Wednesday was our last day in Lhasa. I got up early again and 'walked to school' with the kids again. My walk with the kids, some Dixie Chicks on my iPod, and then Pilates back in my room is a great way to start my day. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Our group headed out to Ganden Monastery today. We rented a private bus for the nearly 2 hour journey (only about 40 km outside Lhasa but road conditions make the journey time consuming). Along the way we saw some beautiful scenery with the river and the mountains and we got a preview of what our drive back to Kathmandu will be like. Unpaved, dirt roads, with innummerable switchbacks are what we have to look forward to. We arrived at Ganden around 11am and had about 3 hours there. Ganden was the first Gelugpa monastery (the sect of Buddhism to which the Dalai Lama belongs and the current most popular sect in Tibet). For this reason the monastery received heavy damage during the revolution and was even the scene of protests as recently as 1996 and was closed to tourists at that time. We had to keep reminding ourselves that some of what we saw was rebuilt but even with the renovations it is easy to see the damage that was done. I walked the 'kora' around Ganden and had a great view all around the mountain on which Ganden sits. I followed some pilgrims walking the kora and was kind of 'adopted' by a young woman who kept showing me where to touch the rocks along the way. It was fascinating to touch the rocks in spots that are black and smooth as marble from thousands of touches over hundreds of years. As you walk along the edge of this mountain you look at the rocks you pass and you can see the black spots on some where you are intended to touch and pray. In a couple of spots you can even see where your thumb and fingers are supposed to go. I have some great pictures from my kora. Then I wondered around the monastery. You are basically allowed to go anywhere here and I spent a lot of time over near the monks quarters and in the less obvious tourist attractions. At one point, two monks invited me into a tent and wanted to look through my guidebook. We couldn't really talk but it was interesting to sit in the tent with them and see them get excited when they found pictures of Ganden in the book. Eventually I made my way to the main assembly hall and the tomb of the founder of Buddhism in Tibet. The two hour drive back was just as beautiful as on the way out and we all enjoyed it. We spent the afternoon preparing to leave Lhasa tomorrow morning (mailing postcards, getting CDs made for our photos, stocking up on toilet paper and water, etc) and then had a good dinner together before heading to bed early. Tomorrow we're off to Gyantse. It will take us about 9 hours in Land Rovers. Then Friday we head to Shigatse. I think I will be able to write another journal entry from Shigatse but we'll see. After that we're off to Base Camp and on our way back to Kathmandu where we expect to arrive on the 27th. So look for more journal entries then!