The End
This is the end of the journey. This is the end of this weblog. Not really, because it will stay online for as long as I want it be alive and online. This is a travelog from the past. Just a few weeks back in the 80s. No big deal. Take a look around if you like. Start here. It doesn't really matter how much time you want to spend. As long as you appreciate that there is something special behind it. Somewhere behind those huge mountains there is a region to explore. A region which is unique, beautiful, special and peaceful. At least it used to be peaceful. Before it got occupied.
This weblog is dedicated to the people of Tibet.
Posted by Konstantin at 10:26 PM | Comments (0)Chomolangma
Chomolangma or Qomolangma, "mother of the universe", Sagarmatha, "forehead of the sky", Mount Everest. How tiny and irrelevant can you feel.
Back in Kathmandu
Two days on the bus. Another sleepless night at the Chinese border in a noisy restaurant sort of hotel sort of thing and the next day I was back in Nepal. I took a room, had my first shower in weeks, went to my favourite restaurant, went to my favourite bar, got terribly drunk and slept for countless hours. It was good to be back in the warmth. Coming back from the Tibetan altitude I felt like superman. And I knew I had just finished one of the most important trips in my life. There was only one thing left to do. I booked a round trip to Everest which was offered by Royal Nepal Airlines for I believe something like 50$. A bloody fortune when you travel on a shoestring but I was desperate to see the roof of the world from the other side.
Taking A Picture
Tourists. Honestly.
Giants
Sishapangma
And another giant that you can see from the bus. Sishapangma, Xixabangma, 8046 metres high. The only 8000 metre peak totally within Tibet. A holy mountain of course and apparently it was never photographed until 1950.
Lak Pa La Pass
5220 metres.
Short Break
Mount Everest
When you travel from Lhasa to Nepal and you take the "Friendship Highway", don't forget to look out of the window in the Tingri West area. Left hand side. Because you can see Chomolangma, otherwise known as Mount Everest. It doesn't look very impressive, yes it's that tiny dark pyramid shaped mountain almost in the middle of the picture. But hey, it's still the highest mountain on Earth. The distance from the highway is probably 60-70 km and in the valley facing Chomolangma lies the famous Rongbuk Monastery.
Posted by Konstantin at 11:16 AM | Comments (0)Back To Nepal
Eventually it was time to travel back. 1000 km Lhasa - Kathmandu. But this time I managed to get a bus which would need two days to take me to the Nepali border. Two days in a vehicle with no heating, tons of dust and God knows how many high passes, but hey. At least I had a proper seat. Well, sort of. A seat. I met a bunch of Germans in the bus (they are bloody everywhere, aren't they?) and we had a great time. The Chinese soldiers travelling in the bus were not amused, ah well. Almost no Tibetans in the bus which was a shame. Bus tickets were too expensive. Which says a lot, doesn't it?
Posted by Konstantin at 08:08 PM | Comments (0)