Saturday, April 29, 2006

The Rooftop of the World

We're now in Tibet and man, is it ever amazing. I can't believe we're actually here! The flight in was a little rocky. Every 20 mins, the stewardess would announce turbulence .. why bother? It was an awesome flight regardless though as we flew right over the himalayas. I was hoping to read about Lhasa on the 90 minute flight but ended up staring out the window the entire time. I was amazed by the snow capped peaks and deep valleys we flew over. I was even more amazed at the fact that there were villages in some of these valleys! Amazing how they can sustain life in such harsh conditions.

Once landed, Tibet didn't feel much different than any other Chinese city initially. Still many potential landslides along the way from the airport to Lhasa. Even in Lhasa, a good chunk of it is run by the Han Chinese which was a little disappointing but that all changed soon enough when the Potala Palace came into view. WOW. I was speechless. I didn't know what to say. It is absolutely beautiful and it's presence is quite overwhelming. It's a massive structure ... what a feast for the eyes. We haven't gone in yet but will soon even with the steep 100Y entrance fee. It's totally worth it.

It's also amazing to see all the pilgrims in the city and a few on the pilgrimage to the Palace and Jokhang Temple (Tibet's holiest shrine). Tibet is amazing, I think I already said that but I can't say it enough. The Tibetans are extremely friendly and their faith is impressive.

The altitude (@3700m) affected me a little yesterday, big bad headache but nothing 12 hours of sleep couldn't solve! :D We'll be looking into our overland to EBC soon!

3 Comments:

At 10:31 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congrats! Sounds awesome! :) Rice Wine cures everything too! Hope it also cures your headache. I am planning my annual camping trip. It's so not the same without you.... :D

cheers
Sam

 
At 9:58 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hmmmm...can the annual camping trip be somewhere say...Sikkim, India?

Make sure Sean lugs another 4 litres of red wine in for me and drinks it all!

 
At 10:03 PM, Blogger Jenni said...

Annual camping trip! I'm so jealous. That's the one thing I keep wishing I could be doing! We've been to a couple places which reminded me of Alongquin ... ahhh.. have a blast. What are you going to be doing this year? Make sure Sean goes!!!! :D

 

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