JOHN AND DEBBIE ON THE MOVE: We are in Tibet!!!

We enjoyed our time in China and had a couple more wonderful days in Yangshuo. After getting a very sore bottom on a bicycle, we swapped to a scooter for a day riding around the mountains with new friends from America. Steve, our bandb owner came with us for part of the way and showed us places off the beaten track. We had a wonderful day. The mountain scenery here is different and dramatic and the lushness of the watered countryside makes the vistas remarkable. Steve and Jess kindly let us have our room till late the next day when we taxied over to Guilin and finally got our flight to Chengdu at 2 in the morning. It was a long night and one you would rather forget. When we got to our hotel which I had booked because it was near the airport we had to leave the windows open because the planes flew through. We spent the day in Chengdu going out to the Zoo as we thought this was where they had the panda nursery. But no, just another sad Chinese zoo. It was filthy and sad.

Well, we are now in Lhasa in Tibet. We flew over here on Sunday morning and we were met by our guide and driver for the next 10 days who brought us into our typical Tibetan hotel. Lhasa is amazing and is preparing for one of its major festivals of the year, Saga Dawa. We both got a pretty bad dose of altitude sickness for the first two days but noticed a big difference yesterday after John and Tensey, our guide, got some strong Chinese medicine to help us.

Yesterday, Densey took us to the Johkang Temple. It was incredible. Hard to explain. The Tibetan people are Buddhist and this is one of the most important Buddhist Temples for them. There is a sense of the mystical and spiritual as you enter the Chapel. It is smoky and full of their gods and people circumambulating the inside of the temple.    In the afternoon, John and I wandered around Lhasa by ourselves and we have both decided we love it here. Certainly a different experience from the first day which was clouded by headaches and tiredness.

There is of course a strong Chinese army presence. Constant checkpoints and soldiers marching with batons are reminders of the aggression these people have suffered. The Tibetan people are wonderful and very long suffering.

The streets in the old town here are being pulled up at the moment to install heating into the houses. Every street is difficult to navigate and we are constantly stepping over big holes and trenches. Wouldn't want to have a few too many beers.

Hope all the Mums had a great day on Sunday. Thinking especially of the new Mum in our family, Maree, and hope Gary and Lachlan treated you to a great day.

Deb and John