We were provided with a different Land Cruiser and driver for the remaining portion of the trip, but it was obvious form the start that very little had improved. The condition of the vehicle was worse than before, and the only consolation came from the driver’s older and more experienced appearance. There was very little that could be done, so I accepted my draw and hopped in the car for an early start.

It was not long until the Land Cruiser’s condition became a problem. We broke down along the Friendship Highway in the arly afternoon, but were fortunate enough to have another Land Cruiser stop to help repair the jeep. Between banging on machinery with a wrench, towing the jeep down the road in an attempt to start it, and plenty of scratching heads and smoking cigarettes, the drivers eventually got the jeep running again - losing several hours in the process. The upside of the wait came when the agency and driver agreed to add an extra day to the trip, which was fine by me.

We arrived at a town called Gyantse in the early evening, but even that was not without incident. When we first reached the town we were confronted with the harsh reality of a collapsed bridge. It was an impressive sight (I would return the following day to take pictures and figure out what went wrong), but it meant that we had to drive along the river for quite some time searching for a place to cross.

The town itself is known for having a tremendous fort perched high above the valley, and a monastery with the largest stupa in the world. A stupa is one of the more recognizable sights of Buddhism, and it is basically a monument that stores a body part of an important figure.

After settling into a hotel for the evening, I climbed to the top of the fort in the setting sun. Given the hour of day, I was free to explore without coming across anyone. This left for some daunting moments as I crawled down wooden ladders into the dungeons. The fading sunlight and the glow of my camera were all that assured no one was lurking in the shadows. I am sure there was very little risk of anything bad happening, but I could not help feeling like Indiana Jones exploring haunted tombs.