Yesterday I started my trip towards Kailash and after passing two checkpoints I seriously stuck on the third and I had to return as it was impossible to pass the third one. Unfortunately this trip was to crazy and to full of action to take any pictures from it except my feet afterwards and a plan of a border I draw. As I'm traveling without permits - I can't leave the territory of Lhasa with the fake one I got.
Outside was raining heavily and I was all wet. The first one I passed in a car that stopped by herself seeing me on a road in a night. I just hided in a car so that the police could not see me. on the second there was nobody and afterwards the driver was driving another way and he let me out some 7 km before third checkpoint in some military base. After walking on a road I saw a checkpoint and decided to by pass it through the forest from the right hand side. So I walked around an hour until through some rice fields finally got till some forest road where there was a big stone courtyard from one side of it. It was obviously built for the people like me who wished to by-pass it.
It seemed weird that even if the courtyard was high it was very easy to get on it which I did and noticed the second courtyard coming right after the first one with a gap of around 3 meters in between them and after that a huge field. I thought it was a kind of a trap and I was right. Before I wanted to jump into it I took some tree and checked the ground in a gap - it was just looking as a ground but actually it was something soft which went down at least half meter deeper than it looked like. The second thing I noticed was that the top of the courtyard was unreasonably big - and rounded - so that if someone jumps into it - it might be impossible to get out from it. Thirdly in the field after the second barrier was a projector lights as in a football field which where turned off which gave me the idea of that it is definitely a trap and probably if somehow I would pass the first courtyard - I would face that soft-land trap, if I would pass the second - probably some clever Chinese system would turn on the lights and I would be trapped in that field.
So I walked around half hour by this massive stone construction until I reached the mountain which I think nobody would be able to overcome without a special gear. So I walked back and to the other side. It was already about 5 AM at it was raining all night. On the other side of the courtyard wall was a small border patrol village. When I decided to bypass and begin my move after monitored the life in a village some dog started to bark which I did not noticed before and after jumping into a bushes I noticed guard coming out o have cigarette. After he entered back the one of the houses I decided to give a second try and started moving more slowly so that dog could not hear me. As it was raining everything was noisy anyway... But - I noticed some lights coming definitely from a car and I ran back and i a last second hided behind one of their houses as there was no time for running further. It was a change of guards and a car was driving them from base till border control.
After that the Sun was already rising and I needed to do something very quickly if I wanted to bypass it today. As the life was already waking up in a border patrol village I decided to cross it through the other side as there was a river and I thought I will be able to walk through it.
So very quickly I moved back on the road and crossed it while some lorry just passed me towards border and flashed to they side with lights so they could not see me crossing the road.
I into a forest, got till river and was slowly moving towards the other side of the border right beside a river until the moment I heard a dog barking and I froze immediately and I saw three army dogs running towards my side. I stood frozen and even did not breathe as I know that dogs are unable to see a stood body further than 50 meters. One of the dogs seemed to be a leader. He stopped in about 30 meters before me and looking towards me barked one time then turned away from me and all three of them ran barking on other direction.
Only then I understand the reason of absence of the grass in that forest as everything was ran off by dogs. Also I understood why there are so many shoes, jackets and bags around... :)
I moved back on a road. But it was already to light to just walk on it unnoticed and I was on a border land so I could not just walk on a road from a middle of nowhere as a guards could see me up to around two kilometers as it was just straight toad with no trees around as they where cut off. So I moved back by the river and was actually half way inside a water with all my bag and clothes. But it was better than rather get noticed by border patrol or get caught by so well trained dogs - which means they where specially trained to control that territory and did not noticed me probably just because of a heavy rain.
So after walking around half hour into a river I finally got out on a road and hitchhiked some tractor. I was all wet I it was cold. Outside maybe some ten degrees. And after I hitchhiked dome lorry who dropped me back to Lhasa passing two checkpoints hidden. In Lhasa I went to a travel agent whose contacts gave me the guys from Lithuania I met in a train station towards here and we made a deal with him - I create a website for his business and he makes me all the permits needed as I'm travelling almost without money - at least not enough to pay for permits which is about 400 euros. It's a deal!:) so I'm staying in Lhasa for until the permits will be made which might take up to 5 days. It's a good deal and I'm staying in some local hostel for EUR 5 per day. And it's cool here. And it's free wi-fi in here!!!:) Luckily my phone was wrapped into a plastic bag...:)
It's cool in Lhasa - it's a cool place just to live and enjoy life as everything is on incredible chill...:) Needed some rest - went to downtown foreigner pub and I'm having some beers and playing guitar. Needed some coming back from yesterdays night.
A bit of a difference in everyday's traveling... :)
