Day 13 :: THURSDAY 27 Aug 2015 ……. Lha Tse to Lhasa

Guru Puja, breakfast and off to Lhasa. The sherpas had whipped up aloo parotha and a rice kheer for breakfast.

Boarded the 4 buses and started rehearsing the skits in the buses. Time flew. Bits of photography during the breaks and outside the windows as we were driving past. Stopped for lunch in between and headed towards Lhasa.

Marked difference in topography and terrain.  Lha Tse , the twon of Shigatse and the road to Lhasa is more on the plains and seems to be a farm economy with tsampa (barley) and mustard fields, trees growing around homesteads, domesticated cattle and livestock ( not just the yaks but also cows , goats and sheep)  .

Some of the homesteads are in tents with a chimney poking out, with solar panels lying outside to collect power in a battery and light  a lamp at night. Some of the homesteads are more robust construction with handmade bricks and neatly painted exterior with a typical Tibetan colourful design.

The mountains / hills on either side show different striated structures of tectonic shifts of millennia past.

Reached the same Hao Di Hotel by evening and got ready for presenting the skits in the dining hall. People danced to some racy Punjabi music and got ready for the skits, while munching on hot pakoda / bhajjis.

Teams A, B and D put up good skits that were enjoyed by all. Team C took the easy way out and applauded the other three teams. All in all it was a lot of fun and jest!! The locals and also the Tibetan cops also joined in the fun and shook a leg and took a lot of photos. Some of us may be found in their local internet networks if they upload some of their videos and snaps.  

more modern construction... blending intricate traditional designs

blooms .. despite the harsh environment 

you get to see trees in the lower plains

trinkets being sold near a monastery in Shigatse

Shigatse / Xigatse  modern face of an evolving Tibet

a police checkpost with a different dog breed

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homesteads...

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Tibetan lady in traditional gear.. colorful despite the harsh environment

headed where ?? to the dinner table?? 

terminal journey ?? 

innovative stove.. normally kept inside the tent.. serves a dual purpose of cookinmg as well as heating.. and the smoke escapes vertically through the chimney

corrugated board, yak dung cakes as fuel..

traditional gear and helmets too...  

domesticated livestock

tented homesteads.. see the solar panels lying around each house and the smoke chimney 

yaks at a waterhole .... mirrored in the water

how many millions of years stratified... and we drive by with just a glance at it..

And everyone retired happily to their cozy beds !! Knowing well that the next morning we were to bid goodbye to China and Tibet and fly into Kathmandu.