Back to Lhasa

The barren Yorlung Gorge.

And the fertile valley.

Our rickshaw driver.

This is the view seen most often on the internet.

Wedding photos.

Posing with Chinese tourists.

Reflection by day.

Traditional hair braids.

The beautiful, historic Potala Palace.

Thursday, May 17^th.

We left the hotel at 8:00 for a six hour drive back to Lhasa. BK wanted to get us back asap so that we could have more free time to spend in Lhasa for shopping. We ate our breakfast in the van. Most of the drive was through the long Yorlung Gorge. The Yorlung River flowed swiftly through it and the dry craggy mountains were on either side. They are barren and rocky. BK said that this road has only been paved the last ten years and is very dangerous in the monsoon season as the water sometimes loosens rocks that fall on the road. By the time we exited the gorge we had descended about 1000 metres into an arable farm area. We saw farmers in the fields preparing them for planting.

We arrived in Lhasa about 1:30 and had free time for the rest of the afternoon. Rob and I went to the Yak Hotel restaurant for a lite lunch and then back to the room for a nap. We were both under the weather and feeling the effects of the altitude still, for even though we descended we are still at over 3000 metres.

We both slept until 4:00 and then got up to go back to the Potala Palace. We decided to take a bicycle rickshaw. Rob flagged one down and asked how much and he thought the driver said 200 yuan. I thought that was way too much so I went back into the lobby and asked the people at the desk how much it should cost. They discussed it in Tibetan and then said 20. I went back out and told Rob and the drivers heard (there were now two of them) and they rushed into the hotel. I thought they were going to tell the hotel people to mind their business or that 20 was too low, but one of them said he would take us for 15 ($3). We picked him because he was Tibetan and the other guy was Chinese. The ride was fun and took about 10 minutes. When we got there, we gave him 20.

Rob and I wanted to see the palace from a viewpoint to the west of the palace. We found the little area where you could climb up to a viewing platform about twenty metres above the road. We got some great shots and also watched a couple of wedding photo sessions, one of which was a couple in traditional costume. Then we walked back down to the square and wandered around. We saw more people who were wearing traditional clothes and posing in front of the palace, so we took photos of them too. Then a Chinese man had us pose with his two daughters. The rest of the time we relaxed in the park and enjoyed an ice cream. Then we headed back to the hotel on foot.

We got back in time to meet the group for dinner. When we finished Rob, Nick, Yannick, Dirk and I sat around and I showed them some of the animal videos I had taken this year. Then all of us, except Dirk, walked back to the palace one more time to take night shots of the palace lit up and reflected in the pond in the park. Really a very special place. Then back to the hotel to sleep.