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China Trip Part III: (Mt Everest etc)
Sep. 8th, 2024 09:42 amLeaving Lhasa, the next stop for our adventure was the beautiful Yamdrok Lake whose spectacular range of colours are a function of depth, sunlight, and location. Locals parade their yaks, mastiffs, and goats in decoration for photo opportunities with a small fee from tourists. Along the journey, we also had the opportunity to visit Karola Glacier another place of great natural beauty, but also tinged with sadness on account of how far in retreat this glacier is, as are nearly all others on the planet; tragic examples of anthropogenic climate change. Eventually, we made our way to Gyantse, staying at the Yu Thou Hotel. This was notable for having superficially excellent features, all of which were not-quite-right; doors that wouldn't close, plugs that didn't work, etc. With the front facade tiling being removed, the place was a construction site that continued operations.
The following day, despite our protests, our guide wouldn't take us to the Gyantse Dzong, a pivotal fort of Tibet's changing political environment for six hundred years and in the early 20th century a site of important resistance against the British invasion of Tibet. Instead, we visited the nearby Palcho Monastery, notable as a site where three Buddhist sects co-exist and the large Kumbum Stupa. Taking to the road, we also stopped at the Sakya Monastery, home of the Sakyapa sect and over 80,000 thousand items in its library. This was all en route to the city of Lhaze, where we stayed at an Ibis Hotel which came with modern facilities but comically indifferent staff.
Yesterday we took the incredible winding road of Gawu La Mountain pass to Tashizom, a small town that is rapidly being converted to the epicentre of departures to Everest's (aka Qomolangma) "Base Camp 0". As for the mountain itself, it really is quite stunning. Arriving in early autumn the surrounding peaks of the Himalayas, impressive as they are, are quite barren (and more so than usual), yet to accumulate their autumn and winter snow. Everest and some other nearby peaks (Makalu, Lhotse, Cho Oyu, Shishapangma) tower above those nearby and stand out starkly for still being snow-capped. but it is Everest in particular, with its pyramid-shaped peak from the north face, that is breathtaking (and not just because altitude sickness and oxygen deprivation is real). But the sense and visceral realisation that this is the top of the world is not something that is easy to express in words, but more something that has to be experienced.
The following day, despite our protests, our guide wouldn't take us to the Gyantse Dzong, a pivotal fort of Tibet's changing political environment for six hundred years and in the early 20th century a site of important resistance against the British invasion of Tibet. Instead, we visited the nearby Palcho Monastery, notable as a site where three Buddhist sects co-exist and the large Kumbum Stupa. Taking to the road, we also stopped at the Sakya Monastery, home of the Sakyapa sect and over 80,000 thousand items in its library. This was all en route to the city of Lhaze, where we stayed at an Ibis Hotel which came with modern facilities but comically indifferent staff.
Yesterday we took the incredible winding road of Gawu La Mountain pass to Tashizom, a small town that is rapidly being converted to the epicentre of departures to Everest's (aka Qomolangma) "Base Camp 0". As for the mountain itself, it really is quite stunning. Arriving in early autumn the surrounding peaks of the Himalayas, impressive as they are, are quite barren (and more so than usual), yet to accumulate their autumn and winter snow. Everest and some other nearby peaks (Makalu, Lhotse, Cho Oyu, Shishapangma) tower above those nearby and stand out starkly for still being snow-capped. but it is Everest in particular, with its pyramid-shaped peak from the north face, that is breathtaking (and not just because altitude sickness and oxygen deprivation is real). But the sense and visceral realisation that this is the top of the world is not something that is easy to express in words, but more something that has to be experienced.
