On arrival at Lhasa’s Gonggar airport, we had to pass through a special security screen which actually took our temperature. After clearing immigration and customs we met our guide Jigme and our Landcruiser driver Panchoul. We stopped just 11km from Lhasa to admire a large and colourful Buddha carved into the base of a cliff. This used to be behind a small lake, but they’ve filled in the part next to the statue with gravel, so now you can walk directly there.