To Samye, to Gyantse

We left Lhasa in a convoy of four Toyota Landcruisers, accompanied by our new Tibetan guide. A far more comfortable way to travel, the 4x4s give us the freedom to stop when we like for photo or toilet stops, and we can spread out in the back admiring the views. Over the last few days we have crossed over mountains under endless skies, through deserted plains and sandy dunes and across dried up river beds - we are now at just under 4,000 metres. The scenery has been awesome and still, the best is yet to come.








Our first stop was Samye monastery, Tibet's first monastery dating back to 770. We stayed in the monastery guest house, the most basic accommodation yet (the toilets were an experience) but located right in the monastery grounds and filled with pilgrims. We looked around the monastery, which is built as a mandala mirroring the structure of the universe according to Buddhist cosmology. We climbed up a nearby mountain (hill) for a wee bit of exercise and to see the monastery from above.













The next morning we embarked on a long 10 hour journey to Gyantse – never easy, but surrounded by such a wonderful landscape the hours flew by. We visited the monastery here too (as if we'd break the routine) and climbed up to the top of the town's fort for some more spectacular views.















Gyantse has retained more authentic Tibetan charm than most other towns, which was evident as we walked down streets lined with cattle and littered with yak bones and the odd hoof! A more unusual site was the local museum:




There was in fact a massacre here right at the end of the 19th century but the museum twists the whole incident around (captions by the Chinese, of course). Apparantly the British has tried to remove Tibet from the motherland (when in fact the battle happened 50 years before China invaded Tibet!) with 10,000 troops (there were actually only 1,000 British troops, but they were served by 10,000 servants!!!) See for yourself, and laugh!




We're now in Shigatse, Tibet's second largest town and seat of the Panchen Lama (second to the Dalai Lama). We'll spend a couple of days here, then only one more stop before Everest Base Camp!