The dream that is Tibet

As my flight coasted into Kathmandu I could see the great Himalayan range looming visibly up in the distance. The fact that I could see them this time round was in stark contrast to five month ago. When I last left the place and visibility was near to zero. At that time it was impossible even to see the hills surrounding the capital, as they were clouded in a combination of dust and pollution.
Apart from that difference, it was like I had never left the place. The five month inbetween seemed to have faded away like the dust that surrounded the city. I slipped back into the daily grind that entailed my life in Kathmandu the last time without even noticing it. I stayed in the same hotel with its tired looking and dank rooms, I ate at the same restaurants and I was harassed by the same tiger balm/flute/chess-set and hashish sellers.

I returned to Kathmandu with one purpose only, which was to cross the Himalayas into Tibet. Now crossing into Tibet means taking a tour, courtesy of the Chinese burocracy. No tour, no visa, no permit and no way of entering into Tibet! I am no fan of tours, I rather find my own way around, but if need be I will overcome my aversion and take one. And so here I am in Lhasa after a week of travelling with 33 others in Land Cruisers along the Friendship Highway. The group has been great which has made up for the negative sides of taking a tour, which is never having enough time at any given place of interest and not being able to do what one wants, when one wants.

Tibet, it is a dream destination for many, and I must say the scenery is suitably dramatic and perhaps even a bit dreamy. But of course Tibet is also associated with ongoing troubles of the political kind. I have decided not to delve into that part as such, though I will be touching it. A lot is being said about the Tibetan culture disappearing due to the policies of the Chinese government. While that may be true to some extent, I have a more positive view of the whole sordid business. Because as I see it there is hope; a lot of hope in fact. The culture of Tibet is not bound by its borders anymore. Ever since the Chinese invaded and Tibetans fled their ancestral homeland, they have spread their unique culture and religion around the world. And this is where their great hope lies. Not in Tibet, but in the growing number of followers around the world, especially in the west. Ironically, I would say the biggest threat to their culture also comes from the west. The western consumer culture is much more seductive and destructive for the culture than anything China can throw at them. The young kids I saw in places like Ladakh or Sikkim where much more interested in getting the latest mobile phones, or wearing the newest jeans and watching mind numbing western television than learning about their own culture. Eventually there will be a balance between the two I am sure, even if it looks to be going the wrong way at the moment. As for the wanton destruction of the cultural relics and buildings and scripts within the ancient boundaries of Tibet, it is sad and of no consolation to those who live here, but buildings can be rebuilt and new texts and relics will eventually replenish those lost. Even if the Tibetans would eventually become a minority in their own country, which is very likely, it wouldn't matter that much. The Jewish people lost their main temple, their country and a lot of their relics and sacred scripts, yet two thousand years later they are still going strong. They were strewn across the globe and managed to survive with their culture intact, it might be that the same will be said about the Tibetans in some distant future.

As for my own impressions of this country, well, the nature is amazing, the people some of the most friendly I have met. Despite their obvious hardships and blatant discrimation against them, they still have big smiles on their faces. There are few monasteries left, most of which have been turned into museums. Lhasa has the feeling of a city under a military curfew, and the only other city which I have seen that had such an in your face military presence was Colombo in Sri Lanka. There are military bases everywhere, the Tibetan quarter of town has soldiers at every entrance and foot patrols of heavily armed police and army personnel. Even the rooftops have guards on them keeping a close eye on the local population. The working temples, those with monks still living in them, have a CCTV camera in each and every compound with Big Brother keeping a close eye on the proceedings no doubt. It looks like the Chinese government has given up on all pretence of convincing the casual tourist of their 'noble' intentions towards the local populace. The Tibetans handle it all very well, with smiles on their faces and their heads held up high. Don't get me wrong, I am not blaming the Chinese people in any way, there is a big difference between a government and the normal man on the street. Worse still, many western governments don't have have a stellar reputation on this whole issue either, supporting corrupt regimes around the world in their own economic interests and destroying cultures as they go along. But I am in Tibet now so it is no use talking about the vices of some other country.

How does a simple tourist like me deal with all this? Well it is easy, they have got something called Lhasa beer here, which has an alcohol content of equal or greater than 3.8%! Together with several other enlightened members of the tour group I have been spending many an evening philosophising about the current situation until our words became slurry. Together with the Lhasa beer I have also been eating an extraordinarly large amount of Yak meat: Yak burgers, Yak momo's, Yak fried rice, Yak on a stick and much more varieties of Yak. I never knew so many dishes could be made from Yak. Every wanted to try Yak ice cream? Come to Tibet! Yak pancakes? No problem here! Its a very Yakky place to be, but soon my time in Tibet will be running out. The tour is finished and I am only staying to recover from hangovers and full schedules. Ten days in this country is too little and having to go through an agency far from ideal, but I am hoping to be back here next spring. That is if the Chinese government will allow me to return and give me a longer visa and permit!

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Part of trip: The great journey east!

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