We had a long day of driving on this day, but the viewpoints were worth the drive. We saw amazing valleys, stand-alone 7,000 metre peaks and glaciers. The highlight though was a huge alpine lake (638 square kilometres!) and the viewpoint at a high pass above it. Here we got a special treat, getting up close and personal with the lion-like dog that is the Tibetan Mastiff! This is a very rare Tibetan breed of dog and at the moment will set you back £60,000 if you want one!
Me at the viewpoint overlooking the valley, check out all those prayer flags over my left shoulder!
Rest stop! Nice to be out of the van and check out the mountain! Over 7,000 meters high this one.
The glacier at the back of the mountain in the previous photo
My new best friend! Me and an amazing Tibetan mastiff
Enjoying the view of the the alpine lake
We arrived in Lhasa around 3:00pm and checked in to the hotel. After lunch (handmade noodle soup - yum!) Norbu took us for a walk through the streets to visit the Jokhang temple. In this temple is one of the the oldest and most valuable Bhuda statues in the world. Made of solid gold, it was brought to Tibet by a Nepalese princess as a dowry when she married King Songsten Gampo. The view from the roof gave us our first proper look of the famous Potala, the Dalai Lama's winter Palace. Dinner gave me a chance to try the famous local beer, "Lhasa". This beer has altitude in mind, it's only 3.8% and is very tasty (and affordable; about £1 a bottle!). Day 6 would be our last day of sightseeing, but we'd be getting to know all about the Dalai Lamas!
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