Travels in Tibet

A big fat hello from freezing cold Tibet!! Don't forget to check out Marty's fab pictures of Mt. Everest and some other amazing spots in Tibet...

Well, the train from Chengdu took a whopping 44 hours and passed through some stunning scenery at around 3,000 m above sea-level. Hi to Lee (from Donegal) and hubbie Mike (from New Zealand) who were our travel companions for the trip and our time in Lhasa (we'll see you two again in Auckland for Xmas drinks, ok?!!).


One of the amazing views on our 44 hour train journey

Arriving in Lhasa, the main city in Tibet, we were now at 3,600 m above sea-level and finding it tough enough to breathe! It was here we spent a good few days acclimatising and learning how to inhale at this height before heading off into the Tibetan wilderness with a lovely German couple, Sangeetha and Mario, in a LandCruiser and with our trusty Tibetan driver!

Over 5 days we visited gorgeous Yamdrok (meaning "dark blue") Lake, the towns of Gyantse, Shigatse (Tibet's second biggest after Lhasa) and Lhatse (talk about a 1-horse town, this was the real deal 1-yak Tibetan town!!),Tingri and finally Mt. Everest Base Camp (where we felt obliged to pay a visit to the highest bar in the world!!). It was extremely cold, particularly since we were dressed for Thailand's beaches and not Tibet's less clement climes - it was here we saw snow for the first time since Brussels!

Marty doing his stuff at Yamdrok lake

Don't think we'll ever forget our night staying in the digs of a Buddhist monk at Rongbuk Monastery, which at the foot of Mt. Everest is (you've guessed it) the world's highest monastery at 5,200 m above sea-level. With no electricity or heating we shivered the night away, but the blanket of tiny stars in the ink-blue sky that night was unbelievable and with the silhouette of Mt. Everest in the background, we managed to put up with it. And hey, didn't we survive and get up at dawn the next morning to catch sunrise over Everest (or Chomolungma in Tibetan). We also risked hypothermia and frostbite to get a couple of nerdy snaps from Everest Base Camp too, so check 'em out!

Right now, we're back in Lhasa taking it easy and enjoying the views of the stunning Potala Palace, former residence of the Dalai Lama and seat of the Tibetan government, ahead of our flight to Jinghong tomorrow (Monday 22/10) which will be our last stop in China.

Potala Palace

Wednesday should see us arriving in Laos where we'll happily laze away a week or so before heading back into Thailand for our flight to Sydney on 12 November.

Hope everyone of you is keeping well, and we'll post more soon!!!

Love, Marty & Susie xoxoxoxo

China, Part 2.......

Here's what else we've been up to of late in China, don't forget to check out Marty's fab pictures!!

Terracotta Army, Xian China

"The Terracotta Warriors and Horses are the most significant archaeological excavations of the 20th century", so goes the tourist-driven Chinese blurb, but it might just be true. Spending a couple of hours wandering around the site outside Xian (where work is still ongoing) is a fantastic glimpse at China's past and the kudos that was given to its former Emperors.

But we did have to laugh at the ego on Qin Shi Huang, first Emperor of all China, and his decision (more than 2,000 years ago) to start work on his mausoleum in his own lifetime, complete with over 7,000 pottery soldiers, horses, chariots and weapons! Hope the photos give an indication of the size of the place - it covers an area of over 16,000 square meters. Enjoy!!

Trracotta Warriors, Pit No 1

In Xian (and later in Chengdu) we met a couple of Dutch volk who as you know are Marty's favourite bunch of people, so hi to Hans and Ellie!!! You should be well on you way to Kathmandu by now, so hope you're still having fun!! And Hans, hope you have recovered after the hot-pot experience in Chengdu!

Another highlight was visiting the pandas in Chengdu, especially the baby ones which are totally doted over by the staff just like real babies - complete with cots, nappies and bottles of milk! Strange but very cute (although Susie was convinced they were really people dressed up in panda suits!).

Us and the Pandas, Chengdu

On our last night in Chengdu we went to a Sichuan Opera performance, one of the oldest traditional opera styles in China. Along with songs and traditional musical renditions, the actors specialise in 'face changing' - have a look here to see what we mean http://www.mixhostel.com/mixtour/sichuan_opera.htm. Marty's photos also show many of the performers.

Fire breathing, Sichuan opera, Chengdu