At around 7am we made our way towards Linzhi, the fifth largest city in Tibet. A few more passes came our way and the entire drive was along a river- a magnificent sparkling Jade color that was simply mesmerising.

The landscape changed from lush green vegetation to barren mountains with only rocks to be seen for miles. The river continued to keep us company as we drove on.

By the time lunch rolled around and we ate a simple fried rice and tofu, I was craving daal and roti. So much. There is only so much fried food I can ingest before I start craving a home cooked Indian meal.

On the way, we stopped at a pass around 4500 meters above sea level where we bonded wit h locals over Shahrukh Khan and Bollywood music! His fan base clearly extends to Tibet as well.

Linzhii seemed like a recently developed city which had been planned well in advance. Everything seemed shiny and new and bright lights lit up all the buildings such that it resembled the strip in Atlantic city. Once again, foreigners are not allowed to stay anywhere they please. Only four or five star hotel, we were told. This got me thinking about how a rule like this would impact tourism. Would it lead to a massive loss in revenue? Or would it be an opportunity to attract a more affluent crowd?