[The following post is from the archives of my In Search Of Incredible blog, originally published on 30 December 2015]

29 July 2015, Wednesday

After a good night’s sleep on a 1,000-thread count bed sheet (or so it felt), we woke up rejuvenated and raring to go. We had breakfast in the hotel restaurant and checked out at 9:10am. Tenzin had to settle our permits in the morning (not sure which permit specifically), so he asked our driver Zai Xi Shu to send us to Tashilhunpo Monastery. During the 15-minute drive, we managed to get a quick glimpse of Shigatse town. We had arrived late last night so we didn’t get to walk around the town.

We reached Tashilhunpo Monastery at 9:25am. Zai Xi Shu passed us our entrance tickets and we were left on our own. The night before, Tenzin had already given us his “brief information” briefing about Tashilhunpo Monastery, telling us what to look out for and where to go, so we had some idea of what to expect.

Tashilhunpo Monastery was built in 1447 and it is the seat of all the Panchen Lamas from the Fourth Panchen Lama onwards. The Panchen Lama is the highest ranked lama after the Dalai Lama, and part of his responsibility is to find the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama and vice versa, meaning, they are involved in the search for each other’s reincarnation. The two lamas also assume the interchangeable role as Disciple and Teacher to each other. “Panchen” means “Great Scholar”, so he is one who is very wise and revered for his knowledge.

Tashilhunpo Monastery consists of many buildings housing the stupa-tombs of the previous Panchen Lamas. Like the other monasteries, it also contains many ancient statues, murals and precious relics that are thousands of years old. However, by this time, monastery-fatigue had set in, so we weren’t as awed by the sights as we should be. Furthermore, without Tenzin to show us around and provide explanations, we felt aimless and lost, so we spent only one hour here.

When we emerged, Zai Xi Shu was surprised that we were done so quickly. Thankfully, Tenzin had finished settling the permit matters, so we were able to set off almost immediately. At 10:37am, we departed Tashilhunpo Monastery and Shigatse and headed towards Saga (elevation 4,600m). It would be another long day on the road as we would be travelling 450km across the Tibetan plains to reach our destination.

At 2:00pm, we had our lunch break at Lhatse Snowland Restaurant. Before the food came, we entertained ourselves by playing a mobile phone version of Taboo word guessing game. At 3:18pm, we continued our journey and it was pretty uneventful, save for an emergency toilet break in the middle of the highway.

After lunch, KL’s stomach began to disagree with her and she needed to use the toilet badly. As we were on a long stretch of highway with no dwellings in sight, Zai Xi Shu managed to spot an overpass with a drain tunnel underneath, so he stopped by the side of the road, and KL did her business there. The rest of us also took the opportunity to visit Nature’s Toilet and provided some moisture relief to the parched grass and shrubs.

As we kept driving, the sky gradually darkened and Saga still seemed to be a long way away. We got so bored we turned up the portable speaker that KL brought along for the trip, and had a mini karaoke session inside the van. By the time we arrived at Saga, it was 9:30pm and it was pitch dark. The first guesthouse that we drove to was fully occupied so we spent another five minutes looking for an alternative. Thankfully there was one available, or we would have to spend the night sleeping in the van, which was not a comforting thought at all.

It was a very basic guesthouse and the rooms were on the second floor, so we had to carry our luggage up the flight of stairs. It reminded me a little of the guesthouses in Nepal. As there were only four beds in each room, we split up so the four girls took one room while RL and I took the other.

As usual, I was very hungry after the long journey, so ZJ and I went to the restaurant downstairs (can I call that a restaurant?) and I ordered a bowl of egg fried rice. It wasn’t as good as the “Crystal Jade standard” one from the previous night, but it did the job. The others were tired and did not have much appetite so they didn’t join us for dinner.

That night, I didn’t even shower because (a) it was cold, (b) it was late and (c) the toilet facilities were not great. In fact, we didn’t perspire at all because all we did was sit in the van the whole day, so it wasn’t really necessary to shower. After that, we all turned in early. RL had a slight fever so ST was trying to nurse him back to health. The high altitude and long hours of travelling were beginning to take a toll on us.