Suckers for punishment...

… and we’d gladly do it all again.
The list of ailments, impediments,and tribulations that we had on the rooftop of the world is long. It’s not as if we had no warning, since Flo and I have been here before, and weirdly, a pattern repeated itself. I was impacted by the high altitude at the start, and maybe because I had a bad stomach from the previous stop, and Flo was more impacted in the last days when we went up to and slept at 4500-5500m (15,000- 18,000 ft). Carbon copies of our last visit in Tibet. Same story in Peru near Lake Titicaca, and it was the same story in Bolivia at Uyuni. This time we had prepared! Acclimatisation for 2 days at 2200m, slow ascent in the train over nearly a day to 3,600m, 3 nights at that alititude. Flo took the prophylaxis drug Diamox, but it's all to no avail (or maybe it would have been worse).
Despite this on our last full day, we did not shy away from visiting Lake Namtso. A beautiful salt lake with a view of 7000m mountains good views across the vast open plains. We had planned a little hike along the lake shore, but after taking some photos of Yaks with the kids, we paused for an hours rest, with local teas, and then did the rest of the (planned) hike, in a double decker red London bus, which plays Chinese music all the time. Rather strange type of Shuttle bus for the location, but my lot (me excepted) had exceptional uninterrupted views from the front of the top-deck.
After another shuttle (this time electric) took us back to our mini-bus, we headed for Lhasa, and we all expected to feel better by descending 900m, and that’s just what happened. Our appetites all came back, and we were not afraid to order what we could smell each day in our hotel, but didn’t have the courage, fearing consequences, to order. “Six curries, nan, and rice!”. Well nearly normal, but the customary beer, although available, was a step to far for our cautious minds.Read more