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