Tibet Part 2 - Stupefied in Tibet

Our first day on the road really packed a tough Tibetan punch. We stopped by the picturesque Yamdrok-tso lake, which provided a perfect Yak photo opportunity.

We then visited the Gyantse monastery, which contains the largest stupa in the world.

Finally, we made our way to Shigatse, the second biggest town in Tibet, where a festival was taking place, drawing the entire population onto the streets.

The following day we looked around the massive monastery in Shigatse, my favourite of the monasteries we visited, mainly because it contains the largest Buddha in the world.

Tibet could certainly rival Australia in the 'big attractions' tour stakes (big pineapple vs big stupa; big banana vs big Buddha). It seemed appropriate, then, that we would head towards, yes, the highest mountain in the world!

And what a site to be seen! We arrived at our tent camp (altitude 5200m) to rain and cloud. When it stopped raining, we walked the 4 kms feeling drunk and short of breath to the Everest Base Camp and look out point (altitude 5230m). Here we are at the top, with Everest behind the clouds in the background.

I started to worry that the clouds wouldn't clear, because I had trampled on some prayer flags when we first arrived at the lookout. But fortunately Bhutie sang a nice Tibetan song, and the two American girls we were travelling with sang some Shania Twain, and the clouds started to part. By the time we got back to our camp we had a clear view of the mountain. The following morning, the view was even better.

We left Everest on a high, and took an 'interesting' unsurfaced road towards our final Tibetan stopover, a town near the Nepal border. At one point the car stuck on rocks next to a river, and we had to push it to get it back to the path. At other points, we didn't want to look out the window because of the sheer drop down. It was a relief when we arrived at our lunch spot that day, though it is possible that there were more wild dogs in the town than humans. In the afternoon, as we descended to around 2000m, the landscape changed to one of trees, waterfalls and clouds. The border town was spectacularly perched on the side of a lush mountain. I expect I will remember it most, however, for the time we spent in the town's bar, drinking with Chinese communist officials who were there from Lhasa.

The next morning we were taken by Bhutie to the border and said a fond farewell to Tibet and China.

Tibet Part 1 - Four days in Lhasa

Yesterday we arrived in Kathmandu after a mind-boggling 10 days in Tibet. Given I am out of China and no longer restricted by their Great Firewall, it's time for some retrospective blogging (thanks Jess for doing it in the meantime!). Its going to be long, and the photos are going to be many, because Tibet for me, has been one of the highlights of the last 5 months.

We were greeted at the train station in Lhasa (elevation 3200m) by our guide Bhutie – whose full name means 'I wish it had been a son' – and taken to our hotel. Our hotel was right in the middle of the action, and there was a fantastic view out the window of the main temple in Lhasa, and the colourful circuit around the temple where pilgrims prostrate (this has nothing to do with the prostate, but can lead to a callous on their foreheads where they touch the ground).

We were very excited, and then we looked at the bedside table, and this greeted us:

But, there was no time to reflect on the appropriate use of Australia's foreign aid budget; it was time to see the sights!

As you might expect, all of the main attractions in Lhasa are Buddhist – the Jokhang Temple, Potala Palace (below), Summer Palace and Sera Monastery. They were all full of bright colours, incense and amazing Buddhist imagery.

Despite Bhutie's best efforts we continue to be confused by all the different Buddhas. However, we were particularly taken by a nunnery that we visited – we sat and watched the nuns for a while as they preyed – they were in the middle of a 10 hour session. We also watched the monks debate at the Sera monastery. Why is the sky blue? Why is the river green? Who's going to win the World Cup? And so forth.

In the evenings we dined with some Belgian friends we had met on the train, and who thankfully pointed out that the hotel was charging us twice as much as them for an identical room. We enjoyed some good Tibetan food – particularly the old classic Yak Burger – and some times a cold Lhasa beer.

After a few days it was time to pack the Land Cruiser and head out on the open roads of Tibet.