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Nearing the end

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June 22 – Lhtase to Shigatse
On the day before we had driven from EBC to Lhatse (about 6-7 hours) so today we had a relatively short drive to Shigatse meaning we didn’t have to go anywhere until 10am and we spent most of it asleep, exhausted from the long day before. We enjoyed a simple breakfast with the local kitten before heading off. Around 1:30pm we rolled into the now familiar city of Shigatse and went directly to our favorite restaurant The Third Eye. 

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After a lovely meal, punctuated by Tyler’s first visit for #2 in a squat toilet, we were off to our hotel which we discovered full of red robed monks. Apparently there were around 50 of them in town for a conference, which somehow struck us a funny. After checking in, we crossed the street (think real-life ‘frogger’) to visit a local market. Somehow we ended up shoe shopping in the fake-Nike section (we liked the brand Abibas made to look like Adidas) and caused quite a stir. Within minutes, we were surrounded by a dozen watchers-on who literally gasped when Tyler took off his hat exposing his blond locks. When he spoke to them in Mandarin it blew their minds. They laughed out loud when they discovered that Tom was his father, not grandfather. 


With our $9.00 shoes in hand (Tyler negotiated from 75 to 60 cny) we set off to do the kora we had so enjoyed the last time we were in town. Once again it was delightful, this time interrupted by a flock of sheep crisscrossing the path. We ended the hike at the fort overlooking the city and then walked through the old town (vigilantly looking for aggressive dogs) and down to the ‘tourist’ market, which was mostly closing up as the sun was about to set. Evie wanted to get some prayer beads and found the perfect ones. Tyler negotiated two sets for about the same price as originally quoted for one set (75 yuan) and everyone was happy with the deal. 


As the sun set, we returned to our nearby hotel, dropped off our bag and set off to the Tibetian Family Restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet. There we had a lovely, hilarious and cheap meal of momos, yogurt, yak sizzler, potatoes, and crepes (which were more like tortillas). Tyler entertained the locals (the place had no tourists) by shouting Teche-delay out the second story window at passers-by. We also had an awesome discussion about what we had learned about Tibet and the kids impressed the adults with their insights and observations. Stuffed, we paid the $10 for dinner and strolled home in the dark of 9pm. 

It is amazing how comforting it was to be back in a city we had been in before. When we had arrived in Shigatse 4 days earlier it felt foreign but now it felt like a bizarre second home. The sadness of the final night of our trip was upon us and we all went to bed feeling nostalgic for Tibet.