The Monkey Temple
Buddah's Eyes
Durbah Square
Sidhu in Durbah Square
The Ghats
A funeral taking place. Crowds watch from over the river
Rum Doodles still did excellent steaks and still has messages all over the walls (couldn't find mine and Paul's from our visit over the millenium. Kilroy's is also still there although it has expanded to include a club called K-Too. Tom and Jerry's is still the best place to go for a meal.
Kathmandu from the Monkey Temple
We left Kathmandu and travelled north to spend our last night at a campground called Borderlands which isn't far from The Last Resort where a number of people had spent some time doing bnungy jumps and canyon swings. From Borderlands we drove north along a really grotty road as the monsoon rains had washed away big chunks and roadworks prevailed. Adam negotiated some really awkward obstacles and we arrived in Tibet and collected our Tibeten and Chinese guides.
Road under a waterfall
After being processed at the border we set off to start our Chinese adventure. We left Zhang Mu and travelled deeper into Tibet on the Friendship Highway which is the only proper road from Kathmandu to Lhasa. The Tibetan plateau is both stark and beautiful and initially quite bare. Our first pass (Gyotse-La) saw some of the Motley crew struggling for breath and at around 5100m (16,575ft) was the highest we had been to date.
The Tibetan Plateau
The Gyotse-La Pass(5100m)
The Motely Crew minus the one loss (John B)
After travelling for most of the day we rough camped at a great spot in the edge of the National Park where we could see Everest were the weather clearer and less cloud cover. As it was I managed to get a glimpse of Everest from here which was just as well since once we got to Everest Base camp (yes, we could drive right up to base camp!) we saw diddly squat through all the cloud.
Cho Yu on the right, Bottom bit of Everest on the left under cloud
Everest from Rough camp - Patience paid off
Everest from Base Camp (Its the white blob in the middle of the photos)
The side trip to Everest Base Camp was a bit of a let down and with the roads being very rough we spent more time than expected doing this and so ended up driving very late into the night to allow us to keep to schedule. The next day saw us arrive in Shigatse. Shigatse is the second city in Tibet (Lhasa being the first of course) and it is where the Panchen Lama (Dalai Lama's successor lives). I'm not sure what I expected but it wasn't the modern city we stayed in. While in Shigatse I tried to visit the Denche Palace but it was closed both times I went there (shame) but I did get to see the Tashilhunpo Monastry.
Closed Palace
Tashilhunpo Monastry (a bit of it anyway)
From Shigatse we continued on the Friendly Highway towards Lhasa with a brief half day stop in Gyantse which is famous for its wool and is a much more typical Tibetan town (much less Chinese influence). We were also really lucky here as during July there is an archery and horse racing festival and so we got to spend some time getting into the swing of the celebrations (Great day!).
Palkhor Chode Monastery
Gyantse Dzong (old Fort)
The crowd at the 'race track'
And the're off and running!!!!!!
All the fun of the fair
From Gyantse we finally arrived in Lhasa. I expected a Tibetan Kathmandu but as ever on this trip you never seem to get what you expect!!. Lhasa is a modern and bustling metropolis and the Chinese influence is very evident.
Pilgrims at the Jokhang Temple
The Jokhang Temple
Potala palace from the Jokhang Temple
Potala Palace from the gardens facing the front of the Palace
Potala Palace from the gardens facing the back of the Palace
Lhasa from the Potala Palace
Lhasa was pretty much the end of our Tibetan visit and the next stretch involved some pretty hard driving and five days of rough camping until our next hotel stop in Lanzhou where we could have a shower before carrying onto Xian our first major city in 'mainland' China. We did have some moments on the way though.
Our first rough camp of this slog to Xian was at Namtso Lake which is the 2nd Largest salt water lake in China and the highest salt water lake in the world (or so I am told!).
Sunrise over Namtso Lake
Statue at the Chinese 'Border' between Tibet to 'Mainland' China
The first bit of excitement was a hail/snow storm just after we passed from Tibet into China proper. My little tent managed to survive this and has shown its true worth! The next episode was while we were camping in the plains. The camp site we selected was flat, sandy and seemingly innocous however as night fell the wind started whipping across the plains and before we knew it BLAM!! major sand and wind storm. This was seriously fierce and we had panic as tents were ripped up and blown away. We had to get everyone on to the truck the wind was that fierce that it even blew out one of the truck windows. Anyway other than my broken pole being bent the little tent yet again managed to survive although I have had to repair the pole with a tent peg to have any chance of using it for the rest of our camping stops.
After the excitment of the sand storm the rest of the journey to Xian went without too much of a hitch. The night before arriving in Xian we had to rough camp at the side of the road and as a result we played host to the locals from the village who were fasinated by us and our 'weird habits.
Bemused locals look on as we prepare supper
Norrie getting to meet the locals
Anyway we finally arrived at Xian and I spent the day visiting the Terracotta warriors and some of the other sights before catching the overnight train to Beijing. First place visited was the Banpo Neolithic village which is purported to be 6000 years old.
Banpo Neolithic village
From Banpo went on to the Huaqing hotsprings which is a collection of pavilions and ornamental ponds. I got the impression that Chinese restoration consists of knocking the building down and rebuilding it as this is what seemed to be going on in some areas. In recent times it was used by Chiang Kai-shek as his headquarters while in Xian and was also used (I think that's what the guide said) to incarcerate him during the 'Xian Incident' in December 1936. Anyway, very pretty worth a look.
Huaqing hot springs
My final visit was to the Terracotta warriors and to be honest I thought it a bit of an anti-climax. The Emperor Qin Shi Huang's tomb is a huge affair the most famous part being the army of warrior statues created to protect the dead emperor. There are three pits the first with around 6,000 life-size statues of warriors of different ranks. The second pit (pit 2) has cavalry and infantry units but at present, while the pit is open to the public, everything is pretty much covered up to protect the colours although there are some example warriors exposed. Pit 3 is the command post with high ranking officers. In addition to the warriors and examples of weapons other artifacts were found including a couple of half size bronze chariots. A whole town has been built around the pits and to say its been commercialised is a bit of an understatement. Anyway, seen it now so can get the T-shirt.
Pit 1 - Around 6,000 warriors in 11 corridors all facing out from the Emperor's tomb
Pit 2 - Cavalry and Infantry, mostly covered to protect the colours of the warriors
Pit 3 - High command so mainly generals and senior officers
Terracotta warriors
Had the worst train journey ever to get to Beijing. We could only get standing tickets so yes, we stood or sat in the aisle for the whole of the 12.5 hour journey (Bummer!!!!). Arrived in Beijing at 7 am fairly tuckered out and so the first day was a bit of a wash out. The following few days saw me do all the sights.
Hazy and hot was the day I (and what seemed like most of the population of China) visited the Forbidden City and Summer Palace and by the time we got to the Summer Palace it was so hazy (pollution?) that B&W photos looked better than the colour ones.
The Forbidden City
Temple of Heaven
Summer Palace
The Summer Palace from the lake - Haze so bad the photo is better in B&W
Wet and warm was the day of the Great Wall (it fairly pissed down!) so B&W photos look the best whereas hot and humid was the day for strolling around Beijing visiting Tianamen Square, the Silk and pearl markets and simply just wandering around.
The Great Wall (some photos in B&W 'cos they look better)
Tianamen Square - Gate house on the city walls if they were there
Tianamen Square - Mao Tse Tung's tomb
Our last day in Beijing was spent in fear and trepidation for the train journey back to Xian but as luck would have it we had seats this time (Yay!!). We boarded the train only to find that it was just as full (if not fuller) than the train down with people standing on people this time. Also having seats isn't much better than not having them!.
We arrived in Xian at 5:45 totally knackered and after Adam retrieved the truck from the secure pound where he left it we got back to the hotel and simply crashed. From Xian we resume our journey by truck (will not complain about conditions anymore!) and proceed south to the Laos border in around three weeks. I don't know whether I'll be able to do an update before Bankok but if I can I will.
Matt (still in China)
Phone Off
Thinking of you all (NOT!)
