The journey down Tanggula Pass is made in the dark, and
we arrive in Amdo at about 10 pm. Here, we spend the night in the
People Liberation Army barracks, which are an extensive complex
of white buildings with peeling paint (left). Water is provided
in a stainless steel bucket. The narrow beds have thin mattresses
that could be omitted without a noticeable difference in the
quality of one's slumber. The accommodations are wonderful and
people collapse thankfully onto the rock-hard beds, exhausted by
the 17 hour drive. At around 2:00 am, people are awakened as a
convoy of trucks leaves the compound. 
At Amdo one can see a fragment of ophiolite associated
with the late Jurassic Banggong Suture, which separates the
Qiangtang and Lhasa terranes. The ophiolite outcrop is not
terribly impressive. Professor Lin points out one of the several
dikes, graced by his hat for scale (right). In addition, there
are some small pillows with thin alteration rinds.
South of Nagqu (Nagchu), we are forced to leave the
roadbed because of construction. Regaining the pavement requires
a drive up a steep slope and one of the vans becomes stuck. As we
start to climb out to lighten the load, the side sliding door
rumbles off its runners and crashes onto the muddy ground. During
the repairs and the struggle to repair the van's door and return
the vehicle to the roadway, we are joined by a Tibetan man
wearing a floppy broad-rimmed felt hat with a strap. He is
wrapped in a long dark green chuba with sleeves that extend
beyond his fingertips. Sheep skin with its woolly side facing
inward lines the coat. A strip of red cloth, in which he has
stuck a long narrow scabbard, serves as a belt. He is clad in
some very worn sneakers; their white rubber-covered toes remind
me of junior-high basketball. A strand of wool dangles from his
upraised hand, a spindle twirling at its end. 