I have been already twice in Tibet, but Sakya always was out of my route. So I was excited when we departed from the level 2500 m at 8 am. It was heavy climb to the pass 5200 m in the cloudy weather. But the real nightmare of travel in Tibet are police controls where, where you wait. Your passport and permit are checked, photographed and nobody says “thank you”. We had 3 such controls today plus some minor ones. The real tragedy was today when in a small town on the way the police totally blocked entry and city exit creating kilometers- long traffic jam. Reason: meeting on the stadium… Ufff….
We reached Sakya just before the dusk. The city is famous for its walled monastery reminding me a castle with solid towers. Opposite – on the other side of the river there is an old town with other temples, Buddhist College and cobbled streets. I like it. But the monastery will be open only tomorrow! Today I’ll sleep on the level 4400 m!
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