Kaga, billed as a dump turned out to be an average little junction town. To get there we had a tiring, gravelly day heading over lots of little (but not insignificant) passes and just before town we passed a lake and the first trees we'd seen in over 2000km! We weren't sure we would find a hotel but right in the centre we found a grand archway leading to a motel style building. The motel seemed to us to be a carpentry workshop though the chippies downed tools, did a bit of shouting in the direction of another building and confirmed to us it was still a hotel. A lad shortly appeared on a motorbike and showed us to a room which, although had the water turned off and had seen better days, would have been quite posh in the non too distant past. We had a great meal in the Chinese cafe next door with the owner's toddler quite happily playing round the tables with a kitten on a piece of string. We're not sure the kitten was so happy though worryingly Chris thought that child could have been him when he was small!
As we headed East and to lower ground the valleys became more fertile. We passed bundles of hay, trees, fields and craggy villages tucked away up side valleys. There was very little Chinese influence and every house looked typically Tibetan - white washed walls with the  ends of beams painted under the eves and red and green window frames around the little panes of glass. Every front door was draped with the colourful hangings used to keep out the drafts and evil spirits.
Shortly after crossing the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) we came to the end of highway 219. We joined the Friendship Highway (that runs between Lhasa and Nepal) and asphalt again making the short trip to Lhatse a breeze. In the three years since jane was last at Lhatse the town had tripled in size but after cycling past kilometres of new shops we eventually found the old centre of town and the 'Tibetan Farmer's Adventure' a great looking and friendly hotel.

Visit border cycling for more information on guided cycle trips.