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 sixth section is from our four day drive from Darchen back to Lhasa.)
1) We started our drive back with another 10 hour, 280 km (175 mile) drive to Purang. There we stayed in a cute little hotel that was made, like any other traditional Tibetan home, from mud bricks. As you can see from this photo of Jonna, the doorways were pretty small, especially for a comparitive giant like Alan.
2) The town of Purang is typical of towns in Far Western Tibet. Very small, maybe 20 or 30 buildings. All made from mud brick that is covered with a mud stucco. No electricity, no paved roads, no plumbing. The stoves all burn yak dung and there are just a few wells scattered around town for water. Also common to these towns are the spectacular views: just look at the snow covered mountains that ring this valley.
3) I've restrained myself from talking about motorcycles for most of these web pages so pardon me while I diverge for a moment. This bike, a 125cc four stroke single cylinder street bike which is a bolt for bolt knockoff of a Honda, is everywhere in Tibet. They are all accessorized, most like this one, with leg protectors, luggage racks, rugs over the seats and large mud flaps on the back which are decorated with Buddhist prayers. The Honda wing sticker on the gas tank is also common and is found on everything from bicycles to trucks to tractors to motorcycles.
4) Gas was surprisingly affordable. 5.55 Yuan per liter comes out to roughly 20 Yuan per gallon which is around $2.60/gallon or about $.40 per gallon cheaper in rural Tibet than in a major city in the US. Hmmmmm...Exxon, may I have a word?
5) Halfway into the 250km (155 mile) drive between Purang and Saga is the virtual ghost town of Old Drongpa. Very little is left in the town except a guest house and then a restuarant run by this older Chinese man. We stopped here on both the drive out and the way back and were amazed by his creations both times. This guy could whip up dishes that would astound guests in a 4 star restaurant and he did it all with a little propane stove and a single wok.
6) This is another typical Tibetan town. In western Tibet, near Saga, more and more Tibetans are moving into these mud huts rather than living in moveable yak tents. As a result, their yak herds aren't grazed over as large an area. The closer you get to Lhartse (where the paved road and electricity starts), the more you see a change in the lifestyle of Tibetans. First the yak herds become merged into a single communal herd. Then the herds get smaller and fields of grain show up. Finally, near Lhasa, there are no more yaks to be seen just Dzo and grain fields. Lives and cultures are definitely changing in Tibet.
7) We stopped for a flat tire, one of only three minor mechanical problems we had with the Toyota Land Cruiser during five days of brutally punishing driving conditions. While we waited for the tire to get fixed, I tried to get pictures of the pika living in this valley. These little mammals are both shy and fast moving. I'm sure the Tibetans thought I was crazy stalking pika like I was a big game hunter...
Stuck cars on tundra
Worldwide SUV racing
Pit stops are random
8) Tashi has been driving for 32 years. He and Tsewang made short work of changing the flat tire. Over the twelve days we were gone from Lhasa we were never stopped for more than an hour with any car problems. Tashi never once got stuck, despite road conditions that seemed to guarantee it. As I said, these two guys took great care of us.
9) I generally felt pretty uncomfortable taking pictures of people, especially without their consent. However, I did manage to sneak this shot of two nomadic women as we were coming down from Saga La Pass.
10) Just west of the town of Saga are these ruins on an island in the river. I didn't get a clear answer about what these ruins had once been. However, you see ruins like this all over Tibet. Whether these are ancient buildings left over from the glorious days of the Tibetan empire in the 1500s or more decent ruins from the 1950s or 1960s you can never tell. Either way, this particular set of ruins looked very dramatic out in the middle of a big rushing river.
11) Happiness can sometimes be found in the little things in life. After nine days of enduring some pretty revolting restroom facilities just having access to a sit down toilet in our hotel in Saga brought a smile to my face. Don't let that shower in the background fool you into thinking this was civilization. The shower water was only available for one hour (if at all) per day and had only one temperature: scalding hot.
12) We had snow for the 300 km (190 mile) drive from Saga to Lhartse. The drive through this section took us at least 10 hours both times we did it. The long drive over bumpy, muddy roads was grueling but the views were breathtaking especially going over the passes. A string of 20,000+ ft high snow covered mountains stretching to the horizon. One thing you can see is that the road is firmer up on the passes than down in the valleys.
Bouncing through the clouds
Dancing yaks kick up their heels
Shake it up, washboard
13) This 360 degree panorama photo was taken from the pass shown in the previous photo.
Snow and heat on road
Mind and car weave in and out
Waiting and moving
14) Here are Tashi and Tsewang throwing Lung tar into the air at one of the passes.
15) One things I saw on this trip that really amazed me were the construction areas. Whether it is putting in retaining walls in river valleys, putting in drainage systems on mountain passes or building a new road bed, the Tibetan workers accomplish seemingly impossible tasks with the crudest of equipment. This road being built along the Raga Tsangpo river is typical. A bunch of guys with shovels, a portable concrete mixer and maybe a small rock crusher. Everything, even the making of concrete bridge sections is done manually and is done on location. Rain or shine or snow, these guys are out working.
16) To say the roads are challenging is an understatement. Here we have to cross the Raga Tsangpo river. There were three big trucks sitting on the banks waiting for the river level to drop but Tashi stuck the Land Cruiser into 4WD low and charged right in. The water came up over the hood, leaked in through the doors and the current pushed us about 15 foot downstream but we made it through without stalling or rolling. We then crossed it five more times before climbing out of this valley. Talk about an adreneline rush!
17) Just before entering a very narrow valley cut by the Raga Tsangpo river, we drove along an area where the river widens out into a slow moving natural lake. The views everywhere in this valley are stunning so this photo is just a small taste of what the entire panorama around us looked like.
18) This is Alan looking like a zombie while stopped for lunch in the town of Zangzang. To give you some perspective, this is *after* he'd had a chance to take a (very) hot shower in Saga. We went nine days without a bath. The clothes he is wearing in this photo should probably have been burned rather than washed, as they've been worn for three days in a row. Just be glad we didn't get a picture of him *before* the shower in Saga. Eeeewwwww!
19) All the domestic animals in Tibet are small. Horses and donkeys are barely shoulder high. The yaks, while large, are small compared to their low altitude water buffalo cousins. We saw little sheep and goats everywhere but I finally caught a picture of the little buggers just outside Lhartse. I think they look like little Lhasa Apso dogs with horns.
Mini goats are like
Lhasa apsos with some horns
Beep - out of the way
20) Remember above where I said the towns look different as you get closer to Lhartse. Well, compare this town with the photo I took of Purang. Whitewashed buildings, electricity, fields of grain. After spending time in Far Western Tibet, these towns in central Tibet don't even seem Tibetan.
Go back to the fifth '06 Tibet Photo Page.
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