![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1RtLopdzul5IUqkrRcjB4HHqU20ptegf9GHsfN-uUsFPjPdo8XT-SvmNQQum6lxaUyaOPK-Iz9pRjL2V7OnjRQJhcksKvZyu7aT31jKmxur2j8JIb4KG-gT8moXjHciTRceQfgYYEVrVh/s320/3lhasa06.jpg)
I showered fearlessly. I'd been mocking the tourist literature all week, which suggested that washing my hands and showering might cause me to catch a cold at altitude. This was, of course, insane.
Then today I'd realized that this was based on most people outside the city having no hot water. So yes, washing in glacial-melt water probably wasn't a good idea.
But the Yak, though it had a stinky bathroom, did have hot water.
My guide met me to escort me to Jokhang Temple, which is at the center of Lhasa's old town and is one of the holiest, most sacred sites in Tibet. Pilgrims used to hike for weeks to reach it, but now they can just take the bus—thanks to the new Chinese roads (oh, the dilemmas offered by the modern world!)—and boy, do they. In droves. Pilgrims were everywhere, along with hundreds of Chinese tourists.