Lhasa, Tibet (via email)
Elevation: 3650m/12,100ft
Sunny and 65F
5:12 pm Tibetan time

Coming to you from Bahkor Cafe in downtown Lhasa, this is Eric Brown reporting for PMA-Everest 99.

We made it to Lhasa on 4-6-99 with no problems. The plane turned out to be a rather nice 737 type (one passenger did comment on it's world-worst safety record) and the flight over the Himalayas was smooth, except when Everest appeared off the port side and everyone rushed to the windows. Luckily, we only rolled twice.

Everyone seems to be acclimating well, although we are all suffering from morning headaches. Even though we are doing a lot of sight-seeing, it is all for acclimatizing: walking around and letting our bodies adjust to the thinner air. I had a slight case of nausea yesterday morning. I blame the fish I ate too much of the previous evening, but Omar thinks it was the biscuits I bought at a local bakery. The first day, after arriving, we spent resting and settling into our hotel, The Himalaya. It has all the basic necessities (hot water, too) but is very stark and dreary. They are building a new 2-star one adjacent to this one.

Yesterday, we visited the Potala, center of Tibetan religion and politics. This is where the Dalai Lama resided before fleeing to India in 1959, where he remains in exile. It is a huge building and overlooks Lhasa from its high perch. The interior is filled with pilgrims and monks, plus some tourists. Today we visited Drepong, a monastary 8km from Lhasa. Once inhabited by over 10,000 monks, now it is only around 200. Again here, as at Potala, lots of pilgrims journey here to pray. They bring yak butter, which they add to the many candles throughout the temples.

Lhasa is just as crazy as Kathmandu, although with a twist. Lots of commercial activity in the streets, cars honking, etc. The streets are much wider, much like boulevards, and filled with Land cruisers, taxis, tu-tu's (tractor driver front wheel drive tricycles.. Ian calls them poor-man's Harley Davidsons). The nights are cold (it snowed in the nearby "hills" the first night) and the days warm into the 60's and 70's.

Last night we ate at a traditional Tibetan restaurant. With all of us seated around one large table, we were served a leche quemada type thing, except it was made out of rancid yak butter, tongue, fried potatoes, rice, yoghurt, yak meat, various sauteed vegetables, soda, local beer, and wine. Everything is served on a large lazy susan, which sits in the middle of the table. It is hard to relate the incredible international atmosphere here, and in our group... I fear when I return to the States my accent will wander from a British accent to Polish, I'm already picking up new terminology. Besides a language barrier with some of the Polish contingent, group interaction is good and everyone seems to be getting along well.

Tonight, we try out another Tibetan restaurant. We leave tomorrow at 9:00am to start our 5-6 day journey to Base Camp. From here on our contact with y'all will be via phone. We hope to be in Base Camp by the 13th or 14th.

Is you have specific questions about our journey, please relay them to James, and we will try our best to respond.

[Photo courtesy of Soraya Toosi.]