We ate breakfast in the hotel restaurant but the flies all over the place were unappetizing so I stuck to 2 hard boiled eggs and bread with jam w/hot tea. Flies aren't killed in this Buddhist country so I've become used to them and they don't bother me except when they are on the "hot" food I'm about to eat. We wandered next door to a monastery that to our surprise, holds the largest Future Buddha, estimated to be born in 2045 or some such date. This Buddha was amazing - - and I've seen many Buddhas in my day! It was huge and fun to look way up at. I suppose we would have known had we read our book first but we were thrilled and surprised about it; to find it in this sleepy little town that is probably rife with history. Whilst sitting on the steps waiting for Eileen to exit a chapel she was in I was immediately surrounded by two guys just curious about me and my stuff - - not even asking for money they wanted to see my bracelets (I've purchased many and wear them all at once because hey, I'm on vacation), my watch, look at my hair, touch my skin, etc. Once again they sit real close with no attention to proximity or "personal space." And once again, it doesn't offend me.
Leaving the monastery we saw a shop selling water. Since we're drinking about 6 liters a day we knew we needed more so went in to get some. There on the top shelf in that market were the Deer Brand Thermoses I've been eyeing - - they keep water piping hot (steaming!) all night long!!! We were especially happy about that in our bathroom-less hotels because we needed the water hot in order to bathe in the basin. Eileen was equally as excited as me about these things so we each picked out our favorite large sized ones and paid our $3US and off we went squealing with delight! I love that Thermos and can't wait to use it when I return home.
We headed out of Sakya for a 3 hour journey (...a three hour tour...). Our driver stopped in Latse, a nearby town, and bought some 'bousa' or steamed buns filled with pork and cabbage. So hot we could hardly hold them, we crammed them into our mouths and enjoyed every minute - - they are so good. The landscape was beautiful but the roads, oh my. The roads are horrible, absolutely horrible. Potholes so deep that we have NOTHING to complain about in Minnesota. Even the un-maintained roads up north aren't this bad. But I still managed to sleep and contend that relaxing my neck/head on the seat back was probably better under those conditions than sitting stiffly and aware of each movement. I was relaxed so just went with the flow.
We climbed to 5200 meters for the first time today - - about 17,000 feet. 5200 meters is the highest we would ever climb but we did it about 4-5 times. And it's not easy up there. I felt head achy (briefly) and light-headed and just a general malaise at times. I felt fine for the most part, though, and was surprised how after just a little while up there I felt normal. I think once you acclimatize to a high level it takes just a little while longer to adjust to the higher altitudes; it becomes more natural.
The driver (age 22) and our guide (age 30) play the radio so I've been able to get a good taste of Tibetan music, including Tibetan Opera. I enjoy it all and especially enjoy hearing the two guys sing. They sing constantly, like everyone does here. At one point the guide and I were both humming our own tunes with no comment, no giggle, no judgement, just normal humming. Joyful and delightful. He is going to buy me some music to take home with me.
The rounded mountains became more jagged, then the snow-capped Himalayas became evident. Breathtaking and unbelievable, really. I had to keep reminding myself that I was in the Himalayas. Then some really big peaks started showing themselves on the horizon and there was an excitement outside and in our car - - and then I saw it in the distance: Everest. No clouds, blue sky, perfect view. I wept. I couldn't help it, the tears just came. A once-in-a-lifetime experience to see this mountain so magnificent and legendary. Argh, I cry as I write this!! To top it off, we were told that to see it at all is a rarity but to see it in a cloudless sky is even rarer. !! Many travellers stay 3-4 days just to glimpse it but we saw it loud and clear. And it continued to loom as we drove even closer to it to the town of Tingri where we would stay the night until we could leave the next day for the base camp. This day was a gift. But we didn't know then what lay ahead for us, what the next day would bring...
In Tingri we were given another gift: an afternoon with no activity. I needed to sleep so took a 3 hour nap, I'm told! I awoke to Eileen's voice talking to a man and woman outside while sitting in the sun so I joined them. Through the conversation I already knew the guy was from Minnesota. When I joined them we were introduced: Beata from Sweden and her husband of two months, Mike, also from Sweden but originally from Inver Grove Heights - - or Inver Grove as we called it the rest of the time we spoke. Small world! His mom retired from 3M. More small world. Two great people, I knew immediately I had met lifelong friends, seriously! More on them later.
We ate meals in the meeting room at this guesthouse. The whole place is a simple guesthouse but the meeting room is comfortable and clean; the food okay if you order anything egg-related or rice-related. The sleeping room is simple - - no, it is beyond simple by most standards with only a hole in the floor for a toilet, no shower, and just a basin to bathe with. And we had the deluxe room; the others had to go down the stairs, outside to the communal toilet where there were no showers, just squat toilets. Oh, and the electricity randomly goes out, most of the time between 1:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. and then sporadically after that. So we sat in the meeting room and met fellow travellers, including Beata and Mike and others from their group of 5. I enjoyed them so much and have thought of them often since saying good-bye to them - - more on them later. We also met a group of 5 from New Jersey: 3 brothers and 2 sisters. A great group of friendly and outgoing travellers. We sat in the dark for a time in front of their stove used for boiling water for tea and food. Then the staff handed out candles so we each had a candle at our table (actually a Tibetan chest decorated beautifully with a glass top). It was amazing and one of those times I looked around and thought, "Don't ever forget this."
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