DJ - This report reaches you from Tibet. We have completed our ninth day. We survived the eighth and ninth day after forty-eight hours of grueling driving and tremendous demands on both person and automobile. We are about to begin the tenth day and enter the mysterious forbidden city of Lhasa, the historic capital of Tibet and one of the great wonders of the world. We are 350 km away from Lhasa and if good fortune, skill, perseverance, determination, and God's Will are with us, we will enter Lhasa today and at the same time get our first view of the Himalayan Mountain range. At this moment we are 3,580km away from Peking. We are at an elevation of 12,500 feet at a Tibetan regional city of Nagqu.

Yesterday we came to Nagqu from the camping site that we reported to you on the eighth day. That camping site was near the village and the Chinese army base of Tuotuoheyan. We had a not-so-great experience there, attempting to camp out at an elevation of nearly 13,000 feet. There was no alternative because the distance between Golmund, which is on the far western Gansu Province of China and our destination Lhasa there are no facilities. So it was just imperative that we had to over night by tenting. We have of the facilities for that but the temperature was minus ten Celsius, which when you convert to Fahrenheit is eight degrees. We did everything we conceivably could to stay warm and to get sleep but it was just not possible. We awoke to find frost on everything at that location. Coupled with the driving conditions and limited sleep, for forty-eight hours we had a bit of a tough go. We are feeling great at this moment because when we arrived in Nagqu we secured a hotel room, which for Carl and I meant the great joy of a clean bed and a warm shower. However when you secure a hotel room in this part of China you have the option of determining whether you want warm water or a room without warm water. The warm water is only available for two hours in the evening from 9:00pm to 11:00pm. These are the curious things you discover when you travel.

Nagqu is regional agricultural center for Tibet. The language here is Tibetan not Chinese. Although Tibet is a part of China. Since 1959 it has been designated as a special administrative region, an SAR. Which is the same designation that Hong Kong has at the present time. That is how China refers to its colonies or its states, SARs (Special Administrative Region). We delayed our update report to you by about twelve hours then we had normally been doing. Not only staging our reports before we go to bed but this report is coming to you as we are about to begin today's drive to Lhasa. I hope we did not alarm anyone with that delay in giving you our update.

Our report is coming to you by the extraordinary and marvelous technology of satellite telephone. We are currently at a site of six miles outside the city of Nagqu, where all the cars are being set off in one minute intervals for today's motor challenge. The challenge is taking its toll both on people and on equipment. We understand that there will be 82 cars departing the control point this morning, although they never really know until the drivers and the cars report to the control center. One car from Greece was actually towed to the location so that they could officially report and remain in the competition. The number of cars have fallen by the wayside, it is possible that you may know more about that then we do based on reports from London, the headquarters of the controlling organization. We can report that the second Buick, operated by a Singapore team, fell out of the competition and is currently mounted on top of a Chinese transport truck. The drivers hope to get it to New Lhasa or Katmandu to make repairs. So it is also of the Rolls Royce from Australia, the queen's limousine as it is referred to, has secured a broken spring and it currently also is on the back of the Chinese transport truck, being hauled to Lhasa for possible repairs or possibly to Katmandu to be sent back to Australia.

We want to report to Alan and Joe what the circumstances are with the 1954 Packard, while it is getting us down the road, it is beginning to show signs of wear and tear. At the moment, they know that our manifold is broken and we have the sound and fumes of odor to go with that condition. We know that our fuel gauge is not operating and while we are certain what our fuel consumption and capacity is we have no indication of fuel. Our air compressor on board the car, to maintain our air suspension system is inoperative. We are having a difficult time securing adequate air from any local tire repair stores. That's an entire story in itself. We take so much for granted in our culture. Getting air is a big proposition here in remote China. It took us one hour yesterday to find air to put in our four tires. Air is so incredibly important because of these elevations. Everything is deflated and it's hard to maintain normal pressure. Also the carburation on the car continues to be a source of adjustment and trying to keep running the car correctly. We think the engine is sound. We did change the spark plugs yesterday. That improved things a bit. To place the demand on both humans and cars at these high altitudes requires some patience and really quite a bit of effort. Carl is nearby here with me and I am going to hand the telephone to him for his observations.

CS - Hello friends and relatives. As Don told you we had a very good nights sleep. The hotel was one of the better Chinese hotels that we were in. We are standing in view of the Himalayas and on grassy plains as far as the eye can see, not a tree. We have been looking at yaks. I never really paid much attention to a yak. A yak looks like a cow that has angora goat hair on its underside, the mane and tail of a horse, and it even has hair hanging down into its eyes. We are now facing going into one of the wonders of the world, Lhasa. They tell me that it is a difficult road but we will persevere and be there this evening. Again, Hello to all friends and relatives if you have any need to contact us we are going to be at the Holiday Inn in Lhasa for a good sitting. Here is Don.

DJ - OK, nearby here with us, we have told you about this character from Australia John Bryson, who wears a tie everyday. I know everyone is interested to see that he does have his tie on this morning. He happens to be nearby. Let me take advantage of his presence and say hello to you John. We have our family and friends here on the telephone. Share with us how it is going for you today.

JOHN - Good morning. I don't know if you can understand my funny Australian accent, but it is very good to talk to you. It incredible to be here with Don in the middle of the wildest countryside I have ever seen. It makes Mojave Desert look like paradise. All is going well and we are making incredible friendships with people we would have never met. The drive is really a challenge to get from place to place. We are meeting the most incredible adventurors I have ever met, including Don Jones. Good Luck to you all, it's a pleasure to talk to you.

DJ - Well thank you and I think that completes a pretty good overview of how we are doing here on days nine and ten. We completed, or we would say survived, day nine, and we are about to begin day ten. On another report we will explain to you why driving and traveling is so treacherous, so difficult. I think Carl said it very well yesterday when he said that in China to drive 200km is like driving a thousand miles in United States. That is to say the amount of time, the amount of fatigue to drive a thousand miles in the US is what is takes to drive 200km here in rural and remote China. We are driving an average of 400km to 600km per day. We will explain to you the road surfaces and in a little more in detail why it has become so very difficult. I would say that the principle that applies in all cultures and societies, the further you are from the governing capital city the further away that you go, whether it is a county, a state, or a country, from the center of the governest, it seems that the infrastructure become less and less. While the Chinese are doing a very good job of advancing their culture from the 18th and 19th century, they are still much to be done in the rural remote parts of China. It is such a vast extraordinary place. We have passed numerous mountain ranges, not one or two as in the US in the case of the Appalachians and Rockies. My recollection is that we have passed as many as eight mountain ranges. It is a extraordinary place with tremendous needs. The further we have gotten from Peking the more difficult the travel has become. I will summarize by saying that we are 3,580km at this moment from Peking. We have 350km to go today to reach Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. We are in Tibet at this moment in an agriculture community called Nagqu, the center of the yak trade, sheep, goat, and rice trade. Our health is good after forty-eight hours of very, very difficult going. We are determined to get through the tenth day. We will let you know how that goes. For now that's the news from the Peking to Paris Motor Challenge, and Don and Carl's trip around the world. So long till next time.