On top of the world...

A lama enjoying my lonely planet
A room with a view...
A nuns home, 9 sq. m. at 4650 m above sea level
One of the houses on the hill at 4500 m
Young nuns praying
Another Tibeten road, the nuns place is near the top of the montain in the centre.
Entrance to Samye Monastery
Samye Monastery by night
The view to the east from the hill by Samye

Waking in the dark, I pull on my cloths and grab my bag. Looking at my watch I see that it is 5.30 am, the pilgrem bs leaves at 6.30. I step out into the crisp air and walk the 600 m to the bus. We are shpparded onto a waiting bus with 50 Tibeten pilgrems on their way to the oldest monastery in Tibet, Samye. As the sun rises we roll along next to a very large river on our left. After several hours we come to a bridge over the river, hiding our western faces as we cross the bridge, we hope that the police checkpoint at eitehr end will not stop the bs to check our permits (which we do not have). Crossing safely, we briethed easily again, only for the bus to turn around 300 m later and cross back over the bridge! We soon relised that the bs has a flat and there just happened to be a grage just back over the bridge.

A lot of banging and crashing later, we passed the police again without incdeint before bumping ot way to the monastery. After a night there we hoped on the back of a less than comfertable trck for a 2 hour (9 km) trip to a nunnery at 4000 m. We set off to the 1250 year old hermatige which clng to the hill for the next 600 m above. Reaching the last monastery at 4500 m, we tried to find a track to the top of the mountain. After several attempts we met a nun who indicated that she wold show us to her home, give us a drink then show us the way to the top. We gladly followed, she ran along several meters in front as we puffed and panted behind.

Arrving at her 9 sqare meter house perched between huge rocks, we were served to usual yak butter tea along with yak butter bread and yak butter biscuits.

We soon decided to stay with her, after a climb to 4750 m we returned and I pt my tent up on the dirt patch in front of her place which was not an inch bigger than the tent itself!

We were taught a rayer before being served a dinner of rice and friend greens along with yak butter and barley flour dumpling soup, before heading to sleep, exhasted after a long day.

Waking to the sound of prayers, we ate the last of or food (not being too temted by her ever persistant attempts to feed us the favourite Tibeten breakfest; barley flour mixed with yak butter tea and mixed to a dough which you eat raw!) we said good bye and returned to monastery 100 m below. I spent the last 5 km learning tibeten prayers from a monk on his way home from 5 days of solitude.