Adventure Consultants Cho Oyu Expedtion
Lhasa at last
110830 choblog
Last night the team ate at the Dolce
Vita, a team get together. There had been a few rumblings about
going all the way to Nepal to fill up on Italian food. But by the
end of the evening the restaurant was judged a success, good
conversation followed the good food, and most of the team retired for
an early-ish night while a small minority (I will not say who)
strolled over to the nearby Sam's bar for a night cap. Or two.
This morning saw us bleary at
breakfast. Claudio was rubbing his eyes looking for the omelette
cook, usually parked at the end of the breakfast room. He said
“Someone has moved the Egg Station.”
“No they haven't “ said Iza “It
is just that you are sitting in a different place this morning.”
A little later we were beginning the
long paper trail from Kathmandu to Lhasa. We filled out our departure
forms, passed our bags, shoes and belts through the x-ray machines.
The bags had to be searched by hand as well. In mine was found an
offending small roll of sellotape. I asked the security guard how he
imagined an attack with a one inch role of sellotape, and
although I put on my biggest smile I failed to elicit any response
other than “not allowed”. Just as I was on the point of giving
up, his boss came over to look at the roll, and handed it back to me.
We all shook hands. He gave me a big smile and I went on my way
confused but richer by half a dollar.
An hour later Everest, Lhotse and
Makalu could be seen from the port-side windows. Shining islands
rising above the white sea of clouds.
The customs and immigration building in
Tibet is clean and efficient and the guards are quite thorough. We
filled out our disembarkation forms which, together with the group
visa forms and passports were scrutinised at half a dozen different stages in what
was in reality an assembly line. The uniformed officers at the last table searched all the bags
that had showed books on the the x-ray machine. Each and every book found
was examined and flicked through. (It is quite serious by the way, I once saw some one
foolish enough to bring the wrong book on the flight, he was last
seen being led away to a small room for a body search.)
There is a new highway from the airport
to Lhasa, the drive takes just 50 minutes now. To one side they are
building the new railway to Shigatse, which will be completed in 4
years according to Dawa, our CTMA (China Tibet Mountain Association)
tour-guide.
The highway was smooth and efficient and soon we were in the creatively named
Himalayan Hotel. We had just enough time on arrival to go into town
before supper in our new time zone, Beijing Time. We could see there
seems to be two parts to Lhasa now. The old town, with it's smooth
flag stones and narrow streets; canyons of grey granite. Shadowed and
cool. And around the old town, the flashing lights and sparkling
glass fronted commercial constructions, hooting traffic and shops.
In the centre of the old town is the
Jokhang temple, facing a large piaza paved with stone. Tibetans old and young were performing endless prostations before the tmeple doors. The paving had become shiny with the polish of a million
prostrations, while round the Jokhang complex a crowd of Tibetans
trickles clockwise. Some praying and others just chatting as if it
was a Sunday stroll.
Tomorrow we have the Potala Palace, our
last day of tourism, and we intend to enjoy it.
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picture file, Jokang