Well, I kinda cheated. To ride into Llasa, it would take more than a month if you don't get stopped by the police. It was illegal for any foreigner to ride their bikes into Tibet. I really wanted to go Trekking in Nepal in October. It was supposed to be the best time for trekking. Clear sky and the temperture not too extreme. So I decided to fly into Llasa from Chengdu, so that I can be in Nepal at the right time for trekking.
This area used to be Tibet. But the Chinese government decided otherwise. Nicely paved asphalt road, won't be seeing too much of this once you get into Tibet.
Oh here we are, the "Friendship Highway". The highway between Tibet and Nepal. This is fairly typical of this highway, some parts are worse and some are better. This is the fellow that talked me into riding with him to Nepal. We are getting fairly close to the turn off to Everest Base Camp.
My first major pass was a disaster. On the nite before, I just wanted to find a secluded place to camp since we couldn't find a hotel. I always stay in hotels when I am traveling in developing countries. But my partner was a people oriented person. He wanted to stayed at the near-by Tibetan village. So we pushed our bikes up the moutain to the village. We asked around for accomadation. Before you know it, there was more than 100 Tibetans surrounding us. None of them too friendly. Nobody wanted to help us or they didn't understand. There people were getting closer and closer, crowding my space. Finally I couldn't take it anymore. So I hop on my bike and took off. By this time it was getting very dark and in the middle of nowhere. We look around and found this area that was fenced off with rocks. That's where we decided to pitch tent. Next morning we woke up in the middle of a stream. There was about half inch of water inside the tent. The only reason I wasn't wet was because of my sleeping pad. I ate very little the nite before. And I didn't eat anything when I woke up because I just wanted to get out of the water. So without even thinking, I started to packed my things. I had a perfectly good pair of water proof gloves which I didn't used. I thought I was tough and I was in a hurry, so I didn't need it. With the combination of the altitude, the cold and lack of food and rest. I was beginning to feel I was going to passed out. So, my partner helped me with some of my packing. We walked slowly back to the highway. And we would stopped at the first sign of sunshine. And this is where I took this photo. I stopped here, took out my stove and cooked a big meal. Up ahead was a 4900M pass. I wasn't too excited about it in my condition. As we were riding along, we came across a highway maintenance truck. We asked the driver if he can take us over the pass. He dropped us off just a little after the pass. That was OK even in my condition. Because our next destination was at 4000M. So it was all downhill from the pass.
The second major pass for us. This one at 5200M. This was 2 days after the 4900M pass. I had fully recover from the last disaster. But I still wasn't in very good shape. My biggest mistake was staying too long in Llasa and doing nothing there. So, I basically push my way all the way to this pass. I just didn't have the breath or strength to ride the bike. As for my partner, he rode the whole way without breaking a sweat. He would ride ahead, then wait for me. I would huff and puff, breathing at 50M/H. He had a real look of concerned. He probably thought I was going to kick the bucket anytime. Finally, I made it to the top. A stormed was forming as we get closer to the pass. By the time we got to the top, we put on every piece of clothes we had in our possession. On the left side is your typical Tibetan walking in the middle of nowhere. Then about 10 minutes of downhill after this pass, I was wearing T-shirts and shorts again. Back in the heat wave again.
More obstacle before we can get to Nepal. A landslide block the highway. An opportunity for the local Tibetan to make some money carrying luggage for tourists. I know that they are just trying to make a living. But I want to do everything myself. So after dodging them from all their attempts at stopping me. I quickly put the bike on my shoulder and climb over these rocks. My partner was slowly pushing is bike over the rocks.
This is it. The greatest ride I've ever experience. This is the last major pass at 5200M. My first destination in Nepal is at 800M. Do the math, that's one hell of a downhill. From here on, it's down down down to Nepal.
Another pic of the landslide.
The border town between Tibet and Nepal. We are still in the Tibetan side. As you notice, everything is so green here. Most of Tibet is one giant desert. As you get closer to Nepal, things become a bit greener. Then as soon as you are in Nepal, there are waterfall and trees everywhere.