Day 6 - Lhasa, Tibet

After greatly looking forward to arriving in Tibet, all forces seemed to be working against it being a pleasant experience. The list includes: I was travel weary; I had a pounding headache; I couldn't find my guide and when I did his English was not so good; The ride into town (it was dark) was not very inspiring. While I was hoping for a lot of local flavor, everything looked very Chinese; We turned down a very dark alley to get to the hotel and the hotel had a big metal gate (never a good sign when your hotel has a big metal gate); While the hotel staff was very friendly, the place was a little shabby AND the rooftop bar (I could have really used a night cap) was abandoned - not just closed, abandoned! Luckily, as is usually the case when the mood starts to spiral down, I was able to hit the reset button. After a good night's sleep, I climbed the stairs (huffing and puffing - alititude!) to the abandoned bar for the view. What awaited me was magical! The Potala Palace was straight ahead of me, Tibetan prayer flags tied to everything were softly fluttering in the wind, the city was surrounded by mountains and a gorgeous blue sky topped it all. I thought, "OK. This is gonne be cool!"