Lhasa to Gyantse

Trip Start Oct 30, 2005

122

Trip End Ongoing

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Flag of China Gyantse, China
Sunday, December 11, 2005

Early this morning we left Lhasa with our driver and another couple (Mike and Dana) for our trip down to the Nepali border. As much as we had loved it, we were pretty excited to be leaving Lhasa for another adventure.

One of our first stops along the way was Yamdrok-tso Lake. It was the most amazing scenic sight we had seen on our travels to date. The turquoise colour of the lake combined with the surrounding mountains was just stunning.

The best views we had of the lake were from the Kamba-la Pass (4794m). This is where we first realised the cold and the altitude we were about to experience over the next few days.

After stopping at Nangartse for lunch, we made our way to Gyantse, our first overnight stop for the trip

Cute Little Friend at Monastery in Gyantse

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After finding our accommodation for the night we headed into town to visit the Pelkor Chode Monastery. We met some pretty fascinating characters along the way, including a cute little girl who we met just outside the monastery, and although a bit camera shy we managed to get a few shots of her.

The monastery itself was pretty simple, which was a nice change. Attached to the monastery was a "kumbum" which is a circular temple building with many stories. We certainly felt the altitude as we climbed up each story and as we got to the top we were feeling pretty tired, but the views of Gyantse were worth it.

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