It was at mile marker 5114 that we got our first glimpse of Mt. Everest and the Himalayas. Unfortunately, our first look wasn't a clear, cloud-free one but it was a glimpse nonetheless. Our driver stopped the truck so we could get out and look and take pictures. What could have been a very peaceful, serene moment turned into chaos because our driver stopped the truck in front of a small living compound (most likely the folks who lived there worked on the highway Ð there were many of these types of small communities sprinkled throughout the countryside). While Duane went out into the fields to take pictures, the kids and I remained in the truck and were promptly mobbed by close to 15 people Ð all trying to get a look at the foreigners Ð especially the foreign children. It was especially disconcerting to my kids when the people tried to open the doors and force the windows down further. I'm certain that these people meant no harm but they were very persistent in their curiosity. Meanwhile, my husband was having an encounter of his own Ð while he was waiting for the clouds to disappear over Mt. Everest (they never did that day) two yak "men" came up to him and said that he needed to pay them money to take pictures from their land. These "men" were 11 and 13 years old but were quite proficient at managing their herd of 25 yaks. They showed my husband how they used this sling-shot like tool to throw rocks at the yaks if they got too far away or if they were moving in the wrong direction. The one boy had on a red, yarn headdress that encircled his brow. This signified his status as a single man. His hair was very long and it also encircled his brow. The other boy had short hair and did not wear the red headdress Ð perhaps signifying his youth. These boys were quite proud of the responsibility given to them by their parents and they took their jobs very seriously. After paying them a bit of money, Duane took pictures of these boys and then had them show him how to use their slingshot. They were quite amused with Duane's attempts at rock throwing. Duane later returned to the truck with these "men" in tow so that the kids and I could meet them. They became quite shy around us but seemed to warm up when we asked to take a picture of them standing with our kids. It's these times that I wish we had a Polaroid camera so I could give a copy of the photo to these kids. After an hour or so of waiting for the clouds to clear, we gave up and continued our journey. We were headed for New Tinggri (Shegar) which is where we would have to buy the permits to go to Mt. Everest.

The drive to Shegar was fairly uneventful until we stopped at a pass that was at 5,200 meters in elevation. Duane and I got out of the truck for the usual picture of the prayer flags blowing in the wind. We didn't overly exert ourselves but it became very apparent that something was wrong on the way down the other side of the mountain. We were only on the summit maybe 10 minutes but that was enough to make me incredibly light-headed Ð to the point where I needed oxygen. We had bought 8 portable oxygen canisters before leaving Lhasa and it was a good thing we did. (FYI Ð each canister only lasts about 1-2 minutes). The combination of our continued descent into the valley and my breathing the oxygen helped to clear my head fairly rapidly. It was, however, a fairly exhausting ordeal so we stopped in a small town called Lhatse to rest and eat. This was an unplanned stop but one that was quite necessary unfortunately. I was really wondering in my head how I was ever going to make it to the Everest base camp (same elevation at the pass we just went through) if I was having such difficulties now.

Eventually we got back onto the road and finally made it to the Everest Motel in Shegar. I think the 1-Star designation for this hotel was very generous. There was no heat in the rooms, only 1 light bulb (10 watts at best I think), concrete floors (some carpeting Ð terribly stained) and a dining room that served more flies than guests. It seemed also that all the dogs in this "one-horse" town decided to hang out right outside our windows during the night, which resulted in minimum sleep and maximum irritation. The staff of the hotel thought nothing of yelling down the echoing halls to their co-workers at 6 AM and was absolutely oblivious of anyone suggesting they keep quiet. Oh, did I mention there was no hot water in the bathroom either? We ended up using the hot water from the tea thermos that was brought in once a day to give ourselves sponge baths.

After eating dinner, the boys and I settled into the rooms while Duane went exploring into the town. He happened upon an impromptu jam session where two guys were playing a stringed instrument similar to the two-stringed Chinese erhu. Duane said these men had obviously been drinking heavily for some time but they were having a fantastic time singing, playing and dancing. Duane sat with them for a while and even danced with them. (I wish I had seen that!) He watched as a woman was combing out another man's long hair. Duane also helped some other villagers in their home construction Ð hauling some bricks up to the roof where some other villagers were making a roof. All was going well until Duane got his camera out to take some pictures Ð immediately the people all asked for money and they started posing for the pictures. Of course this wasn't the type of picture Duane wanted to take but he paid them a little anyway and took some pictures to make the villagers happy. He says now that he wishes he never brought the camera that evening Ð he was really enjoying just being with the people.

The following morning, we bundled up and loaded up into the truck for our 4-hour trip to Mt. Everest base camp. We had already decided that we were not going to camp there because of my experience with the altitude the previous day. We were all hoping for a much better day. It took about 2 hours to get up to the first pass of our trip that day. It was at this pass that we got a spectacular look at Mt. Everest and the Himalayas. The driver stopped the truck and Duane and I got out to look. The driver put a cushion on the ground for me to sit on so I wouldn't have to over-exert myself while there. All I had to do was sit and look! I thought I was fine but suddenly I became extremely light-headed and again needed oxygen. It wasn't forthcoming immediately (it was in the truck) which was a bit of a problem but thanks to the fast action of Duane and the driver, I was put in the truck with my oxygen canister and we were headed back down the mountain. The driver had trouble getting around a bunch of other trucks that were parked right behind us Ð I guess no one expected that anyone would be going back to Shegar that day. Again, the oxygen and the rapid descent did wonders to bring me around but that obviously made the decision for me Ð I would not be able to make it to Mt. Everest base camp. I was extremely disappointed Ð but obviously I couldn't control my body's reaction to the altitude.

We made it back to the Everest motel where I promptly got into bed for some R&R. I told the boys to go back and see the base camp Ð just because I couldn't make it didn't mean they couldn't go. While I spent the day sleeping and reading (I read the book "Snow Falling on Cedars"Ó Ð great book!), the boys had a great day. They spent a couple of hours at base camp skipping rocks in the streams, making rock dams, relaxing in the sun, talking to other hikers/bikers who were there (one man they met had biked all the way from Beijing!) and having a drink in the "tea tent". The weather was great for them (although the darn clouds still obscured part of Everest) while they were there. They also briefly visited the monastery close by Ð Rongphu Ð but they didn't stay long. At this point, the kids had had enough of monasteries! They returned to the hotel that night around 8 PM full of excitement and stories. I'm so glad they made it.

The following day, we began our journey back to Lhasa. On the way, we finally had an unobstructed view of Mt. Everest Ð WOW! We stopped at the same place we met the "yak" men and took many pictures. We had an uneventful drive to Shigatse and stayed in the same hotel we had stayed at on our way to Shegar. Before dinner, we all went on a walk around the town to check out the sights. We headed to the Tibetan open-air marketplace to see what kind of bargains and neat stuff we could find. It was very similar to Barkhor Square in Lhasa Ð just on a smaller scale. We bought a few knickknacks and then made our way back to the hotel. On our way back, we passed many craftspeople - some making teapots, some making stoves. Many were playing some sort of dice game where the dice are put into a container about the size of a palm of a hand, which is subsequently slammed onto the ground revealing dice combinations. There was furious betting going on all the while the dice were being slammed onto the ground. It was quite entertaining to watch!

Dinner that night was at a western-type restaurant called Tashi. It was actually the second time we ate there and we had good luck the first time. (The sandwiches were great and a nice change from Chinese food Ð especially egg and tomato soup which was served at every meal!) We ordered pizza this time and didn't discover the error of our ways until biting into the first slice. We had forgotten about yak cheese!!! Ugh Ð our pizzas tasted like yak! Talk about disappointing. (Apologies to those of you who enjoy yak cheese, tea and anything else edible made from the yak Ð we just couldn't develop a taste for it.)

By now, we were tired of being on the road so much and were anxious to get back to Lhasa. We did however have one last monastery to see Ð Tashilhunpo. It's a very important monastery for Tibet both spiritually and politically and we were scheduled to tour it the next day before heading back to Lhasa. The monastery was full of many pilgrims from Eastern Tibet Ð many of whom had long pieces of yarn that they rubbed on the religious relics to bring home to family members who could not make the pilgrimage. These pilgrims also would put yak butter in all the candles in the different chapels as they made their way around the circuit in the monastery. There was an interesting dichotomy amongst the monks who lived at Tashilhunpo Ð some were old and had obviously been there for many years; some were very young, carried cell phones and seemed quite cosmopolitan. Quite a contrast between the two.

Once finished with our tour, we headed back to Lhasa. Fortunately, we didn't go back the same way we came. We were on a paved road most of the way this time! Instead of taking 10+ hours, it only took us 5! We were lucky in that on the way, we happened upon a local harvest festival. We stopped and got out of the truck and wandered around watching the festivities. There was a huge tug-of-war going on that had attracted a large crowd. Many people were dressed in traditional Tibetan clothes and the women were decorated with much turquoise and coral finery. One woman asked Duane to take her picture. After he did, she wanted a copy of the picture Ð I think she must have thought his camera was a Polaroid camera. We had brought a large bag of candy with us and were mobbed by all the children when we brought it out. Initially in our trip we gave money to the kids but our guide told us that these kids just turn around and give this money to their families. If we give them candy, it is a treat they can have all to themselves. It was obviously a popular and well-received decision at the festival!

The rest of the trip to Lhasa was uneventful (although there was that stop at the "hole in the dirt". Tibetan toilet with two holes 12 inches apart that myself and another lady used at the same time. We ate dinner that night at a very nice expat-style restaurant called Dunya (it means "world" in 10 different languages). We were feeling great now that we were at a "lowly" 3600m elevation! We spent the next day doing some last-minute souvenir shopping in Barkhor Square and then packed for our return trip home.

We left early for the airport because we were on the first flight out Ð or that was the plan anyway. As it turned out, we ended up leaving at around 1:30 PM, which resulted in us missing our connecting flight home to Tianjin. Interestingly, a pattern was beginning to emerge regarding flights to and from Lhasa Ð they were almost always either late or cancelled. (More were cancelled than were late). We couldn't quite figure out why this was Ð regardless, we were in Chengdu for two days (again) before we were able to fly home.

All in all, it was an amazing adventure. The scenery is rugged, spectacular and awe-inspiring; the people are incredibly friendly and genuine; and the culture is fascinating with all its traditions and practices. We are very glad we went and have taken with us many fond memories of our time there.