27/09/2004
We thought that it would be jumper weather here, but its far from it. The best weather on the tour so far, mid 20s - a great start to our tans!

We've been staying in Lhasa for the last 4 days, and it's nice to be in one place for a while. The whole group of 12 has been ill including Clare, our tour leader.  We are all on the mend now.

We've been to the Dalai Llama's Summer Palace, had a Tibetan language course, visited the Jokhang - the holiest temple in Tibet, and this morning we went to the Potala Palace, the Dalai Llama's seat of government.  All very impressive.  This afternoon we visited a school for the blind 'Braille without Borders', it was a very humbling experience.

Lhasa is surrounded by mountains, and we head into them in a couple of days.  We are really looking forward to this.

Weather
HOT!!  Mid 20's and very welcome. Nice to get out of the jumpers and fleeces for a while.

People
A lot of Chinese people here in Tibet, and in the markets they drive a much harder bargain that in Beijing.  It's costing us twice as much as the rest of China to eat here.

Food
Momos and Bobys.  Or steamed yak dumplings and tortillas in English!  Very yummy.  Plus the potato salad at our guesthouse the Pentoc is great.

Toilets
Very clean at our guesthouse and Western style. The Potala Palace has wooden slats with a 100m drop to the pit below. But it was a room with a view across Lhasa.

Health Update
Andrew got quite severe diarrhoea and was in bed for a day, he then caught the cold doing the rounds of 'the group'.  But we are both on the mend now.