Tibetan Countryside......

We left Lhasa this morning to head out into the natural wonders of Tibet. Woke up to a bit of rain and overcast skies which was not what we wanted to see. As we headed out of the city the skies started to clear, leaving us hopeful and excited for the day. End goal was to end up in Shigatse, the second largest in Tibet. We started off going to Yamdrok Lake. The viewpoint for the lake was 4998 metres or 16393 feet above sea level. The air was definitely thinner and left you breathing harder after only short uphill climbs. The view was spectacular and the water so perfectly blue and green. Was

encouraged that I so far have been able to handle the altitude. Everest Base Camp is only 5200 metres so we got close to that height today. We spent a lot of time driving today, but it didn't seem like much because the scenery was so good. We were always looking at something or trying to take a picture. After the lake we went to a small town for lunch and then headed to the Karola Glacier. Very large glacier that came down close to the road. The road was at 5100 metres and the glacier height was around 7100 metres. Again a very picturesque glacier in a great setting. We left the glacier to head towards Shigatse taking in a palace on a hill and a monastery in Shigatse. Both nice places to visit with impressive sites. The monastery had a 100ft Buddha which was the largest of its kind in the world. Finally arrived at our hotel around 7:00 pm. Finally feeling a headache from the altitude. Hopefully it goes away for tomorrow as we have another very long day culminating at the Everest site. Went

for supper with a couple of German girls, a Dutch girl, and my English roommate. Had some good food in great company. All you can ask for! Very excited about tomorrow. Praying for clear skies for a good view of the Himalayas and Everest.