The trip today was 180 miles in a relatively small Tibetan bus. We traveled on our bus through many mountain passes on our way to Xigaze. There were some breathtaking views of the mountains and the passes between them. We stopped off at the top of one of these passes to have our pictures taken with a Tibetan Mastiff (more like a Lion!) and A Yak for Kathryn. I bought a Tibetan turquoise ring.

We stopped off at a beautiful Tibetan lake for lunch. We saw 6 yaks being herded by one lone Tibetan. On other stops, along the way to Xigaze, we were quickly surrounded by the Tibetan people dressed I their bright clothes. Even though they were trying to sell us stuff they seemed genuinely interested in us as Westerners and human beings.

Xigaze is the second city in Tibet and is being built up by the Chinese. It would not surprise me if Xigaze becomes the biggest city in Tibet quite soon as there was almost a Las Vegas-style development going on (big hotels and wide streets). This was to be our last night in relative “comfort” for a while.! We ate dinner at the hotel.