Overland to Nepal

We tried to download some of our train and Lhasa pics but it was just not meant to be. With these internet cafes in China, uploading photos to blogs just doesn't seem to work so we'll wait till Nepal to show you some pics. Lhasa is surprisingly developed--there are even some fancy shops around here (not designer labels but definitely beyond the average Tibetan's budget) and there are numerous SUVs (here they're actuall useful) and some are really blingin'! Potala Palace is really amazing and steeped with spirituality (and the strong scent of yak butter not to mention the very steep stairs!). We are off tomorrow to travel through Southern Tibet, making our way towards Kathmandu via Everest Base Camp (we get to Nepal around November 10th). We won't probably be able to update our blog till Nepal as accomodation and the villages we are staying in are apparently quite spartan. So until then!