Leaving Lhasa
G’day folks!
I am in Lhatse at the moment, grabbing some R&R before climbing to
Lhakpa La (5200m) tomorrow and then descending to Shekar in the evening.
I rode 150km from Shigatse yesterday and arrived in Lhatse at 11pm in
the drk, wind and rain – I felt like I was no my last legs as at this
altitude 150km feels like 500km.
I stayed in Gyatse for a day to re-coop. I really liked this place,
the Dzong (castle) was a healthy climb up a mountain and the views over
the town were great. Unfortunately I thought I was climbing the Chorton
(why I went to Gyatse)-to my horror after a 45 climb I couldn’t find the
Chorton. As I peered over the walls I could see where I was supposed to
be – about 2km down the road on the other side of town! Still, it was a
nice view until I bashed my head and tripped over a drain.
On the way to Shigatse I met up with two Belgians on bikes – the only
other bikers I have seen. I noticed they were travelling a little lite
so asked where their baggage was. They point to a 4WD about 1km behind
them. I said ‘ah so you’re on a tour then?’ and they replied ‘no’ -
they were nabbed by the bloofy nepalise Mafia and had their stuff
forced in to a 4WD and they have to pay 150bucks a day for the
privalege for their whole trip through Tibet. Apparently when coming
in from Nepal the Mafia rule.. I have to go the other direction and to
be honest if any of those little Moaist chaps try and put my bike into
a 4WD I’ll gladly let them – I was gonna hitch from the border anyways
so saves me the hassle hehehehe. Obviously as the 4WD pulled up and
the driver and ‘guide’ started checking me and my bike out I decided I
better be on my way. I cycled quite quickly I can tell you :o)
I’ve been to some dives before but I have to say that Shigatse gets
first prize in the worst place ever comp. The chinese have totally
taken over the joint, full of dirty markets, horrible pollution smells
and so much smoke. To cap it off a motor bike knocked into me on the
way outta town although it was he who wobbled and nearly fell! My bike
obviously weighs more than his.
I have climbed three passes so far,including the famous Gamba La with
Yamdrok Tso Lake below, the torquise scorpion shaped lake. Next up was
Khampo La with the most beautiful Glacier I have ever seen – the prayer
flags gave it a real Tibeten feel and I got a real sense of
acclomplishment reaching the top. The descent was great for the first
2 hours then the dust, river crossing and dodgy truck drivers made it a
real task to get over 30kmph. To be honest I’ve taken it all pretty
slow on the down hills, it’s just too tricky in the deep dusty to keep
control with 20kg of baggage. The descent lasted 7 HRS
The hardest element of riding in these mountains is the dust from other
traffic, head winds and the lack of oxygen. I am finding it best to
camp at half way up climbs and then continue the next day-my body kinda
adjust over night.
I had a dog chase me at 43km/hr – a massive bugger with foam at his
mouth and ma-hoosive teeth! Well, at least that’s the memory I have
:o)
Last night I wanted to sit on the side of the road with my tent wrapped
round me like a blanket and just see the night thru. It was cold, wet,
dark and still I had another 20k’s to go. 20ik’s just seemed like 100, I
watched as my comuter ticked away 10meters at a time which seemed to
take 5 minutes. I don’t know how the body does it but it just keeps
going-I guess I go into auto pilot – I don’t remember much of the last
hour except rain, dust and hoping I have enough battery pwr in my lights
as it was pitch black and moon light couldn’t get thru the rain clouds -
only light was when the lightening started up!
I looked for camp spots but all the way along the hwy were water
catchment areas – for like 50km! I wanted to break some wire fence in
order to pitch on a rice paddy – I tried but my bike fell down the side
of the catchment into the wire fence and I just lost all energy. It was
as much as i could do to push the bike back up the muddy slope on to the
hwy and walk at 6km/hr for a few k’s before giving myself a verbal
slapping and continuing the ride. I eventually rocked up to Lhatse and
found a lovely Tibeten hostel – the blind owner really looked after me,
opening the restuarantand feeding me omellete! Within 5 minutes I was
all goode and ready for a good night’s kip. The blind owner went to
school at the blind school I visited in Lhasa, so we hit it off as I
told him all about how it is now.
Tomorrow will be another toughy but i am looking forward to it. I
should arrive in Shegar by night fall ready for a climb up Everest BC
early Tues morning. I’ll try to spend 2 days there then climb out to
the last peak before descending to the nepal border by the weekend.
OK folks, I am boiling in this dodgy internet cafe and need some sleep.
Speak on the other side of everest! Hope you’re all well – sorry can’t
send any fotos but they looked at my digi camera as if it came from
mars.
Miss you all heaps,
d
Leaving Lhasa, 5am
Tibet
I’m in Lhatse at the moment, grabbing some rest before climbing to Lhakpa La (5200m) tomorrow and then descending to Shekar in the evening. Leaving Lhasa was beautiful. The climb to the top of Yamdrok Tso took two days to complete but check out the view!
Gyantse Town
Gyantse still has that old Tibet feel about it. This is how I imagined a Tibetan town to be like, almost medieval in character and appearance.
I stayed in Gyantse for a day to re-coop. I really liked it hear, the Dzong (castle) was at the top of a healthy climb and the views over the town were great. Unfortunately I thought I was climbing the Chorton (why I went to Gyantse) – to my horror after a 45 minute climb I couldn’t find the Chorton.
Typical street in Gyantse
As I peered over the walls I could see where I was supposed to be – about 2km down the road on the other side of town! Still, it was a nice view until I bashed my head and tripped over a drain.
Looking out over Gyantse Kumbum from the Dzong
Onwards to Lhatse via Shigatse
I rode 150km from Shigatse yesterday and arrived in Lhatse at 11pm in the dark, wind and rain – I felt like I was no my last legs as at this altitude 150km feels like 500km.
On the way to Shigatse I met up with two Belgians on bikes – the only other bikers I have seen. I noticed they were travelling a little lite so asked where their baggage was. They point to a 4WD about 1km behind them. I said ‘ah so you’re on a tour then?’ and they replied ‘no’ - they were nabbed by the bloofy Nepalise Mafia and had their stuff forced in to a 4WD and they have to pay 150bucks a day for the privalege for their whole trip through Tibet. Apparently when coming in from Nepal, the Mafia rule!
I have to go the other direction and to be honest if any of those little Moaist chaps try and put my bike into a 4WD I’ll gladly let them – I was gonna hitch from the border anyways so saves me the hassle hehehehe. Obviously as the 4WD pulled up and the driver and ‘guide’ started checking me and my bike out I decided I better be on my way. I cycled quite quickly I can tell you :o)
I’ve been to some dives before but I have to say that Shigatse gets first prize in the worst place ever competition. To cap it off a motor bike knocked into me on the way outta town although it was he who wobbled and nearly fell! My bike obviously weighs more than his.
I’ve climbed three passes so far,including the famous Gamba La with Yamdrok Tso Lake below, the torquise scorpion shaped lake. Next up was Khampo La with the most beautiful Glacier I have ever seen – the prayer flags gave it a real Tibeten feel and I got a real sense of acclomplishment reaching the top.
Old skool transport out in these parts
The descent was great for the first 2 hours then the dust, river crossing and dodgy truck drivers made it a real task to get over 30kmph. To be honest I’ve taken it all pretty slow on the down hills, it’s just too tricky in the deep dusty to keep control with 20kg of baggage. The descent lasted 7 hours!
The hardest element of riding in these mountains is the dust from other traffic, head winds and the lack of oxygen. I am finding it best to camp half way up the climbs and then continue the next day letting my body kinda adjust over night.
Next stop Lhatse, and the rain is coming in!
This entry was posted
on Thursday, June 29th, 2006 at 21:05 and is filed under TIBET.
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