The most notable feature of the day was the roads and how they start to conspire against us now we're nearing Tibet. Around here the standard way to do roadworks is to close the whole section of road and build another temporary road to the side. These temporary roads are narrow, rough, and very very muddy. Chinese lorries are very big and overloaded and frequently get stuck in the mud so nothing can pass in either direction. Here we are delayed by about 2 hours.
Apart from the traffic jams, the road starts to wind up higher and higher mountains, and we go over a pass of more than 5000m altitude. I've kept on popping the Diamox and this is helping me to adjust to the thin air, so the altitude is not a huge problem apart from getting breathless more easily than usual.
That night we come down a hill and camp amongst the mountains at about 4600m altitude.
July 16th, day 90, another bushcamp en route to Lhasa, entering Tibet
Today we are half way through the trip!
Another high pass at 5000m+ brings us into Tibet. Tibet is where Tibetans wish they could live independently of China and the Chinese are having none of it, so every few km along the road there are police checkpoints where our papers are checked, and we are given a minimum time limit for arriving at the next checkpoint a given distance away. The Chinese are very touchy about Tibet and foreign tourists have no right of travel without very strict limits, and we may only travel on a specific route as determined by our permit. Welcome to Tibet, Land of the Oppressed!
July 17th-21st, days 91-95, in Lhasa
As we enter the second half of the trip we are treated to a wonderful long rest in a luxurious hotel after the fairly rushed itinerary since Dunhuang. Right next door to the Yak Hotel is an excellent bar/restaurant called Dunya, run a European man and aimed at Westerners. I do like Chinese food but sometimes one craves something more familiar and this hits the spot perfectly. The Yak Sizzler is highly recommended.
Our time in Lhasa is spent as a mixture of a well earned rest and some sightseeing, including the world-famous and stupendous Potala Palace. A very impressive and iconic building best viewed from the outside. Lhasa is an amazing place, well worth a visit, and one of my favourite cities on the trip so far.
July 21st, day 95, Lhasa - Shigatze, start of the Westward journey to Everest.
A horribly early start, 7am departure, and only 250km to go today, apparently. As it turns out, it really does take all day to do the distance.
We run into another of those by now infamous Chinese roadworks, with lorries getting stuck in the mud. As soon as one clears, and we move a bit, then another one gets stuck and we all stop again. Right in front of us, a lorry ends up with a wheel off the road and balancing precariously over a river, but there's still enough of it on the road to block it completely. So, as well as the large, unstable loads they carry, they are also driven by people who don't know what they're doing. We are stuck for several hours, until, quite miraculously, the road crew actually finish the road and re-open it, so we are able to reverse off the temporary road, back onto the proper road, and continue on our way.
Tonight is a hotel in Shigatze, nowhere near as nice as the Yak Hotel, but it's OK.
July 22nd, day 96, bushcamp en route to Everest Base Camp.
We enter Qomolangma National Park. It's just like an international border complete with passport control, and it takes as while to get in as we all queue up to have our passports and visas inspected. Whilst I respect the way the Chinese appreciate what thay have and do their best to protect it, sometimes it seems over-zealous. But we are in Tibet, a land where very few foreigners are allowed to go except for the tourist Mecca that is Lhasa. So a few minor formalities aren't going to detract from the experience.
We bushcamp that night just past a small village, just as the road starts a long upwards course. From your camp we can see the road continuing up the mountain with countless switch-backs as far as the eye can see. Tomorrow's travelling will be fun.
Meanwhile, the weather has taken a turn for the worse. We are lucky to get our tents up before the rain comes in, heavy and prolonged. It's a miserable evening for weather, and we have a 4am departure tomorrow, so it's an early night for everyone.
July 23rd, day 97, Everest Basecamp
We get up 3:30am and pack up the tent in the darkness. Thanks goodness the rain has stopped for now. As we start on our way, the rain starts again, lashing at the windows of the truck. In the darkness we climb the countless switch-backs on the way up, and the rain gradually turns to snow as we gain altitude.
That afternoon we arrive at a large semi-permanent looking camp full og Tibetan yurts with grandiose-sounding names such as 'Everest Hotel' or 'Tibet Hotel'. We are assigned to about 5 people per 'hotel' - this is where we stay tonight.
This afternoon we get very lucky - the clouds clear to reveal Mount Everest in all her glory. From our camp, several tens of kilometers away from the mountain proper and at an altitude of about 5000m, the sight is unforgettable. Mere words and photos just don't do it justice.
July 24th, day 98, Heading East Again
We leave the Tourist base-camp and Everst behind and head back the way we came. Just another long day in the truck as we continue our journey Eastwards across Asia after our little detour. The journey to and from Everest is arduous, the roads not great, but it's certainly worth it. Many travellers have seen Everest from Nepal, no where near as many from Tibet.
Tonight's bush-camp is in a very nice spot and it's my turn to cook again. Amazingly it stays dry, although there's an impressive thunderstorm going on in the distance.
July 25th, day 99, to Gyantze
Gyantze is a small and scruffy town with almost no redeeming features. Just a single night's stop at a hotel.
People are starting to get frustrated with Lilly, our Chinese guide. She tells us today that our planned Eastward journey along the Tibetan Highway cannot be bushcamps as originally planned, but must be in Hotels, and the Chinese authorities want us to register with the police whenever we arrive in town. Apparently we are also being tracked. This causes frustration - we are all Westerners unaccustomed to such state control.
July 26th, day 100, Last bushcamp, at back of a traffic jam
Our progress today was halted by a traffic jam. High on a mountain side we can see the cause - a lorry and slipped and become stranded in the mud, and is blocking the road. Nothing can get past. By this time the afternoon is well advanced so, despite our instructions we set up camp right where we are. Nothing is moving today, that's for sure.
No-one seems to remember the 100th day party tradition. I think the unfortunate circumstances of our camp are not really appropriate anyway.
27th, day 101
First thing, I look up the hill and see that the lorry is still stuck there. We decide to head up there anyway as far as we can go, then most of us get out and walk the rest of the way to the stricken lorry. Its left-hand wheels are in a deep groove off the side of the road.
Another lorry behind attempts to pull it out in reverse, but the driver in the stuck lorry steers the wrong way and only makes it worse. He seems not to understand steering in reverse. The lorry in front can't do much - apparently it tried earlier and mashed its gear-box in the process. The only remaining option is people-power, so a tow-rope is attached to the front, most of the Odyssey group and about 50 Chinese and Tibetans grab the rope, the driver puts it into gear, and we all pull. I never thought I'd play tug of war against a lorry, but who knows what bizarre things will happen on a journey like this.
We eventually get going at about lunchtime. The lorry is not actually free, but it's been moved enough to allow things to pass. It takes about an hour to clear the tailbacks, but eventually we're through and on our way to Jiacha, a small unfinished looking town we should have been at yesterday.
Out hotel room is a cell without windows, but it's only one night.
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