frauke at large

As a result of not being able to go home over Christmas, a couple of friends of mine and I decided to set off on a rather different Christmas excursion to the top of the world: i.e. to the Himalayas; more precisely: Mount Everest Base Camp (5200 m).

We started off at Shanghai (Pudong) to fly to Lhasa (Tibet) via Chengdu a 5 and a bit hour journey which would take us from 0 m above sea level to over 3600 m above sea level. We had been warned about the stark altitude difference and I was prepared to have a few very chilled days to get used to it, but nothing could have prepared me for how I would feel. As soon as we stepped off the plane, life took on a slow motion feeling, we were our of breath within seconds and I felt very dizzy. Actually, apart from the nights, which were awful, it was kind of a fun feeling, perfect for a relaxed holiday … we were all a bit giddy, I giggled a lot … but unfortunately relaxed was not on the itinerary.

Our first three days we spent exploring the ins and outs of Lhasa. Though we were advised we should take it easy, we had to make the most of being in this magnificent place and so we tried our best to have a good look around. Tibet is one of the most photogenic regions of the world I have ever been to, which is proven by the fact that I took over 1000 pictures in the 10 days that we were there for, yet I will only upload a few of the pictures to give you a flavour of the place …

On day two, after arriving the afternoon before, we started off walking, very slowly, around the old part of town, marveling at the diversity of faces, buildings and the colours of the decorations on the houses. In colours, Tibet is best described as: blue, brown, gold and orange. In contrast with the stark and relatively bland mountains that surround the city, Lhasa is a vibrant city with colours pouring out of every building, person and temple.  

The people here are so amazingly friendly, that whenever I was taking pictures, they would stare right into my lens and smile. It was so fabulously welcoming.

   

 

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