Sky burials, steaming rivers and turquoise lakes ... exploring Tibets countryside

We enjoyed a couple of nice days out to Monasteries in the whereabouts of Lhasa and got better acclimatised with the altitude (3600m, now it even sounds low!). Somehow we managed to jump on a local bus to Ganden at 6am getting a seat in the corridor between all the pilgrims and even managing an hour sleep to arrive to a beautiful Monastery with a great Kora (the pilgrimage around the Monastery). Walking up a steep path (panting and struggling) we were rewarded with fantastic views over the valley. We even managed to join the monks for a cup of yak tea which serves them as lunch but is pretty difficult to drink for our taste (imagine salted brown water with butter mixed into it).

We then tried to organize few tours and even considered entering Potala... but both seemed a bit of a mission impossible. To enter what was the ex house of the Dalai Lama independent travelers have to give up a good night sleep to queue at 4am in order to get the permission to buy tickets for the following day. Not being early birds we opted for a walk around and taking (anyway the best) shots from outside and watching the monks at Sera monastery during their daily debating practise (it reminded us of our negotiation skills classes during the MBA ;-)

Eventually we met up with a nice (Mexican/Dutch) couple with whom we have been traveling since (Georgina and Vincent). We embarked on a nice trip around Lhasa to check few monasteries out off the beaten trek (as you would have got by now, a lot of sightseeing in Tibet revolves around Monasteries). On the occasion we got to witness a sky burial which is a unique way for the Tibetans to greet their loved ones for the last time.. Once they have been wrapped tight in sitting positions they are indeed carried on the shoulder of friends to get the last blessing and left to vultures and wild dogs.. very strange experience to even sleep near that site (we saw the prayers only which was more than enough for the girls..)

After a hot hot bath the next morning with some praying Tibetans in the local hot springs we headed towards Nam Tso (a bumpy but amazing 6hrs trip in our 4WD), the highest salt lake in the world. We spent freezing nights at 4800m and enjoyed fantastic views of the turquoise lake which you will see on flickr (click Tibet link). The night in between costed us wet clothes as our tend was not strong enough to keep the water outside and wild dogs tried to entertain us too long. It was anyway a great way to explore the areas around Lhasa on a 4WD and even challenge the locals on playing pool (loosing as you might guess, but the table was not what you might call a smooth surface!!)