Terrific Tibet

Towards the end of our time in Lhasa, a couple of girls and I tried the notorious yak butter tea.  It is the drink of choice for Tibetans and apparently the nomads drink up to 40 cups per day.  It is made from yak butter mixed with salt, milk, soda, tea leaves and hot water.  It tastes kind of like off butter that has been left in the sun for too long and melted.  We each had a couple of sips and decided that it was as bad as we thought, so happily left the rest in the cup!

We had a fabulous day visiting Ganden Monastery to the east of Lhasa.  Whilst the monastery was pretty and interesting, the scenery was fabulous.  It is over 400m high and perched on a hillside.  The switchbacks on the road up to the monastery were very impressive.

We walked around one of the bluffs with stunning scenery across the mountains and down into the river valley.

Our lunch spot under the prayer flags.

Monks walking along the track.

Views from near Ganden Monastery.

Unfortunately there were also views of the mines along the way.  The Chinese have discovered the phenomenal natural resources of the region and are raping them to their heart's content.  The uranium mines are some of the richest in the world.  I shudder to think of the environmental impacts of these mines.  We did not see the nuclear waste dumps, but apparently Tibet is the dumping ground of choice for China's nuclear waste.

A mine on the side of the Lhasa River.

Upon leaving Lhasa, we had wonderful drives over several high passes (the highest 5050m) and saw the stunning Yamdrok Tso lake with its turquoise waters.

We also drove through valleys with barley being harvested by hand beneath massive snow-capped mountains, it really is a sight to behold.

A glacier towering over the road.

Barley harvesting.

Barley and Canola fields on the riverside.

Fields and mountains surrounding Gyantse.

Farms around Gyantse.

Typical scenery driving up the valley.