DAY 16 SAT. OCT. 18 KATHMANDU - LHASA, TIBET, PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

Today was a travel day. And, what a difference ! We left the lush greenery of Kathmandu and indeed all of the southern Himalaya and flew over the mountains and into the clouds of Tibet. The land spread out in brown dryness, but the hills were huge. The Tibet side showed good straight roads, prosperity, activity and order. Everything in Lhasa exudes modernity ... except our hotel, which is rustic as hell ... and cold ! We're around 12,000 feet here and altitude has us in its clutches.  Tibet promises to be quite an adventure !