The long road to Mount Everest .....

Early on Boxing Day morning, we set off on our road trip to Mount Everest Base Camp. It took us 3 days of driving, with plenty of stops along the way, looking at monasteries and the beautiful Tibetan scenery.

An artificial lake on the way to Everest.

The first stunning sights we saw were a series of lakes with the most amazing turquoise colours. The first lake was Yamdrok lake and the others were all artificially created lakes. The Yamdrok lake has special significance to the Tibetan people, so it is extremely unfortunate that the Chinese have built a hydro power plant, using the water of the Yamdrok and the other nearby lakes. The Chinese presence is widely felt in Tibet and ensures an uncomfortable period of time whenever it is mentioned.

The first glimpse of Everest and her neighbouring 8000m plus peaks.

Along the way, we also stopped at several monasteries, each different in their own unique way. The Pelkor Chode monastery in Gyantse was the most authentic experience so far in our trip. There were no tourists and we were lucky enough to be able to see the monks go about their afternoon prayers (even if it did feel like we were intruding a little). The Tashilhunpo monastery in Shigatse was another different experience. The monastery was like a medieval walled village, filled with tiny cobbled alley ways. While here, we followed the pilgrims as they walked the kora and enjoyed exploring the little alley ways.

Yes, I was actually there! Prayer flags at Base Camp.

We spent a night in a small village, Shegar, to help us acclimitise before we set off for the big one, Everest Base Camp! The road to Everest was a long, bumpy 100 km of dirt road but we were all so excited that we didn't seem to notice it. We stopped along the way to appreciate the sights - the first glimpse of Mount Everest nearly had me in tears, I was so thrilled to be there.

The happy travellers - Anna, Sangpo, Jennifer, Ty, the driver (we all forgot his name, it means Saturday in Tibetan though!). Note the 'spindrift' coming off the mountain (not cloud). Spindrift is snow blown off the mountain because of the wind - must be pretty windy up there!

We got dropped off at the base camp and spent about half an hour just taking it all in. It is hard to write about it was like just being there. For so long, I have wanted to see Mount Everest, so being there was just so special. The photos really don't do it justice. To think that we were already 5000m above sea level and this majestical mountain was another nearly 4000 m above us , was a little difficult to comprehend. We walked the 8km back to the Rongbuk monastery where we were staying, and my goodness was it a long walk. Despite the herbal medication and the nurofen, I felt like I had been hit by a train. After a rest back at the monastery, I felt well enough to sit outside and enjoy the sunset over Everest. Toilet stops that night were also amazing experiences - I have never seen so many bright, bright stars (no, not even in Wuxi!). Waking up the next morning was extremely special too - we looked outside our hotel room and could watch the sun rise over the mountain, absolutely amazing.

Sunset over Everest, a very special moment.

We began the journey back to Lhasa, all of us having experienced something very special. The dirt road felt a lot bumpier on the way back! The last few days have just been spent driving and looking forward to a hot shower and clean toilets! Clean, warm and hygenic hotels are yet to find their way to Tibet, so we had some interesting accommodation experiences along the way. We have experienced the filthiest of filthy pit toilets with bouncing floors (not what you look forward to in the middle of the night!), no heaters (our record was a night of -4 degrees .... in the room!), rooms with no electricity, hotels with no sinks and the most disappointing of all, a hotel room with an ensuite and a bath ..... but no hot water! Am now back in civilisation and looking forward to NYE with Gunnar back in Wuxi tomorrow night. I hope that everyone is well and enjoying summer!