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.
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.
posted by Dustin at 9:34 PM
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