Alan and Jonna's trekking trip to Tibet

Jonna and Alan took a three week trip to China this August, primarily to go trekking in Tibet. Jonna then spent an additional two weeks going to India afterwards. We both flew to Beijing together and then spent a rainy day playing tourist there. We then flew to Lhasa in Tibet. We spent three days in Lhasa, then left for a 12 day trip into Far Western Tibet. We drove from Lhasa to Shigatse to Lhartse to Saga to Puryang to Darchen. We stopped at the Tashilingo and Sakye monasteries on the way out. We then spent three days at Mt. Kailash and Lake Manasarovar, including visiting the Chiu monastery. We then drove back from Darchen to Puryang to Saga to Lhartse to Lhasa. We then spent five more days in Lhasa, including visiting the Samye monastery. From there we flew back to Beijing where we had a day to to a bicycle trip to the Great Wall. Then Alan flew back to the US. Jonna spent two more days in Beijing doing a bicycle tour through the hutongs and visiting the Temple of Heaven. She then flew to Delhi, where she had day exploring Old Delhi, the Gandhi Museum and wandering around the new part of the city. Then she took the train to Dharamsala in northern India. She spent one week there, before taking the train back to Delhi and then flying back to the US.

Here are some of our photos from the trip. (Because of the length of this trip, I am breaking the photos up into several different pages. This nineth section will eventually show Jonna's days in Beijing after Alan returned to the US.)

1) Another Cycle China tour for Jonna, this time without Alan. This is Jonna's bike on the Hutong Bike Tour. Hutongs are the old neighborhoods of Beijing. Most of the roads are too narrow for cars, so a bicycle is the perfect mode of transport.

2) This was a busy Beijing brother in the early 1900s. Now it houses 11 families.

I am not at home
Through narrow alleys on bikes
Hairless dog brothel

3) The Summer Palace is where the Empress Dowager came to cool off when it was too hot in the Forbidden City. It was about an hour drive from the center of Beijing.

4) Evidently, there was a rift between the royals and the Chinese navy at some point. To prove a point, the royals had this every expensive marble boat built at the Summer Palace instead of givign the money to the navy. I am not sure why it stays above the water, must be supports underneath.

5) A rocky climb to one of the buildings at the Summer Palace. Most of the paths were quite steep as the palace is situated on a hill.

6) The residents of Beijing are big on popsicles. Jonna couldn't really blame them with the high temperatures. This pea green colored popsicle was quite popular so Jonna gave it a try. It turns out it is made out of mung beans. It is sweat and creamy yet doesn't contain any dairy.

Beijing is so hot
Popular are popsicles
Even the green ones

7) As a reward for three weeks of hard traveling. Jonna got a 90 minute Thai massage at a spa in Beijing. A very sweet Thai woman gave her a phenomenal massage on this platform.

A bodhi massage
90 min with Thai lady
Knows how to work it

Go back to the eighth '06 Tibet Photo Page.

Go forward to the tenth '06 Tibet Photo Page.

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Alan Fleming