Thursday we began our drive from Lhasa, Tibet, China to Kathmandu, Nepal. The eight of us on the tour, plus Gelu and Geishi (our guides) plus three drivers in three Land Rovers. We drove about 11 hours on Thursday to arrive in Gyantse. We stopped along the way to see some sights like the location favored by locals for sky burials (instead of cremation your body can be chopped up and left on a rock for birds to come and take away to the sky.. yeah...) and a ...

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 s...

Tuesday was a long busy day. I woke up early and went for a walk. I happened down this street with three schools on it (two primary and one high school I think) and it was fun walking to school with all the kids. Watching the parents dropping off their kids, kids buying pencils or breakfast on the way to school. It was all very nice to see routines that cross cultures. Our group had tickets to see the Potala at 9:20am. We arrived just in time but then...

Monday was a very interesting day. We learned about Buddhist history, Chinese bureacracy, and Tibetan dance all in one day. We began the day with a trip to Norbulingka which was the summer palace for the Tibetan government. The palace was founded by the 7th Dalai Lama in 1755 and from then on it was used as the summer administrative headquareters for the Tibetan government and home to the Dalai Lama. It is from here that the current (14th) Dalai Lama escape...

Sunday was very interesting. We started the morning with beautiful views from the roof of our hotel. Then we went to Jokhang monastary that was built in the 7th century by the king who brought Buddhism to Tibet. We joined in the kora (clockwise circumambulation of the temple or monastary) and thoroughly enjoyed being swept along with the crowds. THere were young and old, walking and prostrating their way around the temple. There were vendors along the route selli...