7.4.2007
The trail to Gyantse starts grandiosely on a new mountain road from which the sightseeing is unbelievable!We are enjoying majestic panoramas of the Himalaya set against stratospherically blue skies and then…suddenly (whoops!), the road disappears and our Land Rover is bouncing along the dry stony surface in an erratic hurdy-gurdy motion which makes it barely possible to reach a speed of thirty km per hour! Through the clouds of dust being raised as a result, I am watching the nomads, Tibetan villagers and my lion through the back window.  I have adopted a Tibetan mastiff (or perhaps it has adopted me!) It has slanting expressive eyes, bear’s paws and a thick double coat which gives it a mane-like appearance (- like a beautiful small lion!) When it grows up it will be as big as a small horse (but far cuter). It has accepted my invitation to follow us to Base Camp where our (hitherto) secret agreement is that it will wait for me for one month!
The serpentine track meanders its way through two 5.100m high mountain passes and suddenly we are passing glittering lakes and natural water reservoirs, beside mountains which touch the sky at a height of some 7.000 metres. It is even snowing for a while before we descend into the big valley – a huge tapestry of fields criss-crossed by farmers drawing horse plows. We are only at the beginning of spring. Time seems to have stopped and everything is still dry and grey. Tashi predicts that within a month or two the land will be dramatically transformed into a green oasis. The world will simply have to wait. We continue driving ever onward in the direction of Everest. The Hotel in Gyantse welcomes us and serves us excellent Chinese food. It is perched at 4000m and I am acclimatizing and drinking and drinking again.
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