Our Land Cruiser driver only knew one phrase in English, “Let’s Go!”, but he made the most of it. At 7am this morning, he was banging on my bed repeating “Let’s go. Let’s go.” At one point, he was even flicking his lighter to hurry us along. I suppose it is funny looking back on it, but it’s fair to say I was pissed at the time.

Fifteen unhappy minutes later, and we were on the road to Ganden Monastery. The roads were paved most of the way so there were no more mechanical failures. Ganden turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip so far because of its location. It is nestled in an armpit of the mountains at an elevation of 4500m. Although Ganden also suffered extensive damage at the hands of the Red Guards, it has had a lot more rebuilding.

I immediately set off to climb to the mountain ridgeline in order to take in the entire view of the valley. I found a kora along the way, but was relieved yaks were my only company for the two hour hike. At the peak, there were endless prayer flags tied up with a large pit for burning juniper incense and praying. The real treat came in the form of a 360 degree aerial view down both sides of the mountain. The red and white monastic buildings were perfectly located in the forest of green, while the river flowed below and the clouds flowed above – I wish the pictures could do it justice.

After making my way down from the mountain, I began another smaller kora around the monastery. A Tibetan boy joined me, and pointed out many of the sights – including a sky burial site. When a person dies, their body is chopped into pieces and placed in a location where birds can feast on the flesh – similar to the native Indians, nothing goes to waste.

We arrived back in Lhasa later in the evening, and I was able to negotiate a new driver and a new car for the four day Nepal trip (via Everest Base Camp). I leave tomorrow morning, but will post once I reach Kathmandu, Nepal.