Collect Experiences. Not Things. :')
Blog Highlights
July 28, 2005
City Views - Lanzhou, China
After leaving Lhasa, we spent five uneventful days driving overland through northern Tibet and arrived in our first "official" Chinese City, Lanzho. Cities in China seem to look very similar and tend to be very uninspiring as you can see from this photo. I reckon this has to due with the fact that many of the buildings were constructed by the communist government, but not absolutely sure.
July 22, 2005
Update – The Potala - Lhasa, Tibet
We just spend four days in Lhasa, besides white water rafting, we spent most of the time visiting Buddhist Monasteries around the city. The monastery pictured is of the Dali Lamas' previous home, The Potala.
On Saturday, we head northeast in to China, heading towards Beijing. We'll be traveling over the Tibetan Plateau where we will be "rough" camping (i.e. no showers or toilets) for five consecutive nights. If the current weather conditions are any indication of the future weather conditions, we could be in for a cold and rainy camping experience. Well at least the scenery should be stunning; great plains as far as the eye can see, with snowy peaks raising in the distance. After which the landscape softens to rolling green pastures, where herds of sheep and yak graze among the nomad yurts.
Also, note I can not view my blogsite while in China. I don't know why. I'm able to upload pictures and text, but I'm not able to view the actually site. Hopefully, the text matches the picture. Also, if I haven't responded to comments it's because I'm not able. I'm not sure when I'll be able to view the actual site again.
I’ve also added some additional entries to the toilet diary. Click on November on the lower right hand side of this page and scroll down to see the new entries.
July 19, 2005
Whitewater Rafting - Lhasa, Tibet
July 18, 2005
Produce Market - Lhasa, Tibet
July 17, 2005
July 16, 2005
Chapel of Jampa, Shigatse, Tibet
An entire building is hollowed out to house the world's largest guided statue - a 26 meter image of Jampa (Maitreya), the Future Buddha. It was made in 1914 under the auspices of the ninth Panchen Lama and took 900 artisan and laborers four years to complete.
In the Middle East we mostly visited Muslim mosques, along with some Christian churches. While in India, we visited Hindu, Jain, Zoroaster, Buddhist and Sikh places of worship. In Tibet, as you might have guessed, Buddhist monasteries are most prominent places to visit. I don't know a lot about Buddhism, but I purchased a book on Buddhism, hopefully it will enlighten me a little.
Prayer Wheels – Shigatse, Tibet
July 13, 2005
Mt. Everest at Sunrise, Tibet
Me and Mt. Everest, Tibet
I would include viewing Mt. Everest as one of my "top" four sites on this trip so far. The others, in no particular order, would be: 1) the Pyramids in Egypt, 2) Baalbek, the Roman Ruins, in Lebanon, and 3) Taj Mahal in India. Close seconds are: 1) Petra in Jordon, 2) Abu Simbel in Egypt, 3) the White Desert in Egypt and 4) the city tour in Mumbai, India. My top six favorite activities during the trip so far have been: 1) scuba diving in the Red Sea (by far the best), 2) balloon ride in Cappadocia, Turkey, 3) playing with the elephants in Chitwan, Nepal 4) white-water rafting in Lhasa, Tibet, 5) camel safari in Bikaner, India), and 6) climbing Mt. Sinai in Egypt. I'll update these when the trip is over.
Mt. Everest at Sunset, Tibet
July 12, 2005
July 11, 2005
Interior of Overland Truck - Nyalan, Tibet
New Group Members – Nyalan, Tibet
July 10, 2005
A Landside between Zhangse and Nyalan, Tibet
July 09, 2005
July 08, 2005
Going Away Party – Katmandu, Nepal
July 07, 2005
Naren’s House – Katmandu, Nepal
July 06, 2005
Update - Katmandu, Nepal
In Katmandu, I escaped from the truck (a.k.a. asylum) and stayed at a friend's house. My friend, Naren and I were housemates at Cornell. He now works for USAID in Nepal and lives in a huge posh house and employs a gardener and housekeeper/cook. During my stay, I've been participate in his ex-pat life which included a "hash" house run in the hills surrounding the Katmandu valley, attended a going away party and participated in my first yoga class, drenched in sweat. Naren also owns a DVD player and a small collection of DVDs, something I've greatly missed.
Tonight we have a farewell dinner for the people on the truck that will be leaving us in Katmandu. Some of the new people have also arrived. I think there will be something like ten new people on the truck to Bangkok.
This Friday, we leave to Tibet and China. The weather in Tibet should be below freezing due to the elevation. We�ll be crossing a number of mountain passes above 5000 meters. There are also very few hotels, so we'll be camping most of the time. We've been stocking up on warm clothing in Katmandu.
July 03, 2005
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