After a night of drip, I was feeling alot better & decided to risk the recurrence of my diarrhea on a whole day road trip. I will have to endure roadside ‘Singing Sessions’ till we return back to the hotel. To be on the safe side, I popped the chinese doctor’s pills together with my own charcoal pills and reminded myself to stick to plain porridge diligently.
The highlight of the day was Lake Namco (Also known as Lake Namtso). It is located 260km south of Lhasa City. To reach the lake, we will be driving through the Qiangtang Plain which overlooks the majestic Nyaiqen Tanglha mountain range. Many wild open grass patchs on the Qiangtang Plain are homes to the local nomadic herders.
Namco means ‘Heaven’ in Tibetan, lies at a height of 4,718 meters above sea level and has a surface area of 1,870 square kilometres. It reigns as the highest salt lake in the world and also the largest salt lake in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Defrosted snow from the mountain range supply the turquoise blue body of the lake. The weather at Namco can change abruptly and snowstorms are very common across the Nyaiqen Tanglha mountain range.
Travelling over 8hrs to visit a lake created quite an expectation for the whole group. As the altitude increase gradually, I begin to feel more and more uncomfortable. This lake better be worth it…
But I was disappointed…
What greeted us was a line of bazaar with no lake in sight! We were then told that we have to walk a distance to reach the edge of the lake to witness its true beauty.
Well, having made it all the way there, I am definitely not staying in the bus. The supposingly ‘short walk’ to the lake was quite an ordeal. Due to the altitude and my weaken state, I was practically grasping for air with every step. I felt that I might just pass out and kick the bucket any moment.
Horses and Yaks were made available by the locals for tourists who prefer a comfortable ride to the edge of the lake. The price is pretty affordable at around S$1- 2 (dependent on your negotiation skills) for quite a distance and back.
I was in a pretty bad shape after wandering around for around 20 mins and decided to give the yak ride a miss. Had a short nap on the bus while waiting for the rest to come back.
From the feedbacks, I guess I did not miss much. The lake was sadly overrated but the wonderful sceneries on the road to and fro did make up for it.
On the way back to Lhasa, we visited the world-famous Yagpachen Geothermal Zone and was introduced to a natural hot spring bath resort. Nothing fantastic about the resort that was worth mentioning, it looks just like a normal swimming pool with hot water to me.
You may also like to check out my posts on other exciting travel destinations here
