After 4 nights of me coughing, wheezing, gasping for air and not having slept a wink, we took the decision not to stay the night in Nangchen, but to just take a day trip in that direction instead. The fact that I was hooked up to a rusty oxygen tank at the time, in a friendly, but far from salubrious, local Tibetan clinic in Yushu, had something to do with it as well.
The road from Yushu to Nangchen is truly spectacular, crossing several high passes 4, metres and running next to gushing rivers, including at one point crossing the Mekong River. Vast grasslands extend on either side of the road, with grazing herds of yaks, sheep, goats and horses. The lower areas, with their meandering rivers and meadows strewn with wildflowers, look almost alpine.
In the distance there are rolling hills and snow-capped mountains. Not pleasant in a small car! After just over two hours we reached Longxi Gompa, just over half way to Nangchen.
The monastery complex lies more or less directly on the road, instead of romantically perched on a hillside, as is usual. However, that is the only disappointing thing we can say about this wonderful place.
Our arrival at the temple was met with a lot of excitement; monks, young and old, came running out to greet us. Our ever helpful driver seemed to know several of them and was happily chatting away.
