Thursday, May 04, 2006
May 4: Bummin Around
The important things that happened are:
- I am for sure going on a trip to Everest tomorrow, with three girls.
- I purchased a Mountain Hardwear windproof fleece for $20 CAD. I think it's real, because it has a 1500-kwai price tag (~$200 CAD) from some other Chinese retailer, which is what these things should cost. I also can't notice any obvious signs of fakery. The only thing I notice is that the elastics that tighten the waist and neck are a bit too stretchy. Minor defect. Boo-hoo.
The Everest trip itinerary is as follows:
May 5: Drive to Yamdrok Tso, an alpine lake of supposedly staggering beauty. Hang out there for a bit. Drive to Gyantse (pronounced djantze) for an overnight at some guesthouse.
May 6: Drive to Shigatse (pronounced shigatze) for an overnight, and visit the Tashilumpo Gompa, seat of the Panchen Lama, while we're there.
May 7: Drive to Tingri (a tiny settlement in central Tibet) as an acclimatization stop. Stay there to bum around and get used to higher elevation.
May 8: Drive to Rongbuk, visit the base camp and the monastery. Stay overnight
May 9: Drive to Lhatse (another small town) and visit the Xiqing (pronounced shiching) Hot Springs. Mmmm hot springs....
May 10: Return to Lhasa.
I leave Tibet May 12.
I will likely have very limited access to internet after we leave Shigatse. Gyantse and Shigatse are the third and second largest cities in Tibet, respectively, and I expect there will be something of an internet cafe there somewhere. I hope. Maybe I'll be able to update this blog, but maybe not. I'm pretty sure that Tingri, Rongbuk and Lhatse have no internet access, but China has surprised me before so who knows?
On the other hand, I've been told that that cell phones work in these remote areas... we'll have to see.
