Final days in Lhasa

In Lhasa we met up with Johnny again and along with Ingrid, me and the boys...all a big happy family now:) We went and ate a traditional chinese hot pot one night, spent another day just drinking coffee and writing postcards and recovering from alcohol with the local tibetans and then I went on one last adventure with the boys. We were told that we could not go to one of the oldest monasteries, Samye, without a permit, but we wanted to go there and see it. So we did. We were up, 5:30 in the morning, to take the local bus from Barkhor square. And the driver without any fuss took us on and drove us all the way to Samye without any mention of the magic word 'pemit'. Anyway, once again we had breathtaking landscapes all the way, this time huge sand dunes and beautiful turquoise rivers. At Samye we managed to catch the lunch time ceremony where all the monks gather in the main hall and chant and play the tibetan drums and horns and the atmosphere is just like being in another world. I could just have sat there for hours listening to the monks in the monastery and we did because we were able to stay at the monastery.
That afternoon we took a rough and very bumpy jeep ride up to the caves but instead of the meditational caves we found a nunnery and talked to the nuns there. We sat with the girls selling prayer flags, learnt a little tibetan, listened to their songs echo in the mountains and valley around us and learnt from them how to eat sunflower seeds properly.
Back at the monastery we sat on the roof, watching the sky filled with stars and making wishes at the shooting stars that crossed the sky every so often. Next day we were able to catch a ferry back and then a hitch a ride back to Lhasa. We could not take the bus back because this time it would stop at other monasteries where controls were tight and the drivers would not risk it.
I met the boys for one last dinner and wanted to cry when I said goodbye. It was so easy to travel with them. It's funny how when i'm travelling, and i guess it's the same for everyone, that a short amount of time spent with someone is so intense that it's very easy and quick to get attatched easily to people you only met a couple of days ago. We had so much fun with the boys and so many adventures and we spent so much time together, I really miss them.
After saying goodbye to Ingrid and then the boys, I went to the nunnery in Lhasa. I guess this was now the best time to spend in one place and theyhad mentioned before when I went with the boys that they would take me in and I could teach them english which they really were keen to learn. So I made my way there and spent 2 nights with them before the local police arrived and sent me back to the hostel. Once again I needed a permit! I guess it was time to leave Tibet and i was told that in no uncertain terms so i caught the first train I could find and am now back in China.