More driving today seeing lots of sheep, long haired goats, and people harvesting their crops. We crossed two high passes, the highest of which was 5248m (17,200 ft). Near the top of this pass were nomads who pasture their yaks and live in tents. Also near the top of the pass we had our first glimpse of Mt. Everest - or Oomolangma as the Tibetans call it. Unfortunately, it was shrouded in cloud but we hope to see it in all its splendor before we leave. The smal...

Visits to two monasteries plus a drive through a fertile farming valley made for an interesting day. The farmers, both men and women, were hard at work throughout the valley, hand thrashing barley in the fields and raising clouds of dust. The remaining straw was then piled high onto trailers driven either by small tractors or horses and taken to the homes where it will be used as winter feed for the animals. We stopped at a Tibetan stone house to watch two women...

Wow! Today we were treated to one of the most beautiful drives we have ever experienced. It started with a steep climb with many switchbacks which took us up to a 5000m summit where we started to believe that Tibet truly is the roof of the world! We then descended to Yamzhof Yumcog lake, considered sacred by the Tibetans. It is the most beautiful colour of deep azure blue - a colour we have never before seen in a lake. As we drove along this lake, spectacular g...

This palace (now a monastery) was built in the 2nd century BC by the first Tibetan king. It is located on the top of a steep hill, and as we are now at over 12,000 feet, we were gasping somewhat as we climbed! The view from the top was magnificent with fertile farmland all up and down the valley and steep mountains on each side. We know that we are now truly off the beaten tourist track as we have not seen any other caucasians at any of the sites we have been to...

Today we travelled 160km over mostly rough, gravel roads through several small towns. We felt transported back 100 years as we watched women thrashing wheat by throwing it into the air with wooden pitchforks and men plowing fields with yaks. The trip took us along a beautiful valley with a large river flowing through it and then over a pass where this photo was taken. You can see the many colourful prayer flags which are found everywhere from on the roofs of peo...