Long road to Lhasa

Flight booked, travel confirmed and I am fulfilling a life long dream by heading to Lhasa overland on the friendship highway, the highest road in the world!  
Join the bus in Kathmandu and we start our journey heading forever higher, leaving at 1300m and after crossing the friendship bridge we have entered China.  We have our body temperature checked, a thorough bag search, as we can't take in our Tibetan lonley planet guides ( too many mentions of the Dalai Lama and Chinese occupancy) then we got through.  Joining our 4x4 jeep we began the incredibly steep climb, not for the faint hearted sitting 'drop' side.  The scenery was stunning and we began a week long adventure by staying in a small village hotel that  was so cold we needed two duvets!!!!!  
Next day was a travel day on  the Chinese well constructed tarmac friendship highway across the erie lunar landscape of the inner himalaya's.  Small bunches of houses were scattered across this harsh lanscape. The first pass that we stopped at was at 5,320 and we all felt the effects of this high altitude.  I had a thumping Headache and others were sick.  Back in the jeep and we all fell asleep, only to be woken up by the driver announcing that we had a photo stop for Everest ..... Just incredible.
Along the 630km drive to lhasa  we stoped at xigatse and gyantse, visiting the most amazing monastaries, watched monks chanting and saw the most incredible temples.  
The high anticipation of reaching Lhasa was initially  spoilt by the high density of modern
Chinese shops and apartments.  Luckily all that was left behind when we reached the Tibetan area and stayed for three nights in a wonderful 300 year old guest house, formally a temple and more recently, the home of the tutor to the dalai lama.  Sadly there was an enormous police and army presence here - there were even surveillance cameras in the monastaries.  So many tales to tell of this trip, but it was the most incredible week of adventure and a huge challenge with dealing with high altitude on a daily basis.  But Tibet as every where else is full of the most amazing people and I was humbled by their devotion and unwavering sense of identity and being able to live in the conditions that they do (both politically and geographically)!!!