| The news was shocking! | | | | mountains seemed to freeze over before our eyes. |
| The ticket agent at the Shangri-la bus terminal in | | | | At 5,008 meters we reached the highest altitude of |
| Zhongdian, Yunnan province was happy to tell me | | | | our trip. |
| over and over, in both Chinese and English, that yes, | | | | At the bleak Dongdola pass we encountered a |
| foreigners can now travel east through the Tibet | | | | settlement of nomadic shepherds (drokpas) living in |
| Autonomous Region to Lhasa … overland and | | | | black tents while herds of emaciated yak-cows |
| without a permit! I really couldn't believe what I was | | | | grazed the surrounding frozen pastures. These gentle |
| hearing, but rather than falling down in rapture, I | | | | people of an inhospitable land were dressed in simple |
| agonized over taking advantage of this new policy or | | | | hand-woven attire, but they were extravagantly |
| continuing as planned on my already-paid-for, | | | | accessorized in coral, turquoise and silver jewelry. |
| government-authorized, one-week tour across Kham | | | | These shepherds had seen few white faces in their |
| to Lhasa. Ultimately, it would have been silly for me not | | | | lifetime. One drokpa family had yet to see a digital |
| to choose the latter. | | | | camera and they were mesmerized by the sight of |
| The decade-old Land Cruiser was in surprisingly good | | | | their own images on the LCD screen. |
| condition, having driven through Tibet 99 times. We set | | | | At Pomda, a noise-polluted junction of logging trucks |
| out through northern Yunnan to the crags of Feilaisi, | | | | and tractors, we met a bunch of international |
| finding ourselves at a dizzying 4,000 meters above | | | | backpackers and hardcore cyclists sitting at the literal |
| sea level and nauseously breathless, to stay overnight | | | | crossroads that connects the northern route of the |
| at a roadside pilgrimage site of sun-bleached chortens, | | | | busy Sichuan-Tibet highway with the less-traveled |
| wind-tattered prayer flags and a stunning view of | | | | southern roads. From there, our journey took us |
| Mingyong Glacier. | | | | through and down into verdant terraced hamlets and |
| Bright (a light so bright it was hard to believe) and early | | | | patchwork plots of land fed by snow springs, over the |
| the next morning, we continued into undulating hills. | | | | Salween River to the unbelievably mint-blue twin lakes |
| Vistas of incomparable beauty revealed themselves | | | | of Rawoktso. Dodging Kham's morning traffic of goats, |
| with each bend. The forest was a tapestry of earthy | | | | lamb and yak-cows (yes, cross-bred), we pressed on |
| shades, in orange, purple, browns and greens, both light | | | | along the boulder-strewn road of the Sundzom Valley, |
| and dark. With the iridescent blue sky and cottony | | | | past the Parlung Tsangpo white water rapids and old |
| white clouds above us, we traced perilous dirt | | | | avalanches of frozen snow to Tongmei, where we |
| switchbacks whose collapsing shoulders threatened to | | | | encountered our first real obstacle. |
| toss us hundreds of meters below into the Mekong | | | | Rumors had been circulating amongst the |
| River; it looked peaceful enough from above, its banks | | | | backpackers we'd been meeting on the road about a |
| and farmland dotted with eye-catching, whitewashed | | | | downed bridge at the Brahmaputra and Parlung |
| adobe homes that seemed to beckon us into Tibet. | | | | Tsangpo convergence, which would prevent anyone |
| "Xizang!" our driver called out. In fact we had been in | | | | from continuing on to Lhasa. It turned out the bridge |
| Tibet for half a day, but how could we know without | | | | was fine but a landslide on the other side had literally |
| having crossed any sort of border or being stopped | | | | wiped the road off the sheermountain face. Anyone |
| by officials asking to see our papers? We had to | | | | wanting to continue on had to either nimbly navigate a |
| remind ourselves that entering Eastern Tibet was now | | | | narrow footpath or wait a week or longer. |
| a permit-less process and all the checkpoints on our | | | | So it was here that we said goodbye to our Land |
| maps and guidebooks were recently abandoned. We | | | | Cruiser and crossed the bridge to meet another driver. |
| celebrated our unbeknownst entry into the TAR | | | | The organizer of our trip told us via cellphone from his |
| (Tibetan Autonomous Region) by spending the day in | | | | cozy office in Kunming that the new driver would be |
| the small, dusty city of Markham. Winding down from | | | | waiting "just a short walk" from the landslide. It turned |
| its weekend market, the city was brimming with the | | | | out to be an arduous four-hour hike up a treacherous |
| splendor of the traditional Khampas population: | | | | mountain path above the Rongchu gorge, in the dark |
| golden-skinned women with their long striped dresses | | | | of night, under the pouring rain of Tibet's monsoon |
| and colorful plaits, and large-sized men with lengthy | | | | season. We braved the muddy slopes, deftly crossing |
| braided hair woven with red Chamdo tassels and a | | | | washouts and literally dodging falling rocks from above, |
| solid jade hoop. We were greeted by dozens of | | | | before finally arriving at a construction workers' tent |
| red-cheeked, runny-nosed children dancing around us. | | | | made from a giant nylon bag. The Israeli and British |
| My European traveling companions were constantly | | | | backpackers decided to stay while my companions |
| surrounded by a crowd of curious adults, who took | | | | and I trekked onward, in search of our new driver. |
| turns running their fingers along the thick blonde leg | | | | With our new vehicle and driver, we headed onwards |
| hairs, then letting out a collective fascinated murmur. | | | | toward Lhasa. Passing vivid fields of yellow youcai |
| Traveling through Eastern Tibet can be compared with | | | | flowers, we arrived at the famous Draksumtso, an |
| experiencing the four seasons in just a matter of days. | | | | azure lake and lush Alpine forest which would have |
| While we started with clear skies and venerable | | | | been breathtaking had it not been for the sea of |
| forests, the next morning took us into icy tundra. | | | | baseball cap-wearing tour groups - the isolated beauty |
| Ascending 99 bends into the Hengduan Range, the | | | | of Eastern Tibet was behind us. |