April 3 - Kathmandu to Lhasa

This flight was a challenge in 2005, because the plane simply didn't arrive. We waited at least eight hours before shipping off for an overnight stay in another Kathmandu hotel (and yet another curry).

This year the flight across the Himalayas was with South China Air (as if climbing the mountain isn't dangerous enough), during which we got our first view of the "big one," almost exactly the same height as the airliner in which we were traveling. It was a sobering but exciting moment.

It had never occurred to me that a commercial airline would actually cater to the "smaller" person, but I found the seats in the Chinese jet were so small I lost the feeling in my legs and the window was so low it was adjacent to my elbow.

April 4-6 - Lhasa, Tibet

Lhasa is a truly wonderful place. It is the home of the Potala Palace, which, until the Chinese invasion, was the residence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. A history of this line of succession can be found inside the breathtaking building. The Potala Palace is the destination for thousands of pilgrims from all over China year round. Many travel thousands of miles, prostrating themselves on the ground and then standing (simulating prayer) over and over again. It is considered very bad luck not to donate a small amount of money to one of the ardent believers when you see one. They can be found shuffling along clutching incongruous wads of yuan in their filthy, calloused hands - an amazing sight. A group of a half-dozen Chinese actually stopped us as we walked across the square and asked if they could take our picture, so rare is the Western face in this part of the world.

April 6 - On the Endless Road

The journey across the barren moonscape of the Tibetan plateau is long and dusty - you wear masks in the shoguns to protect your lungs - but it's an education. You can drive for an hour without seeing anyone or anything and suddenly come across a small herd of yaks being tended to by a 5-year-old child, whose beaming, brilliant-white smile and frenzied wave becomes etched in your memory.

April 7 - Xigatse

There's not much to be said about this town. It's stuck in the middle of nowhere, obviously has a ton of state funding, and is pretty uninteresting. I seemed to arrive unexpectedly and had to resort to the local supermarket and pot-noodle to sustain me through to the morning - pretty dire. It is, however, at 3,900 meters (12,795 feet), so it's a decent acclimatization stopover, but that's all.

April 7-9 - Zegar

Zegar seems to have once been a military compound and the lack of smiles you receive from the hotel staff seem to reflect that! It's desolate, dusty and cold but always stunningly beautiful. There is a small bar or cafe adjacent to the compound for the locals who, whilst slugging shots, insist on playing pool on ancient tables outside in all weather.

We joined them at the table, lost a few bets and sunk a few of the local beers. Many children surrounded us, but they only ever asked for pens, never money or anything else - quite amazing and unexpected. I stayed here two nights to further acclimatize as Zegar is at 4,400 (14,436 feet) meters. The food here was very good, but was served in a subzero dining room! It was easy to see what wasn't hot (and so to be avoide) by the huge mushroom clouds of steam over every table as we ate. I enjoyed this place.