tibet

with a magical place like tibet, we had quite a task to narrow down over 300 photos to the ones shown here...and it still doesn't do it justice. enjoy!

waking up to watch the sunrise. the train journey from chengdu to lhasa was the best one yet. amazing landscape.

highest railway in the world...at one stage travelling at 5000m.

landscapes changed from rocky moonscapes, to winter wonderlands, grassy plateaus, and desert hills.



reaching to the sky, potala palace - lhasa. this is where the dalai lama should reside!

potala palace close-up.

barkor square - old town lhasa.

potala palace in the background, barkhor square in the foreground.

view from the top of jokhang temple.

the barkhor pilgrimage circuit around jokhang temple. walking around here (and potala palace) is a ritual for many pilgrims. spot the chinese military on rooftop watch.

prostrating in front of jokhang temple. many stay all day to complete 2000 or more.

pilgrims in front of jokhang temple.

detailed mandela made of sand by the monks each new year - sera monastery, just outside lhasa.

hand printing copies of scriptures.

the wood blocks used for printing.

yamdrok-tso lake with mt. nojin kangtsang in the distance...

on the road...just when you think the scenery couldn't get any better...

blowin' in the wind. each pass we passed was adorned with prayer flags.

knitting session with ellie and harry.

decorative door at the tashilhunpo monastery - shigatse.

arrow pointing out the chatting monks.

buddhas everywhere. inside the tashilhunpo monastery.

at the top of pang-la pass, giving us a spectacular view of the himalaya including mt. qomolangma (everest), mt. cho oyu, and others. brilliant.

head in the clouds...

top o' the world in all its glory...

at everest base camp to spend the night...we've got altitude problems.

jenny, lhakdon (wednesday...our fantastic guide), and travel mates ellie & harry.

our menu, simple but good.

literally chillin' in our tent.

our host at base camp, he shares a wife with his brother (this is common in tibet)

sweet old villager...

kids in a small village we stopped at to buy yak wool.

small market - old tingri.

house, horse, and cart - old tingri.

sunrise - old tingri.

just outside old tingri...

the mindblowing scenery of tong-la pass.

sadly, near the end of our tibet journey...now the descent to the Nepalese border.