Annapurna Circuit trek starting tomorrow!

Yesterday (Wednesday, 25 October) morning I woke up not really knowing what to do about the current trekking situation. I wanted to leave the following day but there was a major problem. The Nepalese government just re-wrote the rules on trekking in Nepal. As of 21 October all trekkers must hire either a porter or a guide through an authorized trekking agency along with obtaining two separate permits through the agency. A permit has always (since 1986) been required to trek in the Annapurna region but you can no longer simply buy this permit yourself. There are several checkpoints throughout the trek where they check your permit, so its not possible to simply go without permits. If you do, you get turned back...No Bueno!!! Previously you could just go out and start trekking on your own once you picked up the permit, which is what is what I had planned to do, so this new rule was a major road-block to me.

Ben, whom I've been traveling with since Lhasa, left yesterday to go on a shorter, 1-week trek in the Langtang area, so I was once again traveling solo. So I went this bakery that has a bulletin board for travelers to post messages on. The traveler's bulletin board there is not very well known so my hopes weren't high, but not 5 minutes after I posted a flyer I saw someone come up, read my flyer, and start writing down my email address. I was still sitting in the bakery and went up to talk to the girl, who looked familar. Yvette (from Holland), whom I had met before somewhere but we can't figure out where, also wanted to go trekking in the Annapurna area and was in the same situation as me with regards to the new trekking rules. We decided it was no use trying to fight the system and agreed to hire either a guide or porter and split the cost. So we spent a good portion of yesterday planning our trip, visiting various travel agents, and working on getting the necessary permits, etc. In the end we decided to go with this 'eco-trekking' company (its probably 'eco' in name only, but I liked the guy I talked too). Yvette couldn't leave until Friday ( 27 October) but that was okay with me since it would have been impossible to get the permits that day anyways.

This morning (Thursday, 26 October) Yvette and I went down to the trekking agency and filled out all the paper worked and signed contracts. We will meet the guide this evening at 6 PM and then leave tomorrow morning by local bus for Besi Sahar, the Nepalese town from where the Annapurna Circuit trek starts. The guide's salary is $12/day, which we split 2 ways, so its not prohibitively expensive or anything but considering everything else here its a large chunk of change all at once. The permits costs us $30 and $5, which also seem pricey for Nepal. But it worked out really nicely for both of us since we are both traveling alone and would otherwise have to hire a guide on our own.

From Besi Sahar, we have planned on 18 days of 'guided trekking' around the Annapurna Circuit, ending in Pokhara on 13 November. We obviously don't need an actual guide as the route is very highly trafficked, but I'm trying to look at it from the point of view that we are giving a local Nepali a desperately needed job, and I'm sure he will be able to impart some cultural insight to us which will also be interesting. We may add on a 2 or 3-day side trip at some point or I might go guideless (since I'll have all the permits already) up to the Annapurna Base Camp at the end of the 18 days. I might be able to email a few times along the trail but don't count on it. I'm really excited to start trekking tomorrow afternoon.

The amount and quality of trekking food available in Kathmandu is really admirable, especially compared to Tibet (yuck). So I went and stocked up on some snacks (meals I can buy in the tea houses) for the trail this morning to the tune of $38 for 6 kg (13 lbs) of food. I dread the thought of carrying 13 lbs of food but I'm sure I'll appreciate it when I'm eating cashews, trail mix, granola, chocolate bars (incredible variety), cookies, dried fruit, granola bars, fruit bars, and tang (for drinking). Yum! Wish I had some of that my last hike....

The tour company we are using is called EncountersNepal.com (977-1-4411142, www.encountersnepal.com) and they may or may not be able to contact our guide (and therefore us) while we are trekking.

I'm back in my glasses after one day of contacts caused my right eye to freak out and get all red :-( I really don't want to trek for 3 weeks in my glasses and 'too-dark' clip-ons.

Kathmandu

This place can really suck the days away; good bakeries and restaurants, good bookstores, good gearshops, the supermarkets are fully stocked. Oh, and did I mention it is cheap, cheap here? You could easily get by on $8 - $10 a day (accomodation and food) if it weren't for all the stuff that you can buy and so many different ways to spend money. Where have the past few days gone? I'm still a little sick, my feet are still blistered, and I fear to put my contacts in for fear of my eyes turning red and aching. But I'm hopeful that I can leave on Thursday (26 October) morning to start the Annapurna Circuit trek. The trek should take about 3 weeks and I may or may not be able to email during that time. I'm really looking forward to it. I'll be able to carry a super light pack and not have to worry about a tent or cooking or carrying my own food!

Its strange to see so many maps and books about Tibet and the Dalai Lama after not being able to find even one single map in Tibet. They really do have every thing here, to varing degrees. I guess that is what 50 years of western climbing and trekking visitors does to a country.

I haven't done much sight seeing the past few days. Mainly I've just been wondering around Thamel, the tourist district. I had to buy some new hiking socks yesterday and after bargaining the tailor down to $0.60 to patch my pants, I went and dropped $35 on a couple of pairs of socks!! I really needed a couple more pairs of good socks, but it was still really hard to drop 4 days worth of daily living expenses that quickly. 8 days hiking in the same pair of socks was pretty rough though. Then I got my pictures burned to a DVD. Yep to a DVD, told you Kathmandu has everything. Hopefully I'll be able to post a few pictures soon.

Not really much to report though on the sight seeing front. Today (Tuesday, 24 October) I went for a walk outside of the tourist area. Not really sure how to describe Kathmandu yet. I need to do a couple more errands tomorrow in preparation for a Thursday departure.

Kathmandu, Nepal

3 years after first planning a trip here I finally made it to Kathmandu. What a trip, what a crazy place. On Sunday (22 October) Ben and I woke up at 6 AM due to 'jet lag'. Tibetan time is 2:15 ahead of Nepalese time thanks to the Chinese wanting to keep the entire huge 'country' on the same time zone. None of the restaurants were open at such an early hour so we opted for donuts at a bakery. We were done with breakfast before 8 AM! I spent the day doing errands. So many things to take care of at the moment after not being able to do much of anything in Tibet. I have a slight head cold and finding a pharamacy was harder than it should have been. I'm still having problems with my eyes so I've been wearing glasses. In fact I had to wear my glasses the entire hike out of base camp which is a big deal to me since I hate wearing glasses and it affects my vision. I got my shoes fixed this morning when someone came by and said to me "do you need your shoes fixed?" I had my pants down over the destroyed part of my shoes so I guess it was a completely random question. So for $4 (I think I actually got ripped off) I got my shoes all fixed up. I was planning on having to buy a new pair here. Then I found some new insoles for $3 because my current insoles were completely trashed from the last 4 months of hiking around. I bought a Nepal guidebook and another book to read after being bookless for the past 3 weeks! (no chance of finding a descent english book to read in Lhasa). Got my safari hat fixed for $.50, which tore on my hike. Found contact lens solution which they don't have in Tibet outside of Lhasa. Hopefully new saline solution should fix my current contact problem.

I have a bunch more things to do here in Kathmandu tomorrow. After my head cold goes away, my eyes get better, and my blistered feet heal (I guess the high elevation really did a number on me!), I'm heading out to do the Annapurna circuit trek, which should take about 3 weeks. I have up to 2 months in Nepal on my visa and I may be here that entire time. There is so much to see and do here and I am really digging the Nepalese at the moment. It makes me want to go to India, being so close here.........

Lhasa to Kathmandu - part 2

On Friday (20 October) we woke up early to go stand on the side of the road at the edge of Tingri. Ben and I met 3 more hitchers here at the edge of town. Many half-empty land cruisers passed without stopping. I'm sure the fact that there were 5 of us hitching plus 1 more chatting and a number of children about us didn't help our chances. Nevertheless, after just 2 or 3 hours a tourist bus pulled over and the 5 of us piled in. Leg 3 of the journery, Tingri to Zhangmu for 50 Yuan ($6.50). We had aimed to get to the border for 200 Yuan and we had done just that. Most people on rented land cruiser pay 5 times that amount. Ben and I were thrilled that it proved so easy to get along the Friendship highway without organized transport. It usually is not so easy. On the bus journey we once again passed Brian and Rob cycling near the top of one of the last 5100-meter passes.

So we arrived at the border town of Zhangmu, Tibet that afternoon. The ride from Tingri to Zhangmu is going down as one of the most scenic ever. The high barren mountains of Tingri gave way to dramatically deep, green, foggy gorges as we dropped off the Tibetan plateau. It was simply surreal. We cruised along a road blasted into the sides of a dramatically steep valley with a river at times a thousand feet below. Of course there was no guard rails to be found so I tried not to look out the front of the bus. It was a breath taking ride.

Zhangmu is perched quite literally on the side of a mountain. I've never seen a town like it before. One road switch backs down this mountain and buildings cling to either side of the road. And they call it a town, it looks more like a crazy lifesize model of some strange idea of a town. We spent the night in a hotel there and enjoyed indoor plumbing (albeit no showers) for the first time in a while. The view from our room was quite good and in the morning we could see fresh snow on the top of the mountain the town was perched aside.

The next morning (Saturday, 21 October) I finally left Tibet, although it felt like I left Tibet the day before. The change from Tingri to the border was simply out of this world. The people changed dramatically too. Chinese and Tibetan gave way to Indian and Nepalese in a virtual instant. After going through Chinese and Nepalese customs, Ben and I took the local bus from the border to Kathmandu. For $2.50 we went almost 200 km over ~8 hours. So the final count was Lhasa to Kathmandu for $27.50 overland. I don't think it can possibly be done any cheaper as hitching in China and Tibet typically isn't free or easy.

I had reverse culture shock upon entering Kathmandu. Kathmandu simply has everything and its really a bit crazy. The tourist ghetto, Thamel, is something like Ko Shan Road in Bangkok. Nepal is leaps and bounds ahead of Tibet. Its almost sterile. Nepal is really cheap though. Ben and I are splitting a double room with bathroom for $1.50 each. Dinner last night in a nice, trendy, western restaurant was 4 times that! Really overpriced for Kathmandu, but we needed a good meal.

Tingri to Everest Base Camp trek

On Thursday (12 October) morning Ben and I had breakfast and then went to stock up on supplies for the trek. We really should have taken the time to buy more provisions in Lhasa, because there wasn't much to be had in Tingri. We managed some peanuts, Chinese chocolate bars, biscuits, and instant noodles. That, along with what I had picked up in Lhasa, didn't seem completely appealing as our only food for a long and hike trek. But we left Tingri nonetheless around noon that day.

About 4 hours and 15 km later we found a pleasant campsite by the river up the main valley that leads from Tingri to Cho Oyu. It wasn't particularily cold that night, maybe just below freezing. We had decided to just take Ben's 4-season 2-person tent which ended up being the right decision.

The next morning (Friday, 13 October) we waited until the sun hit our tent before continueing on. The coldest part of the day aroung here is from about 7 to 8 am, just as the sun is rising. We hiked about 20 km that day. First further south along the main valley and then turning east into a side valley. The tip of Everest that had been visible from Tingri disappeared the first day so we could see nothing of it the entire second day. The winds had been in our faces, strong but warm the first day and this day they were strong and cooler. We were stopped that afternoon by elevation. Tingri was at 4400 meters, our camp the first night was at 4600 meters. We were now at 4900 meters and to properly acclimatize we needed to spend the night there. So after setting up the tent in a large, flat, tundra-plated valley we went for a short hike. It was definitely colder that night, around -8 C I think.

The following morning (Saturday, 14 October) we again waited for the sun to hit our tent before venturing out. Luckily the winds don't start until the afternoon so we had a few hours of calm that morning. This day was more of the same, but we ascended towards the pass, Lamna-la at around 5150 meters. After crossing the pass we traversed for probably 5 km over tundra without loosing much elevation. Finally we saw a ridge that looked like it would save a lot of kilometers over hiking around it. So we spent a good deal of effort to ascend to the top of the ridge. Once at the top we were simply blown away by the view. The view gave me goose bumps. There before us was Qomolungma, Everest. What a sight!! The view was so fine we decided to stay the night there. We found a flat spot in a bouldery slopping field protected from the wind and with the best view I've ever had from a camp site. We ate dinner while staring at Everest and watching a storm move in over the mountains. That night it was colder still, around -10 C. I think the elevation of that camp was 5100 meters. Everest looked so big and close it was hard to believe it was still ~30 km up valley!!

On Sunday (15 October) morning we actually got up before the sun to watch the sunrise. We decided that sunset was much more impressive but it was still a beautiful sight. We hiked down to the road where we realized that we should have taken a different pass and valley but we had somewhat blindly followed a dirt road into a different valley. It turned out to be a very pleasant mistake. If we had followed the correct route our first view of Everest would have been at Rongphu monastery which was about 8-10 km down the road from where we gained the road. Rongphu enjoys a fine view of Everest still 8 km down valley from Everest Base Camp. Rongphu (4900 meters) is where most tourists spend the night. There are a couple of guest houses there. So we happily relaxed in the warm and windless restaurant that afternoon. We later discovered one of the most rancid toilets ever. And later still, Brian and Rob showed up, completely unexpectedly to Ben and me.

On Monday (16 October) morning we all made the hike up to Everest Base Camp proper. We went on a hike that afternoon up valley and hiked around the moraines below the Rongphu glacier. The scale of the place is so huge its still hard to grasp. We didn't have time to go all the way to the glacier which is a good ways from base camp. Everest Base Camp would be a crazy site in full season. At 5200 meters there is actually a post office and a bunch of tents set up that double as restaurants and beds for tourists. Ben and I camped in the climbers camp sites though. A space about a kilometer wide by a kilometer long was dotted with tent sights. Our tent was the only one there. That night it got down to -12 C in our tent's vestibule but I think we were beginning to get use to the cold.

On Tuesday (17 October) morning we made our way back to Rongphu where we decided to spend another night being in no particular hurry. We didn't do much that afternoon at Rongphu. I slept in the guesthouse again, while Ben decided to tent it, and had my first really good night's sleep in a while.

On Wednesday (18 October) morning we got started just after sunrise. We hike the 10 km back down the road to the turnoff where we started hiking up the correct valley this time. The 10 km, 700-meter elevation gain, valley was fairly difficult. After arriving at the (correct) pass Nam-la (5350 meters) we dropped over and headed another 10 km on descending terrain back to our camp in the tundra-plated valley. We took the same spot we used on the second night on the hike in. That evening as we were cooking dinner, 3 yak herders came by the tent. We offered them a seat on the tundra around the tent and then some tea and biscuits. The female herder asked if she could take the entire package of biscuits. Of course we agreed. They probably don't get much sweets up there! The didn't speak any english so we just sat there smiling at each other. It was about -5 C and windy at this point. While Ben and I sat in the tent and vestibule the 3 herders sat there in the wind with no hats or gloves just smiling away thinking nothing of the cold. What hearty, strong people they are!! Made us look like wimps with our down jackets and tents!! That night was the coldest yet. In the morning we checked the thermometer in the vestibule and it read -15 C. But honestly it didn't feel that cold. I think we were just use to it by this point.

That morning (Thursday, 19 October) we woke up early and made a break for the last long stretch back to Tingri. That was a tough day. It was cold that morning and we had a tricky (i.e. icy) creek crossing. I spent a good 30 minutes suring up the rocky damn before making dash over the icy rocks to the other side where Ben had been waiting. I really didn't like the idea of falling in or getting my feet wet. Water freezes quickly at those temps. Although there was no up hill, the 30 km seemed to go on and on. The wind had been consistent the entire hike but luckily now it was at our backs. As we passed through the last town before Tingri (still 15 km away) a truck stopped and offered us a ride. I righteously refused while Ben refused less willingly. My feet had killed me on that stretch. When we arrived back in Tingri I discovered some huge and grotesque blisters on my small toes. We stayed the night inTingri recovering.

The next morning (Friday, 20 October) we woke up early to hitch to the Nepalese border. I was really looking forward to the luxuries of Kathmandu; hot water, warmer temps, clean toilets and sheets, laundry, sundries, a shave, a tailor, books, internet access, food, humidity.... Kathmandu sounded like Paris to us.

Lhasa to Kathmandu

On Tuesday (10 October) morning Ben and I met up early to begin the trip. A couple of Danish girls from my hostel said we could ride with them for a couple hours if it was okay with their driver. As expected it was not okay with their driver for some reason or another. So we resorted to plan 'B', the public bus. We went to the bus station where we were told, "we can not sell tickets to you foreigners." Apparently the Chinese want all foreigners to book expensive land cruiser trips so forbide them from riding on buses. Add that to the long and growing list of things I don't like about the Chinese. We were then being ushered to the more expensive minibuses when the next thing we know we are being put on a public bus and the bus attendent is buying the tickets for us. Score 1, Lhasa to Shigatse, Tibet for 50 Yuan, about $6.25; magically by public bus. Ben and I were pretty happy with how the trip was starting.

When we arrived in Shigatse about 4 hours later we checked into a hostel/hotel. We got to the room and I immediately recognized the other people's gear. The gear was Brian and Rob's (the Canadian guys biking from Lhasa to Kathmandu) bikes! Small world. We eventually ran into Brian and Rob and they were equally surprised to see us. Its amazing how you keep running into the same people when traveling. It really happens all the time. Then Ben and I went to the monastery in Shigatse which was pretty cool. We spent the afternoon there before returning to the hostel.

That evening we met some people who had rented a land cruiser for the next day and they said we could hitch a ride with them as far as we needed to go, which was Tingri, about 7 hours away. We weren't that optomistic about our chances but at least we had a chance.

So the next morning (Wednesday, 11 October) we woke up early and met the couple who had rented the land cruiser. What turned up surprised us all. It was a bus, not a land cruiser. That was fine by us and the driver and guide allowed Ben and me passage to Tingri for 100 Yuan ($12.50) each. A real steal as it turned out. So that evening we arrived in the tiny village of Tingri, Tibet. It was a tiny town but popular with tour groups traveling along the Friendship Highway between Lhasa and Kathmandu. Tingri is high, dry, windy, cold, and desolate. Where goat carcasses hang from racks on the side of the road and cows eat cardboard out of trashcans along the main road. Kids greet you with the only english they know, "hellow money" and stray dogs prowl the one and only street. Tingri is not a place you want to spend any amount of time in. The toilets there (a shack with a too shallow hole in the floor) would make you pray to go outside. Luckily we were planning to start hiking to Everest Base Camp the next day.

Lhasa, Tibet - last day

On my last day in Lhasa (Monday, 9 October) I spent the day recovering from the previous day's hike and planning the next part of my trip. Ben and I planned to leave Tuesday morning to make our way to Tingri, Tibet from where we would hike in and out of Everest Base Camp. We would try to hitch a ride with a landcruiser tour group or go by bus (which is difficult in Tibet). The plan was set, even though I wasn't quite ready to leave Lhasa.

Leaving Lhasa soon

I am leaving Lhasa either tomorrow (Tuesday, 10 October) or the next day to make my way down to the Nepal border. Ben King (the Kiwi guy that I went to Nam-tso with) and I are going to hitch hike down to the town of Tingri (Tibet) and hike from there to Everest Base Camp and back. On the way we will make a few stops. I think our first stop is going to be Yamdrok-tso (lake) where we will stay the night. Then we will head probably to Gyantse, Shigatse, and then probably to Tingri. We expect to take 4 days to get from Lhasa to Tingri and then a week round trip from Tingri to Everest Base Camp and back. From Tingri (4390 meters) to Everest Base Camp (5200 meters) is 75 km and usually takes 3-4 days passing over a 5250-meter pass, Nam-la. While I'm hiking there, I will try to ignore the fact that 99% of tourists take a land crusier all the way up to Base Camp and back! We will probably spend 2 nights at Everest Base Camp before hiking back to Tingri. Then we'll hitch from Tingri to the Nepal border. From the Nepal border buses run to Kathmandu. It should be fairly easy to hitch a ride as so many groups of tourists and travelers come from Lhasa to Nepal via this route. If we leave tomorrow it will be at least 2 weeks before I have access to email again.

Gephel Ri, Complete East Ridge (5240 m)

Jerome found me as I was finishing breakfast on Sunday (8 October) morning about 7:30 AM. The sun doesn't rise until nearly 8 AM so I planned to leave at 7:30 AM so I could be at the base of the mountain at 8 AM. After he ate breakfast, he had to pack up his bag, and then find food for the day, so we were about 45 minutes past my planned departure time. But it was worth it for the safety of company. I found out he had just arrived in Lhasa the previous morning which really disappointed me as he was not at all acclimated and I knew he couldn't possibly make it to the top. We took the bus to what looked like the closest point that the east ridge disappeared into the flat town. After about a 10 minute walk through some decrepit neighborhoods, we found the 'base' and started up. The elevation where we started up was 3705 meters and it was just after 9 AM.

I wanted to contour around the north side of the begining of the ridge to avoid dropping down after reaching the first knob. So we made an ascending traverse around the north side of the ridge. The grassy and rocky slopes were quite steep to contour and to ascend. We finally gained the ridge proper from the north side some 450 meters and 1.5 hours later. Looking back east along the ridge I noticed that the drop we would have had to make from the first knob was only about 20 meters! So I thought we had made the wrong choice by contouring around and wasting a bit of energy and we decided to go straight down the ridge on the way back down. I was surprised that Jerome was moving as quickly as he was, but he confessed that he was getting a head ache. I felt great, besides a premature shortness of breath.

Upon gaining the ridge we saw some large birds, possibly eagles flying about us. After a short break we continued on. Shortly after, we saw some yaks. Then eventually the yak hearder! Of course he spoke no english but many smiles were exchanged. We continued along the ridge, dropping occasionally before rising more. It was a really long ridge! Finally at around 4500 meters Jerome could go no further. Shortly from here the ridge began to get steep again.

I didn't really like my odds of summiting at this point because of the distance, elevation, and being solo. I told Jerome I wanted to at least make it to the false summit which we could see from our point on the ridge. I told him to wait there about 2 hours for me and then to go down. My reasoning was if I wasn't back by then then I decided to push on to the summit. He would (might) be able to see me off and on along the ridge to the false summit.

So I pushed on, a little hesitant, but still feeling strong about 12:15 PM and left Jerome to nap in the sun. It was a really long ways to the false summit. About 4900 meters, still below the false summit, I stopped to take a look at the clouds. I thought I heard thunder at this point but the clouds above me didn't look like thunder clouds. Beyond in the distance, behind another ridge of mountains, I saw where I thought the thunder was coming from. I didn't see any lightning though, so I thought the sound could be blasting from the quarry far below. I just couldn't tell though but I was still more than a bit nervous at this point. After stopping for a while to assess the situation I decided to push on, staying off the ridge to the north side. Eventually I made the false summit at just over 5000 meters. I think it was almost 2 PM by this point. I only had 200 meters to go to the true summit at this point and it didn't look so terribly far away - under normal conditions. The 'thunder' had stopped, but I could see rain/snow in the distance mountains and a very few snow flurries also landed around me. There were also clouds low overhead but not low enough to obstruct any views.

The summit was not so much further in elevation but it was still a ways away distance wise along the relatively flat ridge. But I was so close at this point I had to keep pushing. That last 300 meters (as it turned out to be!) was some of the hardest I remember hiking in a long, long time. Maybe my rest had allowed the altitude to catch up with me but I was moving at a snail's pace over very easy terrain. Normally I would be running up this easy trail. I couldn't fathom how hard it was to walk on this trail. I had to go so slow and stop often, but I never sat down for fear that I couldn't get up! Luckily I was very good about hydrating all day or I don't think I would have made it even this far.

Finally, just after 3 PM I gained the summit of Gephel Ri, 5240 meters (17,187 feet) - although my watch said over 5300 meters so my starting elevation must have been incorrect. I hadn't seen a sole since I left Jerome. The summit was literally carpeted with pray flags and chortens (stacks of stones). I couldn't see anything from the broad flat summit other than pray flags and chortens. I had to move slightly down off the summit for the views. I took several pictures and videos and left my offering, half a Chinese Yuan.

I didn't stay long on the summit as I knew I had a really long way to go and I wanted to loose some elevation quickly, which I wouldn't be able to do for a while until I was off the summit to false summit ridge. I moved quickly though and I was back down at the place I left Jerome around 5 PM. He had left a pile of yak shit on a rock to indicate he had headed down, per our pre-arranged plan.

I continued on having to stop and rest more often than usual. It was a really long ways! I think I picked the longest possible route to the summit and a shorter route could have been found by taking one of the steeper south ridges that joined into the east ridge close to the false summit. I was a little worried about the final descent off the first knob since I was planning to go down a different way than I came up. That first section we hiked up was also the steepest of the whole hike. I proceded hesitantly but a path looked like it would go. It went but it was so steep and contrived I think that last bit took well over an hour to decend. I was finally back down on flat ground around 6:30 PM.

I walked a different path through the run-down neighborhoods (where so many people live) almost shitting my pants every time a rabid looking dog lunged at me only to be stopped by his chain. Finally I made it back to the main street but had to wait about 30 minutes to catch my bus. So many people stared at me as I was walking these 'back streets' where few tourists go that I just had to smile and wave. Nearly every time I got a huge smile and wave back. Fun stuff!

By the time I got back to my hostel bed I was completely knackered. Total elevation gain was 5,575 feet which is a big freaking day at 17,000 feet. 6 hours up, 3.5 hours down. Whew. I wasn't even carrying a heavy pack! I was so tired I could only manage to shower before going to sleep. I wasn't even hungry enough to eat dinner. But I felt a great since of accomplishment for some reason, even though in the Cascades this hike would have been no big deal....?? Maybe it was the altitude and solo aspect of the hike.

Lhasa, still

On Saturday (7 October) I finally made it to the Potala Palace. Its really impressive from the outside but the inside is a bit of a disappointment for the ticketing process and pricey entrance fee. Its mainly just like a big museum and is rather empty. You also can't take pictures of anything. But it is 'the' thing to see in Lhasa. I was surprised to see so many mentions of the Dalai Lama on the historic signs around the palace. It was the seat of government of Tibet before China invaded, so at least the Chinese aren't trying to hide everything. It only took about 1.5 hours to see the huge palace.

That is about the only thing of interest I did on Saturday. I spent the rest of the day walking around the markets. I met some people in the morning before going to the Potala to hopefully plan a trek.

I also packed for a day hike the following day. I had plans to hike up Gephel Ri (5240 meters), the mountain that dominates the northwestern skyline of Lhasa. I didn't know anything about it other than the elevation and that it looked like good fun ridge hiking for most of the way. I was a little hesitant about hiking alone because of the elevation, lack of a map, not knowing anything about the route other than what I could see from the roof of my hostel, and knowing I probably wouldn't see another sole up there.

As I was falling asleep that evening, some one came into the room looking for me. Jerome, a French guy, was also looking to do some hiking and was responding to one of my flyers. I told him what I was doing the following day and he asked if he could come with me. I eagerly agreed (mainly from a safetly standpoint) and we planned to meet the following morning at 7:30 am.

Lhasa update

On Thursday (5 October) night I met up with Ben, Angela, and Lisa (from Nam-tso) along with 4 other travelers for dinner at a small Tibetan restaurant. It was good fun. Three of the girls were from Seattle. There seem to be a lot of people from Seattle in China and Tibet. I met a couple of people in Chengdu from Seattle and now at least 6 more since I've been in Tibet. Also lots of people from the west coast in general in China (a couple from CO, one from CA, 2 from Vancouver).

On Friday (6 October) morning after a buffet breakfast on the roof top restaurant of the hostel/hotel (which might have the best views in Lhasa), I took the bus to the Nepalese embassy to get apply for a visa. I could get a 30-day visa at the border, but I can get a 60-day (just in case) visa here in Lhasa and its nice to have the visa ahead of time. I heard it was really easy which was great to hear after all the visa troubles I with the Russian and Chinese visas. I went to the counter, got the applicaton, filled it out, returned to the counter, paid my money ($32), and I can pick up my passport the next business day (which unfortunately happens to be on Monday). Wow, that was shockingly easy! The only problem is I want to leave for a trek on Sunday and I asked if I could pick up my passport on Thursday instead of Monday, and they just said, "its better if you pick it up on Monday." What the hell does that mean? Will they cancel my visa if I don't pick up my passport? Who knows!

Then I went to the Potala Palace to get a 'ticket reservation' so that I can get into the palace tomorrow morning. Its a really stupid system. The Chinese really make getting into the Potala Palace a pain in the ass for individual travelers. I think it is so people will just join a tour and pay more money. Then I just wondered around some markets and stuff. I'm getting more use to this city and things don't surprise or shock me any more - or maybe as much - like seeing the carcasses of yaks laying on the sidewalk next to the bakery or sober men peeing in public. Or any number of things that just aren't part of a western culture. I didn't even mention the traffic..... Buses come first, then cars, then motor bikes, then bikes, then people!! Completely the opposite to the west! Its not uncommon to see a bus plow through a cross walk filled with people, during a red light!! People just pile up between the lanes and wait for a break! Crazy. Don't get me started on the spitting and 'field blows' (think blowing your nose with a finger over one nostrol) inside of buildings..... Some things you just don't get use to.

I may have found some one to do a trek with. I'm planning to trek from the Ganden monastery to the Samye monastery starting either Sunday or Tuesday. Its about a 5 day trip and passes over a couple of 5,100+ meter passes during the 80 km length. I need a night before and after the trek at the monasteries and probably 3 nights during the trip. If I can't find some one to go with I will go alone, although I would rather go with at least one other person for several reasons. If I don't leave for the trek on Sunday, I'm going to hike up the mountain that looms over the north edge of Lhasa behind the Potala Palace called Gephel Ri (5,240 meters). I've been eyeing it since I got here and it looks like good fun. It will be a good test of how well I'm acclimatising.

Nam-tso, Tibet

Wednesday (4 October) morning, Ben, Angela, Julia, and I took a minibus up to Nam-tso (lake) which was about a 4.5-hour drive from Lhasa. The scenery on the drive there was breath taking, passing by a glacier covered mountains. We drove over a 5,150-meter (16,892 feet) pass - Largen-la - before decending down to the lake which sat at 4,718 meters (15,475 feet). It was simply gorgeous. The water was a beautiful turquoise blue and 7,111-meter (23,324 feet) Mt. Nyenchen Tanglha sat on the opposite shore - a long ways away. The down side is it Nam-tso is really touristy - depressingly touristy. At least the small pennisula of land where all the tourist tents and tent-restaurants are. But we managed to escape the crowds by going for a walk around a small hill that sat on a pennisula jutting into the lake. We explored some small caves and had a leisurely walk. Later in the afternoon Ben and I sat up our tents away from all the tourist tents and restaurants. We had a stellar view of the lake and mountains! Angela and Lisa were staying in one of the tourist tents.

After dinner (in one of the tourist 'tent restaurants') as Ben and I were walking back to our tents, it started snowing and didn't stop until we were over the pass the next day. I was interested to see how my tarptent would hold up to a little snow storm after handling the wind and rain surprisely well in Sweden. About the time we got to our tents it started thundering, and then lightning. Yep, thunder and lightning during a snowstorm which I've never experienced before - pretty cool. We could see the short lightning bolts striking the lake in the distance from the low clouds. It was a neat sight.

I was a little worried about spending just my fifth night at 15,500 feet, since I had just four nights at 12,000 feet to acclimatize. But I needn't have worried, I slept as well as expected for being in a 3-season backpacking tent in a snow storm. In fact I only had a slight headache at most the entire time I was there. About 1:30 AM I had to wake up and dump a couple of inches of snow off my tent. My little tarptent surprised me again and I stayed dry through the snow storm.

When we woke up on Thursday (5 October) morning we were treated to a beautiful sight. A light dusting of snow covered the ground as far as the eye could see - which was a ways. The ground wasn't cold enough, yet, for much snow to stick but the snow covered all the rocks, plants, and tents! It just snowed more and more until we left. It was really, really pretty and we had the perfect mixture of weather over the 2 days. The clouds started to lift just before we left so we could see all the mountains with a new coating of snow. It was just an amazing couple of days. Winter was here..... and I was glad to have a down jacket!

The drive back to Lhasa was equally beautiful with many of the mountains enjoying a fresh coating of snow.

Lhasa - day 4

On Tuesday (3 October) morning I changed hostels again - hopefully for the last time. I'm now staying at the Yak hotel/hostel and it is much better than the previous two. I posted new flyers on all the hostels' bulletin boards on Tuesday morning hoping for more success in finding a group for a trip. Then I went out and bought a down jacket which I decided I really needed. It made me wish I had kept mine, but I have enjoyed the lighter pack for the last 2 months. I had to sink to an all time low and buy a North Face down jacket. I felt ashamed..... But it only cost me $80 and I'm pretty damn sure its not a fake like so much of the North Face gear is around here. There just isn't a selection to choose from here. Then I went and walked around with the Canadian guy, Brian, for a while. We both bought 'safari-type' hats for $1.50. A full brim hat is really nice in the intense Tibetian sun. That evening I went to meet up with a few people to plan some possible trips. I meet this New Zealand guy, Ben, and he was also looking to do some trekking. But he had already planned to go Nam-tso ('tso' is Tibetian for 'lake') the next day. I really wanted to see this lake, even if it meant not hiking, so I decided joined him and 2 German girls - Angela and Lisa - that he was briefly traveling with for the trip the following day.

That evening I went out with a group of travelers from the hostel and two Tibetian monks that Brian had met and befriended. One of the monks, Lorab (~18), spoke very good english so we had an interesting evening.

Lhasa

On Saturday (30 September), after I got settled, I went for a walk. I was wearing my eye glasses because of my contact problem and the sun was really intense. So I found an eyeglass shop and got some clip-on's. They really sucked, but I couldn't see in the sun without them. Then I went for a walk around Potala Square in front of the famous Potala Palace. That palace is amazing!! I can't wait to check it out, hopefully tomorrow (Tuesday, 3 Oct). I also checked out some other hostels on the way and found one that I planned to move to the next day (called Dong Cuo HI hostel). I also checked all the hostels' bulletin boards which are packed full with notices of people looking to put trips together. Unfortunately they all want to go down to Everest Base camp and on to the Nepal border but I don't want to do that yet. I thought I found a couple of people for a trip out to western Tibet and talked to a guy about it, but that later fell through (today!). As I was walking back to my shitty hostel (called Banak Shol) I got a slight headache from the altitude. I took a couple of advil and half a diamox (altitude medicence) and felt better a little while later. Hung out in the roof top bar talking to people that evening.

On Sunday (1 October) morning after breakfast, I switched hostels. The new one is okay, but I think I will even switch again on Tuesday..... There really seems to be a problem with clean, non-smelling toilets and showers here in Lhasa. As I was checking notice boards at another hostel, and about to post a notice myself, I ran into a Canadian guy, Brian, that I met in Chengdu. Him and his friend are cycling from Lhasa to Kathmandu starting in a couple of days. I had seen him on my first day in Lhasa so it wasn't a surprise to run into him (especially since I was using the toilet at his hostel!). He asked what I was doing that day and I told him I had no real plans. He told me how he had just forked over the money to rent a jeep and driver for the day to go to a monastery outside Lhasa that he really wanted to see. He told me I was welcome along and he was already paying for it anyways. So me, Brian, and another British guy, Daniel, headed out of Lhasa with our Tibetian driver - who spoke no english, and us, no Tibetian - to the Tsurphu monastery about 70 km northwest of Lhasa. I knew nothing about the monastery so Brian filled us in on the importance of it on the way. The 2-hour drive was superb! About 3/4 of the drive was on a small gravel road up into this mostly tree-less valley surrounded by mountains on both sides. Beautiful! A mountain river ran down the middle of the valley to complete the perfect scenery.

When we finally arrived at the monastery I was really blown away. It was a beautiful monastery in a more beautiful setting, surrounded by high mountains on either side and further up the valley a snow covered mountain dominated. I was really, pleasantly surprised at how my day turned out. We explored the monastery and surrounding area for about 3 hours. Our high point, as verified by my altimeter, was 4,550 meters (15,105 feet), officially the highest I have been outside an airplane - and I was in a valley!! This high altitude was achieved with remarkably little effort on my part...... As this was only my second day at altitude I could feel it in the form of slight headache when we were hiking around. It actually turned out to be a good acclimatization day as we then descended back to Lhasa at 3700 meters. When we were at the monastery we met a girl who had taken the bus up there that morning and was going to stay the night at the monastery and do a hike the next day. I was really, really jealous!! I also really wanted to do a short 2-hour hike around the monastery (called a kora) but it didn't work out because of time and altitude concerns. As we were leaving I found out the girl was actually with a group of 3 girls staying there together who were most likely the only foreigners there. I think they were dissappointed when we told them we weren't staying (as was I!!).

The ride back into Lhasa was equally amazing passing through the valley filled with yaks, cows, horses, goats, and sheep. We passed many locals and recieved many eager waves. All in all, it was just an amazing trip that I literally fell into by luck. I gave Brian some money for the trip anyways since he forked over a good bit for the jeep. I spent that evening again on the roof top restaurant of my old hostel.

On Monday (2 Oct) morning I was supposed to meet some people at a restaurant to talk about a possible trip. It wasn't anything official, but I said I would stop by. I saw one woman I had talked to the previous day that I didn't like at the 'meeting' and opted instead to eat breakfast with the two Canadian guys and Julia (from Chengdu) who were at the same restaurant. Julia told me about her trip which she was leaving for tomorrow, and it made me really, really jealous as her trip sounded perfect to me (as did the group which is equally important). But I need more time to acclimate around Lhasa and I also wanted to try to go to western Tibet so it just wouldn't work out (which I'm really bummed about). I spent the morning posting flyers on all the hostels' bulletin boards in hopes of finding some people for a trip. It is a lot more work than I thought it was going to be to find a group of people for a trip that really interests me. I then went shopping for a down jacket which I think I'm going to have to buy now. I don't think my thick fleece jacket that I bought in Mongolia is going to cut it at nearly 20,000 feet in October.... Sucks that I sent my down jacket back in Helsinki, but it has been nice not to carry it around for the last 2 months. Then I went to explore the Barkhor (pilgrim circuit) around Jokhang temple. It was packed with souvernoir stalls, tourists, and pilgrims. It was pretty neat. After another walk around Potala Square, I headed back use the internet to see if I had hooked any leads with my flyers. I had not!!

I've now spent 3 days in Lhasa and I don't feel like I've really seen much of Lhasa (aside from the Tsurphu monastery outside Lhasa) nor gotten any closer to finding a group of people to go on a trip with. Hopefully my luck in both these areas will turn around soon.