Carol's Travels

After breakfast we checked out of the hotel at 8:00 A.M. This was the morning that we would take a 2 1/2-hour scenic drive up the mountain to Yamdrok Yumtso (Jade Lake). The steep switchback two-lane road had only a couple of places to stop for pictures.

We stopped at a place where we could photograph views of a river in the morning light. Then we got back in the bus to continue the upward ride. Fairly close to the top we stopped at another lookout where we had the opportunity to buy souvenirs and pay $2 to have a picture taken with a large mastiff dog. I didn’t need to have a picture with any of the dogs, but I enjoyed looking at them. I took a picture of the setting. 

 

We saw some yak at the side of the road near the top. When we got to the top, we had another opportunity to buy jewelry from the local ladies and to have pictures taken with one of the mastiffs. I decided to pay $2 to sit on a yak while Paul took my picture.    

   

Altitude at top of the road today: 4800 meters=15748 feet high. This was the highest altitude both Paul and I have experienced when standing on the ground.

The bus then started down the mountain, and drove to a restaurant where we could eat a “simple lunch” as Tenzin called it. A local man walked around the tables and played a stringed instrument while he sang a Tibetan folk song. Our group decided that this lunch was the best meal we had in Tibet.

Tenzin then took us to the airport. We sat in the airport several hours, due to our plane being delayed. Some of the delay could have been due to some military planes taking off shortly after we sat down in the waiting room. Most spoken and written announcements were not in English, so it was difficult to know what was going on. When our plane finally arrived in Lhasa then took off for Chengdu, we were about three hours late.

We were met by Johnathon, taken to our hotel, then we dropped into bed at 10:30. It was a long day…..

~ 4 miles

This morning we went to the Tibet Museum. We could easily go through it because English was one of the languages used to tell about each display. There was information about ancient Tibet until now. I was surprised that they had so many ancient artifacts. Some of the subjects covered were old seals, jewelry, clothing, weapons, musical instruments, and sculptures. I thought it was a beautiful museum. 

  
  
 

Next, we went to lunch in a hotel. None of us was thrilled with the food. Then we drove to Sera Monastery which is the second oldest monastery in Tibet. 550 monks live in this monastery. Now their number is only 10% of what it used to be before 1959. Monks get a salary from the government. 

We were there at 3:00 P.M. when the monks entered the Debating Courtyard. Monks were in teams of two to study together. Today a standing monk stood and asked questions and a sitting monk answered. Tomorrow their roles will be reversed. When one got a right answer, the other clapped. It was fun to watch, and they seemed to be enjoying the process. 

This evening we ate dinner at the same restaurant where we first ate in Tibet. It was busy with lots of noisy people eating. The restaurant where we ate two meals yesterday, Tibet Steak House, is the only one that had good food. That is where we had yak sizzler.

7440 steps, 3.16 miles

This morning we went to Potala Palace. This was the winter residence of the Dalai Lama until 1959. Now it is a tourist attraction. We brought our trekking poles because we knew there would be at least 300 steps up. Some were so narrow that we had to place our feet sideways on the steps.

When we got into the top of the palace we could stay only an hour. If our guide didn’t check out by that time, he wouldn’t be able to get tickets for his next tour group the next week. There were lots of Buddha statues in this area. We also saw the Dalai Lama’s room. We took exactly an hour to see everything up there. Then we had to walk down lots of stone steps that were very uneven but they weren’t steep. 

Next we went to lunch at one of the best restaurants in Lhasa. After lunch we went to Jokhang Temple. Then we could shop in the market around the temple. I didn’t go into many shops. I was tired and didn’t feel like shopping. I haven’t had much energy today because of the altitude of about 12,000 feet in Lhasa and also climbing so many steps this morning just added to my fatigue. 

  
 
For dinner tonight we ate at the same restaurant where we ate lunch. One of the dishes we ate was yak sizzler. Actually, the yak in the dishes at lunch was much more tender. Yak meat is quite tasty.

7061 steps, 3 miles