[On the Roof of the World - Tibet]

In order to bypass the need of Chinese travel permits I have based myself in Lhasa and proceeded to do day trips from here.

Firstly a 2 day trip north to Nam-Tso Lake, at 4718m, which, if it is no the highest lake in the world, it certainly is 'up' there. The tour agency where we booked the bus ticket said the "lake is a little cooler than Lhasa". Foolishly we believed him, thus ignoring my common sense experience of Alpine regions and I didnt even bother to read the guide books warnings.. (Just another example to illustrate that one should never believe everything a tour agency claims!).

It was freezing! When we arrived the wind was blowing a gale, icy cold and piercing all layers of clothing. Not one of us bothered to bring our really warm clothing, which we instantly regretted. The day trippers from Lhasa quickly left and by mid afternoon it was snowing. (in summer time no less) Violently shivering and afraid I would catch hypothermia, I crawled into bed under multiple blankets before 8pm , with every piece of clothing I could find.

But our luck was to change.

The next morning at 7am we were greeted with a near full moon setting in the west just as the sun rose over the hill. With no wind, the lake was tranquil, splendidly back dropped by 7000m peaks, lightly sprinkled with last nights snow. Still cold though, we enjoyed the walk around the lake, with the stunning colours of the morning. I let the pics speak for themselves.

Back in Lhasa I visited the summer palace of the Dalai Lamas which was also used in the 1950's by the current 14th Dalai Lama. When I visited his former bedroom and meditation room (offcourse the Chinese dont post this on signs, I had to deduce this from my guide book) I was surprised at how drawn I am to his presence. It seems he will be giving a 10 day public teachings from the 2nd of July in Dharamsala (India) this year. And a strong part of me is pulling me to be there..

Just yesterday, on a local pilgrim bus (the only bus I've been on where people smoke) we drove out east to Ganden Monastery (at 4700m). Nestled nicely between 2 peaks, it was surrounded by a decidedly greener Tibet. Till now, Tibet was mostly brown plains, surrounded by peaks, so it was a refreshing change in scenery.

The monastery was just open and we had it to ourselves. The chapels had a very soothing effect on me, like taking a hot bath after a hard days work. The smell of butter lamps, yak butter tea and burning incense made the chapels feel welcoming. Plus they were decidedly warmer than outside. Again, with such altitudes, it was cold and we and we had wet snow in the morning. On entry in each chapel I would first defrost my hands over the candles. Later when the sun came out, the temperature quickly jumped from 4c to 14c.

And with the sun warming my face, I made the traditional clockwise walk around the monastery (called Kora), enjoying the green views.

Its just 2 more days before I fly to Kathmandu. I shall certainly visit Deprung Monastery again, because as I wrote in my last posting, it touched me deeply there. I also felt that a part of me wanted to return 'home' in Tibet, but painfully realising that there is no longer a home here for me. Not in this lifetime anyways...

But I feel ready to leave on Sunday 10th June and I am grateful for the experiences I had here.

(For more pictures on Tibet, Click Here)

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