the pilgrims were interesting to see, their dress vaired greatly. Many were decorated with coloured braids in their hair, some had gone a step further and had placed circular silver discs (like large, old Chinese coins with the square in the centre) into their plaits. Many wore dark coats with sleeves which were twice as long as their arms, the fabric would hang down almost to the ground and would swing as they walked. This extra length of cloth is essential in keeping ones hands warm and is quite customary. Many of the pilgrims were walking the kora, others were tirelessly prostrating and lying flat on the floor, in this manner they would circumnambulate the nearby hillside that shadowed the chapel. Some of the older pilgrims had bent backs from many years of labour, still they chanted mantras and span their prayer wheels, their disability did not deter them from gaining more merit. I did not get any photos of the pilgrims, my lense would require that I took photos close to them and out of respect I did not want to stick a camera in their faces. Instead I preferred to say my hellos and move on.


We sat near the area for ritual bathing and watched a gull dive for food (there are no boats on the lake, we assume that it is because of its holy status).


Further views of the beautiful lake.



Mount Nyenchen Tanglha from the opposite side of the lake.


The inside of our tent. You can see the stack of duvets that each person had in addition to a sleeping bag - it was THAT cold at night...but the cover worked and we spent a very toasty night in the tent :-)


A view of the campsite. In the background you can see tents similar to that which we stayed in. The tent on the foreground is in the typical style of the nomadic tents.



Sunset at the camp. Here you can see a Tibetan with the long sleeves.



Overnight we heard the howling and barking dogs - in the morning K and I both admitted to one another that in the night we had both needed to go the toilet however neither of us would brave the three minute walk to the facilities due to the ferocity of the dogs that sounded like they had been let off their leashes to guard the nomadic tents.

The next morning K took a short walk and watched the sunrise.



Soon I joined her and we took a walk around the kora of the nearby chapel and hillside... Maybe we need the extra merit too :-)

The Namaste rocks, so named because their shape resemble the hand positioning for greeting in India.


Other views from the kora.





After the walk we were starving so we went and took breakfast at the Tibetan tent restaurant where we had our dinner the previous night. The people there were really friendly and were happy to see us again. We watched a man make Tibetan yak butter tea in a long and narrow wooden butter churn. The stove was fuelled by yak dung, luckily the skinny metal chimney stack sucked the smoke out of the tent. All the time water was boiled in a large kettle which was constantly refilled, the hot water was placed into nearby thermoses for later use, this was continued until the stove burnt out and was certianly an efficent method in making the most out of the heat.

My ankle had swollen from again from walking on slopes the previous day, we had the idea of putting my foot in the cold water in order to reduce the swelling. The early morning water which had not yet been warmed by the sun was almost too cold, I could only manage to put my foot into it for ten seconds before it became unbearable.


We saw a Chinese tourist (who we later invited us to drink tea with her when we waited for the bus) from our tour bus who motioned to us that we should look at the following rock paintings, although we are not sure of their originality...


We had an amazing time at the lake, it was very peaceful and it was great to get away from the city :-)



When it was time we went out to find the bus from our travel agency. We were under the impresion that we would stop at the hot springs on the way back and we knew that part of the package was a free lunch. The bus quickly filled with the Chinese tourists that were on their day trip out and soon we were on our way. The bus ride out was beautiful - it was nice to see the scenery going in the reverse direction and we spotted a group of cyclists that were riding to Namtso (supported by a jeep, they were not riding loaded bikes). We soon stopped for lunch at a CHinese restaurant and we all piled out, filled 5 big tables and consumed the many plates of food that were delivered (only one dish was without meat!). Not long after we noticed that the Chinese tourists had departed and were getting on the bus! We didn't have more than 15 minutes at the restaurant. We kept wondering where the hot springs might be as our crazy bus driver seemingly raced back towards Lhasa, driving in th emiddle of the road, honking his horn at all traffic and only occasionally slowing for the bumpier sections of the road (our backpacks fell out of the overhead bins TWICE due to the erratic driving!). Soon we were quite close to being back in Lhasa and the bus pulled in at Hope-Long Industries...a place for animal husbandry. Hmmm...not exactly what we were thinking the hot springs would be called :-) It turned out to be a Chinese medicine/pharmaceuticals type place with all manner of dessicated things that were being ground up and made into pills - frogs, caterpillar fungus, long centipede type bugs and even ewe embryonic material was being made into capsules! Scary! There were several Chinese tourists that were very interested in this sort of thing and several of them came back on board with small bags containing their purchases. We stopped at two more of these establishments (we were not invited to participate, even if we wanted to, as it was all presented in Chinese) before we became a bit fed up and abandonded our tour bus for a public bus for the last few kms ride into town. It is very strange that the Chinese tourists would spend an entire day on the tour bus for an hour at a very beautiful lake, a quick lunch and a couple of hours at the pharmaceutical companies....why did they bother going all the way to the lake?

Anyway...we had a fabulous trip that not even a twisted end to our bus journey could dim. It was well worth it!

Goodnight and thanks for reading :-)