Day 13: October 10, 2006
Lhasa-Kathmandu-Bangkok, over the Himalayas


The most spectacular flight on the planet began with a(nother) beautiful sunrise...














Sunrise (8 a.m.) on the way to the aiport, about an hour from the capital. Strangely, Lhasa (as all of Tibet) is in the same time zone as Beijing, about 5,000 kilometers away.
















Another plane getting ready to taxi for take-off...
















View of the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra River), one of Asia's great rivers, as it meanders through Tibet to the Bay of Bengal.

















Airport runway next to the river....
















The very dry Tibetan mountains, with a small village settlement visible in the valley on the bottom right.
















Our first view of snow-capped peaks. How lucky I was to get a window seat!!
















Qomolangma, the highest mountain in the world (8,848 meters), viewed from the NE.
[Known outside of Tibet as Mt. Everest]....
















Passengers clambering for a view of the mountain.
















The mighty Himalaya.













































































The south face of Everest from Nepal.
















Everest again. Can't get enough....
















Crossing over into Nepal.





















Rivers converging--Nepal.

















The Himalayas in Nepal.
















Brick factories in the Kathmandu Valley.

















Smokestack of brick factory, just before touch-down.



Arriving in Bangkok, Cory and I were confronted with some massive flooding....
































..we had to walk the last kilometer to our hotel with shoes in hand...





















Bangkok's brand new Suvarnabhumi Airport, just opened on September 28.