We rose early and were out by 7 AM and on the road in an ancient Toyota Land Cruiser that we discovered did not have a working defrost or heater. It was cold and raining, but the driver would solve the problem of fogged-up front window by opening his side window and blasting us in the back with cold air. We had to put on our heavy lined waterproof winter coats in the car. It was a 4-hour drive with many checkpoint stops primarily to check speed between points, mostly uphill, with one pass over 5,000 meters (16,000 feet) and the driver stopped and added river water to his radiator at one point, which did not increase our confidence level.
We arrived at Nam-tso Lake at about 11:30. The second highest saltwater lake in China, the elevation is 4730 meters so the air was very thin. Although there were bus-loads of Chinese tourists, we were the only Westerners we saw. The lake is dark blue and surrounded with snow-capped mountains and the herds and black yak-wool tents of the local nomads, so it is quite a sight. The mountain range is the one the two Germans crossed in the movie, "Seven Years in Tibet", with peaks well over 20,000 feet. We looked at the sacred twin rock structures on the shore, had our pictures taken with a rare white yak that had been brought there for tourists to ride, and had lunch at the best tent lodge in the ramshackle tourist area for about $15.
WE had noticed some nomads gathering near the lake a few miles before the tourist stop, and the guide learned that they were having a gathering to celebrate the new harvest moon. When we reached the spot, they had formed a square surrounded by their decorated vehicles and rigged up a PA system using batteries and were having a folk dancing contest with about five teams. They were all dressed in their traditional costumes and did mostly their own singing, although occasionally a team relied on the rudimentary PA system for their music. We were the only tourists there, as apparently the Chinese tourists had not learned about it. Leslie was particularly interested in all the costume details, woven belts, embroidered skirts, etc. We took a number of pictures, but many of the ladies in particular did not want pictures taken of their faces, although they were happy to have their costumes photographed. This occasion, though, made the long trip worthwhile, and we credited our new guide, whose name Sonam means "luck"' for our good fortune.
We left and had a long trip back, arriving at about 6:30 PM pretty tired and David with an obvious cold. Dined on the roof and then crashed without writing blog.
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