In the process, they learn what Canada is all about The driver downshifts as the mini-bus grinds up a long, steep and deeply rutted grade. Back in Xining they said the road would be much better this year.
Long shadows reach across the high Tibetan plateau.
In the fading autumn sunlight, B.C. physician Dr. Isaac Sobol glances at his watch. He is dismayed to note they have already bounced and lurched along this tortuous route for more than 12 hours and are yet little more than half way to their destination at Yushu. As secretary-treasurer of Rokpa Canada, Dr. Sobol, in 1999, was heading up his third Rokpa volunteer team to eastern Tibet. Bone tired, suffering rare-air headaches at 13,000 feet, and contending with powdery dust that swirled about the vehicle s interior, female team members donned surgical masks to filter out the grit. Hardships were not limited to the in-bound journey.