There is a placeholder with links to the itinerary and all the photos from this trip – click here or below:
Breakfast in refectory more laughable than dinner – course upon course of things we didn’t want – I make do with a little bread and cake.
Set off – photographed Drongotse Monastery [I cannot find a reference for this place, nor a photograph, but that is what I wrote down].
There was a problem re-visit to Shalu Monastery as it had been omitted from our permit.
We assumed and were told that the omission was an accident and that the worst that might happen if we were caught entering without a permit would be a $100 fine, which I agreed to underwrite, figuring (correctly) that the Chinese authorities were unlikely to be policing that remote spot on a Sunday in April.
Risking life and limb (well…a fine) we went anyway and were not disappointed nor were we fined – amazing murals and very friendly monks and terrific atmosphere.
On to Shigatse. Check into hotel light Chinese lunch at a local restaurant (vegetables chicken noodle soup and pork and peas).
Short rest before touring amazing Tashilimpu Monastery – amazing sites and interesting encounters – e.g. stunning Yunnanese Tibetan lady and some contact with a monks.
Got to witness butter milk tea and bread chanting session in main assembly hall. I got to try bread. Went on to Shigatse market which did little for us.
Return for our supper with some hope as we have specifically ordered our food to the surprise of chef who normally does eight dishes!.
Yes, we really were the only guests at this hotel, which was pretty much the only proper hotel in Shigatse. Tourism to Tibet, which hadn’t much taken off by then anyway, had taken a sizeable knock at that time – probably due to 9/11. It wasn’t likely to recover for a few years either, as the SARS scare came less than a year after our visit.