Shigatse - the long wait25 May 2006
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Danny & Helen pose by the Shigatse Monestry
It cost 75 Yuan to take a picture of this 26 metre...
The main palace at Shigatse Monestry
After a further 90km of remarkably smooth road - it seemed like days of waiting in Shigatse before attempting the pass to the himalayas - in fact it was just two, but there was no english TV and the sulk was on!! This is also the home of the eleventh panchen lama, who was abducted as a child (along with his family - all of whom are still missing) and replaced with a politically-correct version from Beijing.
After a day at the local monestry, which boasts a 26.2m golden buddha and is indeed impressive, the guide (who had refused to speak to Helen and Danny for two days) made a suggestion. "If there may be a problem with the pass to everest we could always go to a nice lake I know near Lhasa". "erm ..... No!!!"
Thankfully Helen and Danny had bumped into other travellers who had confirmed that their jeeps would have no such problems getting across the pass - only that it did not open until 7pm so, what would become the final three hours would be done in virtual darkness -so Helen and Danny knew it was possible to get to the Himalayas even though the guide and driver didnt much fancy it...
