I woke up with a minor head-ache this morning, but otherwise the altitude sickness is behind me. It was a good thing too because the rest of the day was spent driving over dirt roads and fording rivers. We left the lake early in the morning for Reting Monastery, which is where the Dalai Lama wants to reside should he have the chance to return. It took several hours to reach the monastery since there were no paved roads, but it gave the vistas a timeless quality - the only people we saw were nomads. Every person we passed stopped what they were doing to waive and yell, “tashi dele!” (pronounced tashee-deli, meaning “good luck” in Tibetan). It is a fun word to say once you develop the confidence to use it!

The monastery itself was largely destroyed by the Red Guards, but there was still a mural of the 14th (present) Dalai Lama – presumably the only one left in Tibet. I am fairly certain being caught with a picture of the Dalai Lama is one of the most dangerous “crimes” one can commit. Outside of the mural, most of the monastery was fairly uninspiring because the condition of the monastery was so poor. However, I was able to eat lunch with the monks. It involved eating instant noodles and drinking yak butter tea - I cannot begin to describe the many vomit-inducing qualities of yak tea. Fortunately, I was able to pour it into my soup when the monks were not looking…

After Reting, we continued along the dirt roads for another four hours as we moved toward Tidrum Nunnery. The ride grew more and more interesting because our driver did not seem to know where he was going, and each person we passed told us to go in a different direction! This would not have worried me (the views were stunning) if our Land Cruiser was not breaking down! At one point, our driver was underneath the jeep banging a hammer on the machinery. I may only be a second year mechanical engineering student (and a poor one at that), but even I knew the hammer was not going to get us anywhere!

Our jeep finally broke down about an hour outside of the nunnery. Fortunately, it was in a small town so the driver had others assisting him. Rather than sitting around, I decided to wander the town dressed in my large PLA coat – again, what a sight! It turned out to be good karma because a convoy of Chinese dump trucks slammed on their brakes, and came over to talk to me. It did not seem weird at the time, but they offered me a ride up the mountain. There was no way I could refuse!

I hollered goodbye to the others I was traveling with as I climbed aboard the massive truck. I was able to hold down a twenty minute conversation with the driver using up every phrase I could remember. I now know how many brothers and sisters he has, whether or not he likes to sing, and even the most beer he drank in one night (18 bottles, supposedly)… The ride was wild because the driver plowed ahead at 50km/hr despite the winding, narrow roads on the ledge of the mountain. Making things more interesting were the yaks and sheep we pushed through along the way – the road is the only way up, and everyone uses it.

After 35 minutes of driving, the driver wanted to turn around, and it was time for me to get out. I was slightly worried because I was in the middle of nowhere, and separated from everyone. Fortunately, after fifteen minutes of waiting on the side of the road with my thumb up, I hitched a ride with a Tibetan family in the world’s worst minivan. These were my first two real hitch-hiking experiences, and they definitely lived up to the hype!

Several hours later the Land Cruiser arrived with my companions. I bought them a few beers and showed them some nearby hot springs, so they were fine with my catching rides ahead. Even I was in good enough spirits to overcome my fear of snakes; they were visible in the rock walls surrounding the hot springs!

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