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September 19, 2006

A Silver Lining

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LOCATION: Bayi, Tibet
SEE WHERE WE ARE!
Longitude: N: 30.02°
Latitude: E: 092.89°
Miles from Singapore: 4103

Things are looking up.Tonight was the time in 9-days I got to set up camp without rain - what a difference that makes! The wet weather that was making life so miserable seems to be moving out and warmer, dryer air moving in. Plus I passed through what I believe was the last police checkpoint two nights ago - the 11th in 1600 kms. Nothing is guaranteed yet (I'm still several hundred kms from Lhasa) but my hopes are beginning to rise that I'll make it.

And then food! I passed an apple stand yesterday - the first fruit I've seen for 17-days (my gums are loving me right now). And now I'm past that last checkpoint I've felt comfortable enough to stop at restaurants in the larger villages and towns and get some decent food inside me. Again, what a difference...

So with the combination of sun and food re-entering the picture my enthusiasm for Tibet and the trip is well restored.

I've a little ambivalent about making it to Lhasa though. The restaurant I was in this morning had what looked like the design layout for a new Chinese city covering one entire wall. Row upon row of dull, lifeless high-rise buildings. Or perhaps it was one of the larger towns I'd already passed through? I looked closer for a recognizable name and to my surprise saw the Potala Palace marked in the centre of the design. Goodness, was this a futuristic concept of what Lhasa will look like in 20 odd years time I thought to myself? Then on closer inspection the truth dawned that this wasn't a design drawing at all, it was an aerial photograph of what Lhasa looks like today.

jason

Posted on September 19, 2006 1:34 AM

Comments

Posted by: Crister at September 19, 2006 2:17 PM

Posted by: gl. at September 19, 2006 8:42 AM