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Published: August 27th 2006
The truth about Lhasa
Yes that is the Potala Palace in the distance.So as we pulled into the white cavenous building that is Lhasa train station, we saw people stand to attention and salute the train. We disembarked in an orderly fashion and headed out of the station, only to discover that we were miles from town. After a quick look around, we found that the number 91 bus would take us into town for 1 yuan (better than the 60 the taxi wanted). The Japanese chap who had been on the train, joined us on the bus, his name was Masa and we were to spend a lot of time with him in the future.
On the bus a young Chinese lad asked if we had a hostel pre-booked and looked very shocked when we said no. He gave us the telephone number of a hotel and said that he had prebooked there, but was not going to use it as he was staying with a friend. We took the number from him and thanked him (not beliveing we would need it). The bus dumped us a little unceremoniously in a car park off the Beijing road. Emma, Massa and I decided to take refuge in a Tibetan coffee house /
bar to try and find our way, because we had lost our Lonely Planet and therefore our direction. Whilst we were drinking our coffees Emma ran next door to phone various hostels, only to be told that they were all full, at which point we decided to use the phone number that we had been given on the bus. Easier said than done. Most taxi drivers in Lhasa cannot read Chinese, so we had to hail a taxi driver who had a mobile phone, so that they could phone the hotel and ask directions. Eventually (several cabs later), we were successful. We were met at the hotel by a very enthusiastic manger, who spoke some English and we agreed a triple room for 220 yuan. Next morning we went to Banakshol Hotel (as recommended by Chris & Chrissie), we waited a while and were given a good twin room with BATH, for 180 yuan. Massa came with us and got a dorm room for 30.
We spent two or three days feeling rather listless. This could have been due to the altitude or our mild disappointment with the degree to which Lhasa city has been extensively modernised in the
Washing Day?
Monk: "How come I get all the good jobs"? past fifteen years. We asked at the hotel tourist office about tickets for the Potala palace and were told that they were very hard to get, because there were only limited numbers of tickets each day. Thus the hunt for the Potala palace tickets began (only concluding 10 days and 400 yuan later).
Later that day we took a stroll to Jokhang monastery, walking (clockwise) around the circular Barkor, which is the pilgrimage route covered on both side by shops and market stalls selling everything you need to be a Tibetan pilgrim (yak butter, prayer wheels etc). Oddly enough the shops seemed to add to the atmosphere, rather than detract from it. There are two entrances to the temple, the main of which has a magnificent golden prayer wheel that stands at least fifteen foot high and next to this (in front of the closed gates) are many prostrating pilgrims. It was a remarkable site, even though I felt like a voyeur at times. The second entrance has the ticket office (70 yuan) and we made our way inside, whilst (oddly the pilgrims remained outside).
Inside the monastery was quiet and peaceful (unlike the busy city outside) and
the monks got on with there daily routine (washing clothes, praying etc). We worked our way through the monastery room by room, until we ended up on the roof with wonderful views towards the Potala and over the local area. You could look down and see the pilgrims mixing with the tourists, and it seemed that the world was rushing by below you.
By day three we decided that we would make a trip to Everest base camp. Masa had said that he also wanted to go, so we only needed one more person. We sat down and worked out a rough route, then put it to the travel agent who said that it would cost us 4900 yuan for a new 4x4 and driver for six days. With this part sorted, we started to look for a fourth person to make up the numbers and thus reduce the costs. As luck would have it Emma found a note from a single British guy, who was looking for almost our exact route and Masa said that he was in the same dorm, so we left a message and this is how we met Richard.
So with our itinerary
set, two cases of water and enough oxegen to get us to the moon, we left early next morning our first port of call, Yamdrok lake. It was stunning, it looked like sombody had taken the sky and poured it into the water. In contrast to this serene view, all around us people were trying to get us to sit on their yak for a photo or to buy their trinkets. Our journey continued on through breathtakingly diverse scenery, until our lunch at a roadside stop. Here we each filed into the kitchen, pointed at the ingredients we wanted and watched them being artfully prepared.
After lunch we continued until about 3:30pm, when we reached Gyantse, we booked into our hostel (the four of us took a dorm for 40 yuan each). We walked through the town to the monastery, which has a permanent mandala 8 stories high, with chapels of varying sizes on every level, all of which have beautiful murals on the walls (don't forget to take a torch). The main monastery building contains three sub chapels on the ground floor, are full of sutras which line the walls and sculptures at the back of each room.
We were all set to walk back to the hostel when the heavens opened and it started to hail, we waited in the doorway for the storm to pass, sharing bemused smiles with the equally damp locals. The rain finally eased and we made our way back to the hostel (damp but happy) . The following day we walked up the steep steps of the Bram Stoker like fort. The crude wax works of historic tortures added to the eerie atmosphere, whilst the altitude made the climbing tough. It was worth it to be able to snoop around the unrestored building, that was severely damaged when the English invaded Tibet in 1904.
After the fort, on the way back to meet with our driver, we ducked down an alley into a large coveredfruit market (Claire and Kylie you would have loved it), we were tempted to buy some but our luck with economic fruit purchases have been slim. In other words, we have been stung almost every time we have bought some fruit, so we decided to try our luck later.
On route to Shigaste, the constantly changing landscape was truly amazing and held our attention for the
entire journey. Emma was particularly struck by the building methods adopted by the Tibetans and started to dream about building a house with a courtyard, just like those that were dotted along the valleys.
When we arrived at Shigatse we each went to explore a different part of the town. Being the first to return to the hotel, we were the ones who received the not such good news, that we would have to leave at 6am in the morning to avoid a massive detour. This nats fart departure, meant that we would be leaving seven hours ealier than anticipated and that we would miss visiting the Tashilumpo monastery. So we spent the afternoon ensuring that the modified tour was to everyones satisfaction. In the end we traded the early start, for a return trip to Shigaste, so all was well. We even had time to look around the small Tibetan market that was acoss the street from the hotel and for Emma to start negotiations over the purchase of a fur lined hat and some embroidered shoes. She gave up in the end and decided to try her luck at shopping on the return journey.
The following
day, after a long days drive to base camp, we were very pleased to arrive at Rongbuck, which is where (due to ecological reasons), we left our four by four and took a pony and home made cart (60 yuan) the last 9km upto base camp. It was a lovely trip and I'm delighted that none of us tried to walk it, because the altitude would have got the better of us.
The camp was made up of about twenty large tents, each offering beds (40 yuan) and a three foot pile of duvets for each person. We had tea, a short walk around and all fell to sleep exhausted, even though it was only 6pm. That's the effect of an altitude of 5,200 for you. For the record, base camp has possibly the worst toilets in the world. The toilets on the journey had started at a drop of 10 foot to the pooh (very good), then went to 8 foot, 4 foot, 2 foot and I promise that I am not lying when I say that one of the two base camp toilets was 2 foot above, I swear.
We woke early in the morning and
stepped outside to discover that it had snowed during the night. The air (what there was of it), was crisp and the even though Everest was behind cloud, the views were stunning. All we boys woke with headaches and each reached for our can of oxygen, which made us feel better in no time. We had tea and went out to see if we could find Everest. No, not yet... so we went into another tent and had another tea... then back out to see if the clouds were lifting. As the sun started to reach the top of the mountains and burn through, it was as if the clouds were being blown back and we got our first glimpse of Everest in all it's majestic glory. It's remarkable how beautiful a large piece of rock can be. I would highly recommed it to everyone.
So after a morning stuck to the same spot, looking in the same direction, it was time to head back down to Rongbuck. We decided to walk the 9km back. It was a lovely two and a half hour stroll, during which Emma collected rocks and took photographs for Dad and one of her
ex work colleagues. We chose not to sleepover in the one and only Rongbuck hostel, because it was vile and they would not change the sheets. So we drove on to Lhatse to sleep and then left for Shigatse first thing in the morning. On arriving Emma successfully negotiated the purchase of her boots and hat and wandered around the food markets before bed. The following morning Massa and Emma went to Tushilumpo monastery alone because Richard and I were feeling a little ill. Emma said that the monastery was one of the most striking that she had seen and whilst she was there the monks all went into prayers dressed in their yellow robes and making an enormous racket. It was a wonderful active place and she said that she could have stayed all day, just wondering around. By the way if you visit some day, they like to wear long trousers.
We left Shigatse at about 2pm and arrived in Lhasa at 5.30 pm. We were pleasantly surprised to find some Potala Palace tickets waiting for us (although Emma did not enjoy having to hand our passports over to a stranger so as to enable them to
get the tickets). That night we arranged our flights (1400 yuan) to Zhongdian (Shangrila), because we did not want to take the three day sleeper bus over land (500 yuan).
The next day we went to the Potala Palace and after a bit of dodgy dealing (on the part of the ticket acquirer), we went in as part of another group and met a young English lady called Catherine, with whom we visited the Samye monastery the following day. We saw lots and lots of amazingly beautiful things in the Potala, including the immense gold stupas of many of the past Dalai Lamas. These were fifty foot high, if they were an inch and inlaid with pearls, diamonds and other precious stones. There were a number of permanent manadalas that were six or seven foot wide models of buildings and animals, once again made from gold and precious stones. There were thousands of mini stupas and statues of buddha, each of which had been donated to the Palace. Numerous thrones, each of which belonging to one of the past Dalai Lamas and most importantly the staterooms and living quarters of the last Dalai Lama. Absolutely no photographs were allowed in the building, so we went to the expense of purchasing a book of the palace exhibits, which we have sent back for Mama to look through.
That night we had a superb leaving dinner for Richard at a place called Snowlands and then I went out to lunch with Massa the day before we left. We had had an excellent time during the ten days we had all spent together and both Emma and I were both rather sad that our little group had to break up. On the 15th, we jumped in a cab for the 1hr trip to the airport and flew (very comfortably and without fuss), to Shangrila.
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Anne
non-member comment
Wow
Those mountains - your pictures are fantastic - the sense of space and awe leaves me breathless.