Tibet 2007

Starting at the end of August, I spent a little over 2 weeks on a trip focusing on Tibet. My friends Dan and Yvonne and me started in Beijing, and after spending the first day on our own joined up with a group of about a dozen. We spent a couple more days in Beijing as a group, then boarded the new train that for the first time connects Beijing with Lhasa, Tibet by rail. The train ride lasted about 46 hours, passing through some really amazing landscapes. The lush lowlands give way to a much sparser beauty as the trip progresses. The route went above 16,000 feet--the highest train in the world, and high enough that they pump supplemental oxygen into the train cars to keep the passengers from getting altitude sickness. 

On arrival, we had several days in Lhasa, Tibet's political and spiritual capital. The Potala Palace (Dalai Lama's former seat of government) is well known, but to the locals, the temple known as the Jokang is Tibet's spiritual center and the destination of their pilgrimages. Next we boarded our Land Cruisers and headed away from the city. We went to Gyantse, Shigatse, Sakya, Rombuk (by Everest base camp) and finally over the border to Nepal. Our time there was short, but between the under-construction roads and the washed-out places and general disarray it was quite an experience. After a short time in Bangkok on the way home, it was back to work...

Trip Overall - Short Version

Beijing & Great Wall

Train to Lhasa

Lhasa

Gyantse

Shigatse, Sakya, Rombuk

Everest and Border to Nepal

Nepal Border to Kathmandu

Bangkok

More of our Group