Our destination, Shigatse, is 94 kilometers away...it's going to be a long day of riding. After a hearty breakfast, we start riding faster than I wanted to keep up with the support car since we weren't sure of our direction. Within few minutes we lose sight of the car and we question if we're on the right road. After a quick check on the iPhone compass and a map, we're heading in the right direction. The road is flat and pretty boring with stretches of farmland along the side of the road. Since it's a long ride and the view is the same (kilometers of farmland sandwiched between mountains), we started to rotate taking the lead to conserve energy. Kilometer 20...40...60...still farmland and boring. The first half of the ride was fast - more than a hour ahead of schedule which surprised our guide - we ended up having lunch at 11:30 instead of originally planned 1pm. By kilometer 60, I start to fade but Mat is riding strong to pull me all the way to Shigatse. Thank you Mat!
Shigatse is NOT beautiful or charming or historic...it's dusty and ugly. Shigatse greeted me with a smelly, dusty and ugly sight as I entered the city. Our hotel was on the fringe of the city with road construction going on right in front of the hotel. I was not happy (ok, more grumpy) and asked that we go to another hotel that has Internet connection and away from all this construction. What I didn't realize is the whole city is under construction! Streets are ripped apart, sidewalks don't exist, garbage everywhere, and the air is thick with dust and exhaust fumes. I later find out that the city is preparing for the Premier's visit in early July and the city is under a tight schedule to complete everything before his arrival.
Well our second hotel looks nice but it's in the middle of the war zone - it's in the city center area and there's more construction here than previous hotel. Just picture a building behind a scaffolding (if you can call it that), the sidewalk pile of rocks and dirt, and the street being re-paved...that's our hotel. At this point, I'm just glad to have hot water, comfortable bed and access to the Internet.
After a nice hot shower and change of clothes, I'm feeling great and excited to explore Shigatse. Mat and I decided to dine at a nice restaurant than our usual back-room spots, so we're off to Tashi Restaurant after reading about in the Lonely Planet guidebook. Since it's early for dinner, we pop in at the "Snack Bar" (I believe the real name of the place is Samdruptse Snack Bar) for some beers. What...Tashi Restaurant is closed? That's odd...oh, it must be the construction in front of the restaurant. Since we didn't have a back-up plan, we head back to the hotel and see if we can get a restaurant recommendation from the front desk. "Tashi, good choice" - but we were just there and it's closed. "No, Tashi open, second floor". We head back out and follow the direction given to us...and we end up at the same spot as before. This time we looked around more, and of course there's a big sign - Tashi Restaurant. Overall the food was good but not great. Lonely Planet raved about the naan and we thought it was just ok, naan bread at the New Mandala restaurant in Lhasa was much better.
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