The Friendship Highway is the magical stretch of road that links Lhasa with Kathmandu in Nepal, and is justifiably regarded as one of the world's truly great journeys. Jen, myself, our four companions plus our guide (Kelsang) and driver (Passang) began it by boarding a minibus approximately 163 years old, which would be our transport for the ensuing week. Kelsang had accompanied us - as regulations dictated he had to - to various sites in Lhasa as well, but it was on the road to Nepal that he really came into his own.
The scenery throughout the journey was little short of breathtaking, even during the times when the weather wasn't ideal (which was often). But even amongst such a torrent of beauty, there were some particular highlights. First up, there was Yamdrok-tso lake, where I still swear they must dye the water blue each morning. At just under 4,500m, the water in the thin mountain air practically shimmers.
We saw the lake within hours of leaving Lhasa, and we were truly lucky that day because soon after came another show-stopper, Kharola Glacier. The skies were grey, but somehow that just made the wall of ice seem all the more mystical and foreboding.
Temples, showcasing both the stunning architecture of Tibetan culture and the lifestyles and customs of different sects of Tibetan monks, were often the order of the day, both in Lhasa and then later on throughout Tibet. At first we assumed that we'd be surefire victims of temple overload, but so interesting and varied were the individual sites that each one offered something different to discover. And when they looked like this one, the Kumbum at Pelkhor Chode Monastery in a little town called Gyantse, it was hard not to be enthralled.
By both the outside (this is the world's highest stupa):
And the inside:
Another town en route, Shigatse, also had a spectacular monastery -Tashilhulpo - with accompanying temples, and the monastery at Sakya also didn't disappoint. We saw both of them eventually, but only after our venerable minibus broke down and we spent a rather hairy night not knowing if we in fact had onward transport through Tibet or not. Thankfully our boys worked their magic and by the following morning the ancient transport was ready and raring to go once more (JEN'S NOTE TO TESTIES: Please note the use of my gifted torch in this photo!):
A note here. Tashilhulpo Monastery is the traditional headquarters of the Panchen Lama, the second most important figure in Tibetan Buddhism after the Dalai Lama, and the Dalai and Panchen Lamas have a pivotal say in each others' appointment. The current Dalai Lama appointed Gedhun Choekyi Nyima on May 14, 1995. Three days later, he was taken into "protective custody" by the Chinese government and hasn't been seen in public since. The government then appointed their own, unrecognised, Panchen Lama - primarily, it is believed, so that they have some level of control over the appointment of the next Dalai Lama - and you could imagine how the Tibetan people, already borderline second-class citizens in their own land, will feel about that. So, dear friends, we would offer this piece of advice - get to Tibet before the current Dalai Lama passes on, because we reckon it's all going to kick off big style after that.
And let's face it - if you don't go, you won't get to see the monks getting their groove on...
Having crossed our highest highway pass at 5,248m, we began the descent toward the Nepal border with two nights at end-of-the-world towns called Tingri - Old Tingri and New Tingri. Of the two, Old Tingri was unquestionably the more memorable due to the fact that its official population was apparently 130 - 100 humans and 30 dogs. Having spent the night there listening to the cacophonic symphony of the entire dog population howling with neither rest nor respite, I can confidently claim that there are a lot more than 30 dogs in that town. Either that, or the humans joined in at about 3am.
The final descent to the border provided a welcome change of scenery, the mountainous landscapes of previous days being replaced by lush green forest and cascading waterfalls as we descended 3,000m in barely 24 hours. Though, of course, the road wasn't the safest you've ever seen and as such when the rain set in visibility wasn't all that it could be.
Thankfully, neither of these cars was us - though they could easily have been.
There was one other major attraction of the long and winding journey, which was a side-trip off the main highway to the base camp of a little mountain called Everest. But that is the subject of another entry...
Things Jennie will remember about The Friendship Highway:
1) "It is necessary" - the beloved phrase of our guide Kelsang which he used after telling us the time we needed to eat breakfast, which sites we were to visit, relating to permits, eating, drinking, walking, toilet breaks...
2) The prayer flags everywhere - sometimes you'd wonder how they actually managed to string them between the two mountains
3) The back of the mini-bus being more like riding a horse (every so often you had to rise out of the saddle to stop your bottom getting sore)
4) Tibetan noodles - yum yum yum yum yum
5) Mountain coral, turquoise, sky bead jewellery by the millions
6) Crazy masks and Thangka artwork
7) The border town on the side of a hill (Zhangmu) - with lots of rain and regular mudslides, how are the buildings still standing and how do all those trucks carrying goods between Nepal and Tibet make it through those tiny streets in their thousands every day?
8) The group - they were so lovely and I hope we keep in touch
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