Gyantse itself didn't have much to see. We stopped for just two minutes at the monument in town, which had empty castle walls on the hill next to it. We moved on to see the Pelkor Monastery on the outskirts of the city. This was one of my favorite places of the trip. They allowed you to take photos if you paid a nominal fee. The temples did not generally allow photos. There were tons of wall paintings.
After the guide and driver had a quick lunch, Ganpo took me for a walk through the back streets and up to a magnificent panoramic viewpoint.
From here we drove to Shigatse. The itinerary said that we were to visit Tashilunpo Monastery in the morning, but I suggested we go late that afternoon instead. This ended up being a good choice, as it rained the next morning. The complex was massive and magnificent.
That evening, I walked around town, looking for neat shops, but didn't find anything to my liking. The next day, we began the long drive back to Lhasa, making multiple stops. One was to this mill, but the worker was not there, as he usually was. Ganpo let us in anyway.
We stopped to look around an old market area, but Ganpo was disappointed to find that it was mostly abandoned. I cannot remember if this was on the drive home or around Shigatse.
On the last night out, I walked randomly around the streets of Lhasa. I picked up some shirts at a local stand.
After departing Tibet, I flew back to Lhasa for five nights of rest and relaxation. The room was probably the nicest hotel room I've ever had. The view was also incredible. One night I ate a wonderful, and very spicy, meal in the hotel restaurant. The rest of the time I mostly ordered room service and had chose their incredible wonton soup. I did go out adventuring a single day, but when I think about my time in Chongqing, my mind relfects more on my time in my room and the Three Body Problem.
Driving into the city itself was wild. I saw more skycrapers in one place than anywhere else that I have seen in the world. The city is extraordinary. However, I was tired after the two years of more adventurous travel. I walked to a watch store, just down the street. They had a watch tie in with The Three Body Problem, a book originating from China. I owned the book for ten years, because Jeremy recommended it. I never read it. I also bought the audiobook, but I only listened to a minute or two of it.
The watch was interesting and bold, but I decided that I should not buy it until I at least tried the new Netflix produced show of it. So, I binge watched the first half of the season and then decided to buy the watch. I couldn't risk the show being poor and then thinking of it whenever I looked at the watch.
Unfortunately, most of China has trouble accepting western credit cards. They mostly pay with wechat pay and alipay. After three cards declined, they directed me across the street to an ATM. I withdrew the entire amount for the watch, in cash. It was an awkward process, but I was success in purchasing it. I binge watched the second half of the season while on the flight home.
The trouble breathing from the high elevation of Tibet never fully went away until I touched down in Chongqing. Your body adapts differently on each exposure to high elevation. Bhutan gave me no troubles aside from a brief initial shortness of breath. I hiked the mountain at the end of that trip in record time, while Jeremy struggled. This time was apparently my time to struggle.
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| China's largest coffee chain, which only allows you to order with their app. So, I couldn't order. |
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| Room service wonton soup. |
