We reach Gyantze and The Yu Tuo hotel

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Journeying onwards to Gyantze

All were up, packed and ready for breakfast at 8:30 a.m. It was the same meal as yesterday. Jeremy reckoned he particularly enjoyed the two little cakes. At 10 a.m. we climbed into the car and Ian almost instantly got a bad headache. I had stopped taking Diamox but Ian and Jeremy were continuing theirs. Out came the Nurofen.  It took a while to work but eventually he felt better. It may have all been altitude related but who knows?

 

From Shigatze to Gyantze

The scenery is very different in this part of Tibet. We see flatter ground with mountains in the distance. In some places, closer to Gyantze, there are trees lining both sides of the highway. There is lots of agriculture and masses of greenhouses. We think it is a wheat crop that is being harvested and there are lots of tractors and trailers shifting hay stubble along the roads. We have seen three pigs on the road plus sheep, cows, yaks, horses and donkeys either on or crossing the highway. Some areas looked to be quite wet yet others looked bone dry and dusty. We saw hills with crumbled ruins on top.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gyantze’s Yu Tuo Hotel

The Yu Tuo Hotel came as quite a surprise because it was magnificent in comparison to other hotels we had stayed at in Tibet. As soon as you walk into the place you are on a huge tiled floor with an atrium above you. Our room was really a twin room with a camper bed squeezed in there too. We have a large TV and up on the wall is an air-conditioner – possibly reverse cycle? Most of the lights seem to work – hooray! The bedroom floor is polished wood and is very clean in comparison to the un-vacuumed carpet at the last hotel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bathroom is tiny but “luxurious” because it has a heat lamp. It is one of those showers where the water pours all over the floor. You could have a perfectly adequate shower whilst sitting on the toilet. It is all so comfortable especially compared to Old Tingri and Nyalam.

According to Tiki we had just over an hour’s break at the hotel before we needed to head off for lunch. In that time we disappeared upstairs to see what else was in the building. We found some rather palatial suites upstairs and one room that was decked out as a temple.

 

 

Lunch at Tashi in Gyantse

Tiki and Punti took us in town for lunch. It was too far to walk from the hotel. They had obviously witnessed our joy when we ate at the Tashi Restaurant in Shigatse so we were taken to another Tashi Restaurant in Gyantse. It must have the same owner as the décor was similar, as was the menu. We had no complaints at where we were being taken. Ian ordered a yak steak and Jeremy and I had toasted sandwiches.

 

Next page - The Palkor Monastery

 

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