Water Hope's Tracy Tomkovicz - Trip to China - Day 1 of the drive

The drive I have dreaded and looked forward to the entire trip. We left Sechen at 8:30 am. Three Land Cruisers loaded to the hilt with people and gear. Our first stop was in Monegongo. Monegongo is a small Tibetan town about 2 hours away from the Monastery. We were stopping there to replace some parts for a local girl's wheelchair. Her mother is a doctor at the local clinic. She has 2 club feet. Tibet is not at all forgiving in climate, temperament or accessibility for people with disabilities.  Scott meet this girl one night when he and his wife were taking an evening walk and she came out of a local bar being pushed by a very drunk friend. The friend got the 2 front wheels of her wheelchair stuck in a ditch and pitched the rider into the mud head first. Scott and his wife ran to the rescue. It turned out her wheel chair was badly in need of replacement parts. This was why we were there. The family was great and her 17 year old brother was quite the basketball (NBA) fan. He spoke english well enough to carry on a conversation about his love for basketball.

When we finished our good deed for the day we headed out of town to one of the most beautiful lakes I have ever seen. It is called Yilong Lhasto (the L is silent). It is fed by the glaciers from the local mountain range that are at about 20,000 ft elevation. I have attached a picture for you but it doesn't do it justice. We ate lunch there then headed out to Ganze

We stopped in Ganze to drop off a generator at a local girls school (the electricity here is pretty spotty), purchase some local items and fix one of the car's tires. We soon hit the road again and drove until 8:00 pm when we arrived at LuHo. We checked into the Golden Yak Hotel and let me tell you anything feels like to Ritz compared to the guest house at the monastery. We had a quick dinner of everything that could possibly burn your tongue off. Carlos and Randy ad sweat dripping down their foreheads it was so damn hot!

After dinner we headed back to the hotel. I had my first shower in 6 yes SIX days. To say that it was like a religious experience does not begin to describe how glorious that shower was. I will sleep well tonight.

Good night all,
Tracy