Roof of the World

A tour of Central Tibet was our way of celebrating our fifth year wedding anniversary. Caro organized the 10 day trip only a few weeks prior to departure (one of the beauties of living in Asia). We learned about Tibetan culture and religion, and took in some fantastic scenery. We were pleasantly surprised with the food- the tsampa, Yak meat, and potatoes were all safe bets and even the occasional cup of Yak-butter tea was palatable. Alas, we couldn't quite stomach 40 cups of it a day like the average nomad there. One of the highlights was scouting the foot of Mount Everest. We are planning to return (some day soon) to camp and bike along the stunning valleys, and make it to the ice seracs above Camp 1.

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The China influence throughout the region was large and at times tedious (read: lots of permits required), but we'll save those discussions for another day so this blog does not disappear behind the Great Firewall of China. Needless to say, with the newly completed train routes bringing in thousands of people per day to Lhasa (many of them Chinese immigrants), the struggle to retain some of the the local culture will not be easy. Signs of construction, some good/some bad, were everywhere - we even had amazing cell phone coverage at Mount Everest! Unfortunately the inevitable ecological tolls were also becoming visible. A little fact from our guidebook: 47% of the world's population (and 85% of Asia's population) depends on the water from rivers originating in Tibet. We feel extremely fortunate to have experienced such a humble culture, and hope their lands are preserved.