mt qomolangma

hot,sweaty,bumpy,vomitous,thin air,dehydrated,dusty,crazy driver,beautiful,poverty,blue lakes, blue skies, green lakes, cloudy skies, brown mountains, snow, 5,200 meters above sea level.... this is all it took and most everything i experienced to make it to the base camp of mt qomolangma or mt evererst.... it was by far the longest, most exhausting car ride,horse ride, and walk to the first base camp, but worth every last bit of energy and pain....
maybe i'm being a little dramatic, but it was absolutely amazing... i haven't been that high in my life... as in we were 5,200 meters above sea level, i think its about 17,000-18,000 ft!!! the summet is at 8,814.13 meters above sea level... the day was clear and luckily we were able to see the peak... as my brother in law pointed out, we were literally "on top of the world"..... as uncomfortable as the ride there was, it was worth it to see the tallest mountain in the world... talk about feeling small..... i'll write more later, i'm still pretty exhausted from all the traveling... these are roads like no other... you have to have a 4 by 4 to get through most of it.... the air is still thin, i must go rest... and shower, i really need a shower..... i will try to post pics soon.... miss everyone, will be back in u.s. soon......................
love me

roof of the world

back in lhasa... last night we stayed at a monastery called Samye monastery.... it was begun i believe in the 13th century by a king named Gurumchi... now, i'm not sure about the date or the spelling... this thin mountain air sucks up all my brain cells.... it was absolutely the most beautiful, remote place i've ever visited..... i have so much to write about it, but not enough time or energy.....
we were lucky enough to be there during the Cham festival, which a celebration of the monkey king.... it is only once a year and luckily we were able to see alot both yesterday and today. the people were amazing. tibetans are by far the friendliest people i have ever encountered. it is kind of hard, because we were in such a remote place, i felt like a bit of an intruder, but people were so kind and hospitable.... i'm not going to go on and on about how "lovely" the people are, because i don't want to sound like a doof, but seriously, they were amazing. eric and i couldn't sleep and so we went for a walk around the square.... people were out singing and dancing and it was so cool to watch. they were singing and dancing traditional tibetan songs, which i later learned are all buddhist scripture and stories.... being the nosy tourists we are, eric and i of course wanted to take pictures.... luckily my camera is good without using a flash, cuz i wanted to take a picture, but not be intrusive. well, seeing as we are the only two western people out there, we stand out as is..... the second i took out my camera we were swarmed by curious observers amazed at the technology. they wanted me take their pictures and then thought it was so cool when i could show them the picture immediately.... some of the boys especially liked when i'd zoom on their faces.... i realized then that they probably don't look into a mirror that often, so maybe they weren't just amazed at the technology, but they really liked looking at themselves......
tomorrow we have an easy day... visiting some grasslands and then to some hot springs... i can't wait for the hot springs.... the first three days i was sick as a dog and even though i'm feeling better, it'll be nice to relax for a day....i wish i could write in more detail about everything i've seen, but its in my journal that is at the hotel and like i said, in this mountain air i can't remember shit right now......
tibet is by far the most amazing place i've traveled so far...... i've never been in such a remote place as we were yesterday and it is absolutely mind blowing to be in that situation.... does that sound horrible cheesy and cliche? oh well, i'm not sure i can really put into words what this place was like... maybe when i get my pictures up it'll better illustrate what i'm can't say....... its time for bed now, hope everyone is doing well............
peace
nicole my photo site for future photos www.flickr.com/photos/morningmilk8/
oh and everything is in chinese so i can't spell check... excuse any errors

Lhasa,Tibet

i can't believe its been so long since i've posted on here, but things were really crazy after bali until the end of school. my sister and her husband came and we had a really great time, then i was getting everything ready to leave.... yes its time to go. i think i'll wait till i get home to do my cheesy reflection piece....
anyway, my friend eric is here and we are now in lhasa, tibet. it is absolutely beautiful here! i'm really, really struggling with the altitude, but i think one more night and i should be good to go. we are traveling with a group of 11, most of which were teachers with me this year in shenzhen. we arrived yesterday and a guide picked us up from the airport. it was about an hour from the airport to our hotel and for the most part i felt ok..... i was incredibly exhausted though and fell asleep for most of the ride home. when we finally arrived at the hotel, i woke up lightheaded with a splitting headache. i thought i'd be ok, we were going to spend the rest of the afternoon resting. however i picked up my pack and was walking off the bus and started to blackout and thought i was going to pass out... for those of you who don't know, passing out is my bodies way of dealing with trauma/stress and i just figured i stood up too quickly, i'll sit down and readjust for a minute. however after sitting for about 5-10 minutes i still had no peripheral vision and was still light headed. during this time, the guide is getting us checked into the hotel and the guard is taking our luggage up to our rooms for us. well, everyone is trying to get me to stand up so i can go to the room and lie down, but i still can't get up. i knew if i did i'd pass out immediately.... at this point guide asks if i want to go the hospital and i say no, cuz i know it'll pass i just need a few more minutes to regroup. someone, i'm not sure who, says why don't we use the luggage cart to get her upstairs. ..... well, of course everyone agrees this is the best way and while i feel a little silly, i know its the only my ass is getting up the stairs. so, the guard comes back and everyone helps me onto the cart and off i go on the flippin' luggage cart up to my room. of course this is a great photo-op, so most were sure to get a pic of me on the cart on my way up....... in the end, i felt much better by dinner and was fine for the rest of the evening. i woke up today incredibly nauseous and light headed, but by lunch i was feeling much better... and now its just after lunch and still i feel good. i will cherish this moment............
today we went to the potola palace. the palace that the dalai lama's used for centuries as their home, worship, and burial place. after the chinese invaded and the 14th dalai lama was forced into exile, the palace was overtaken by the new communist government. now, it is of course a major tourist attraction.. i guess as major as tibet gets, its still a pretty secluded country. the palace was amazing! almost every lama from the 5th until till the 13th is buried inside a stupa within the palace walls. the palace is still a sacred holy place, despite the creepy presence of red guards everywhere. each day thousands of pilgrims walk around the palace in the clockwise direction and prostrate towards the front of their palace..... a pilgrimage to the patola palace is one of the most important in a tibetan buddhists' life. it is truly amazing how much faith these people have despite all they have endured from the chinese occupation. i would rate it as number one in all the sites i've seen thus far on my journey. great wall/angkor wat come in at number two and i'll have to think about the rest........................ anyway, i'm getting a little tired. my body is using all energy to digest right now.
i will write more later when i have the chance.........
peace
nicole