Day 62 Fri 3 November, Shigatse to Tingri, Tibet

The day starts inauspiciously, with a power cut caused by work on the concrete replica Potala or Shigatse Dzong (Fort) across from the hotel. Fortunately, we’d already had hot showers, etc but not breakfast. The restaurant was freezing (not unusual) but the food ok. The Tenzin Hotel proprietress, who’d previously washed our car gave us white votive scarves but also asks us to take an enormous box of noodles to take to her cousin at the border. It rattled all the way.

An excellent new road for most of the journey, not a bit scary and in fact enabled us to sit back on cruise control at 100km/h for the first time in weeks, until rounding a bend on the way up to a 4800m pass we came upon an overturned truck completely blocking the road. After jumping out to see if anyone was injured, we deduce that it had been there for at least a week, most of its cargo of sacks of grain had disappeared and a rough track around it on the river bed had been formed. We navigate this slowly and make it back onto the road without any mishap, but notice another truck upside down in the river – we don’t stop to investigate. Pu Chong tells us that since they opened the new road in May there were about 5 truck accidents a day.

We climb the pass, and continue through barren rounded hills and broad flat valleys with the occasional village, flocks of sheep/goats and several monasteries. At one point we are forced off the road by a tar machine which takes up both carriage ways. The detour is blocked by two bogged army tankers around which most of the village has gathered, to watch the squaddies wield their shovels. No-one offers to help. Pu Chung says they want to be paid. We resist the temptation to pick up a shovel and show them how to fix the problem (it is 4000m afterall and even walking leaves you breathless) but eventually they find a solution, fill in the ditch between us and the road and we are back on our way although by now its a cart track again.

Tingri looms, a thriving metropolis of about 10 houses on either side of the road in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by a vast flat expanse of nothingness and distant snowy hills. Its a bit cloudy so we are unable to appreciate the views to Mt Everest and the high Himalayas and instead go in search of shelter for the nite. There are a dozen courtyard style buildings engaging in mutual delusion by describing themselves as hotels or guesthouses, rather than ratholes. After checking out several we pick the one with the most smoke coming out of the hole in the roof, on the basis that it might be the warmest, and settle into the “Lhasa Hotel” which consists of a single storey row of about 15 tiny rooms grouped around a bleak courtyard occupied by a few chooks, a scrawny cow and several mangy dogs. The room we are given is like a monastic cell with a bed, some grimy blankets and a 10w light bulb. The facilities at the far side of the courtyard, labelled WC are a misnomer as there’s never been any “W” and “C” normally implies a door. (no trade descriptions act in China).

Half a bottle of whisky later, sitting round the stove eating banana pancakes and yak stew we think perhaps its not too bad. At least, unlike all the other inmates from Lithuania, Korea, Japan, Guangzhou, Singapore and Canada we are not suffering from AMS caused by coming up from Kathmandu, 1300m and 25C,to Tingri, 4100m and -2C, too quickly. Finally we fall asleep fully clothed and pass the most uncomfortable nite so far.

Weather: Sunny, 4.5C
Distance today 300km
Distance from start 13,747km
Scary Road index: low except for overturned trucks
Margaritas – what are they?