Last Day of Our Adventure! As we sipped our coffee at breakfast, the lace curtains fluttered in the morning breeze. Cath and I looked out at the mountains and sadly reminded ourselves that this was the last day of our fabulous adventure. We walked the Barkhor around Jokhang Temple a final time and popped in … Continue reading Farewell China Tour (Day 10)
Samye Monastery In order for a monastery to be a monastery, it must have three things: holy statues, scriptures and monks. The Samye Monastery, founded in 775, was the first in Tibet to have all three. Located across the Brahmaputra River from the city, the monastery was a little tricky to find. We checked out … Continue reading Farewell China Tour (Day 9)
Yamdrok Yutso Lake Whew! What a relief to wake up feeling relatively normal. We still couldn’t believe the dramatic effect of the altitude on our bodies. Chum Zhun picked us up after breakfast, and Feng Shifu drove us out of town. Puffy white clouds floated in a sapphire sky, bluer than I’d ever seen in … Continue reading Farewell China Tour (Day 8)
Feelin’ the Altitude When we woke up on our first full day in Tibet, Cath and I both had red swollen eyeballs – not puffy eyelids like after a crying jag, but literally swollen eyballs. I was actually afraid that my eyes might explode. We also had killer headaches, the kind I used to get … Continue reading Farewell China Tour (Day 7)
Tibet!! As our plane approached Tibet, we bounced around through strong turbulence. Suddenly, the plane emerged smoothly into clear skies and the snow-capped mountains stretched as far as we could see. Stunning! From Approaching Lhasa Our local guide, Chum Zhun, greeted us at the Lhasa airport with white prayer scarves. Later, we saw similar scarves … Continue reading Farewell China Tour (Day 6)
Dodgy Massage At the end of the day, we had played with pandas and experienced some stressful (although ultimately fantastic) meals, and we were ready for a little relaxation. Our hotel featured a spa, so we wandered up to inquire about getting massages. The young guy who greeted us at the spa jumped up from … Continue reading Farewell China Tour (Day 5, continued)
China recognizes around eight distinct regional cuisines. The food in Shanghai is a bit oily and bland, but the food in Sichuan Province (home of two stops on our trip – Lijiang and Chengdu) is notoriously spicy and delicious. Crossing Bridge Rice Noodles In Lijiang, Cath and I asked Li Qiong to take us to … Continue reading Farewell China Tour – (Usually) Yummy Sichuan Cuisine
Playing with Pandas Reluctantly we left our new friend, Li Qiong, and the wonderful town of Lijiang to fly to Chengdu. Although the city of Chengdu is massive and sits in a pollution trap of a valley, we had just one destination in mind: The Ya’an Panda Reserve. We arrived around midnight, met our guide … Continue reading Farewell China Tour (Day 5)
Lashi Lake Feeling a bit disheartened after yesterday’s non-hike, we struggled to muster enthusiasm for today’s trip to Lashi Lake. Li Qiong had mentioned that we’d be riding horses, so we pictured hordes of obnoxious tourists abusing the tired sway-backed trail horses. Sullenly, I asked, “Will this be another long car ride?” Just 30 minutes, … Continue reading Farewell China Tour (Day 4)
Tiger Leaping Gorge Tony accompanied a student trip to Lijiang in 2005 and brought home photos of the rugged hike through Tiger Leaping Gorge. The 16-kilometer gorge is one of the deepest in the world – 3,900 meters from the water to the mountaintops. I had been excited to follow in Tony’s footsteps. On the … Continue reading Farewell China Tour (Day 3)