Highest Ive Ever Been

When we finally got to Lhasa I was blown away, the sun was setting and it was just stunningly beautiful. We met our guide Dhon, and went straight to our hotel to rest and acclimate to being at over 13,000ft. The next day we went to Potala Palace, the highest palace in the world and formerly the palace of the Dalai Lama. After that we went and saw Jokhang Temple in the famous Bakhor street, a major shopping center of Lhasa. Inside the Jokhang Temple, a local monk offered me some Yak Butter Tea, a local delicacy that more or less tasted like melted butter from toast with a hint of tea...pretty strange but i liked it.

The next day we were off to Namtso Lake, the highest salt-water lake in the world. During the drive to Namtso, we went over a mountain pass that was well over 17,000ft above sea level... we got to stop on the pass and hike around, officially marking this point as the highest Ive ever been. what a surreal experience. Diogo, Pat and I befriended some sheep and had to pay the local nomads some money to take pictures with them. Namtso lake was so pretty, the water was perfectly blue and in the distance we could see a snow-covered mountain 24,000ft up. (as you can see in the picture)

Later that day Pat died. Diogo says it was because of zombies, i think a dragon ate his entrails...either way Pat unfortunately came down with altitude sickness and was out of commission for the rest of the trip in Tibet. The next day Diogo and I continued on our adventures by ourselves as pat was forced to stay back at the hotel due to his illness. We drove out to Shigatse where the largest statue of future Buddha is kept in Tibet. This is also the half-way point to Everest from Lhasa...so close...That night Diogo and I ventured around our hotel and found the spa...lets just say, be careful when ordering a Taiwanese Massage...

Our last two days in Lhasa we spent wandering around the city checking out the major monasteries. First we saw Sera Monastery which features arguing monks...an awesome thing to see, mostly they were arguing about philosophical views (Evan you would have loved this) but Diogo and I were convinced they were arguing about whether waffles or pancakes were better. it was a heated debate to say the least. Then we got to see Drepung Monastery, the largest Monastery in Lhasa, once home to thousands of Tibetan monks.

Along the way I sampled Yak meat stew, Sweet Yak Milk Tea...which was awesome, Diogo and I loved it. As well as countless other foods that I have no idea what was in them...probably best to not know...All in all, Tibet was fascinating. It was so beautiful and I hope to go back sometime soon. One word of advice though, and Pat will agree, get acclimated before going above 14,000ft otherwise as Diogo says, zombies will eat you.