Samye to Yamdrok Lake - Gyantse
Trip Start
Mar 14, 2009
1
180
214
Trip End
Ongoing
Gyangze, Xizang, China
Saturday, June 26, 2010
After breakfast our long journey to Gyanste began, but on the way we visited the most stunning Yamdrok Lake. After hours of driving through mountains we finally made it Gamta pass and in the coloured frame of a thousand of prayer flags stood the turquoise blue of Yamdrok lake. Not only one of the most holy lakes in Tibet but also the highest salt water lake in the world. The Tibetans call the lake "Fairy tale in Heaven," surrounded by snow capped mountains you can see why.
The next hour of the drive was a kalidescope of magnificent views as we passed numerous mountains with a brilliant sky above us.
We finally arrived into Gyantse late into the afternoon. Gyantse itself is an old town with a fort high on the hill that dominated the skyline and an important walled monastery. It so far has managed to avoid a lot of the Chinese influence that most of Tibet suffers.
We had little time to explore Gyantse and the monastery would shut in an hour so we chucked our bags, skipped the hot shower until later and caught a taxi up to Pelkor Chode Monastery.
Built in the 15th century it is surprisingly in good condition. The Monastery is shared by 3 different sects, each with its own chapel off the main assembly hall.
With little over an hour until the gates would shut we walked up and around the 35m high stupa that has 108 doors, 75 chapels and over 100,000 Buddha images. It is a beautiful building both for its chapels and the views of the town below.
We raced over to see the temple for the last couple of minutes of the evening before heading back to town.
Even though Gyantse is the fourth biggest city in Tibet, it doesn't stop donkey carts rolling down the streets and cows being tied up to lamp posts .
After already a week of Tibetan food we needed a bit of a break, so we treated ourselves to Chinese, what luxury! A great meal and actually some of the best Chinese food we have had, cooked by an entertaining little man.
With full bellies we went looking for an ATM but Michael was distracted by lights. "What are those lights? They must be there for a reason. Lets go check it out." Like a blood hound he had hunted down a club. "I hear music it must be a club, there wouldn't be music for no reason. Come on lets go up."
What we had found was an empty room with a dance floor, a stage and disco lights. A single lady led two new male guest into another room. We didn't stay long. Even to this day we aren't to sure of what we had found, but I tell you what Michael knows what he is doing.
