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Published: July 15th 2005
Mt Everest at Sunrise
A photographer and prayer flags are dwarfed by ChomolangmaTibet: Shangrila, the roof of the world, the land of snows... with a lovely touch of cultural genocide thrown in for good measure.
Since the last update, I've travelled in Tibet through some of the real highs and lows of this trip so far, until visa restraints, and general travel weariness, deposited me in the veritable oasis of western goodies that is Thamel, Kathmandu (of course this means the location of my blog is technically wrong, but how could I not write at least one blog from Tibet?).
It all augured well. The Dirtman had arrived in Chengdu safely, we'd met Mottie, a self-styled Israeli monk (and our future magnanimous benefactor), and Lhasa beckoned. The forbidden city, the holy city for tibetan buddhists (and travellers alike) at the roof of the world! The warning signs were there from the start, however, as we boarded one of the three Airbus A-340s (BIG plane, in layman's speak) bound for Lhasa that morning - "Hmmm, someone has been here before...." - and were only confirmed as we drove into the city from Gongkar airport. It has become just another (particularly ugly) Chinese city (made even worse by its beautiful setting in the
The Jokhang
Morning pilgrims at the Jokhang Kyichu (Lhasa River) valley).
Still, with altitude to adjust to, and my travelling companion's weak bowel-induced convalescence, we explored the city for a few days. The centrepoints of the city are the magnificent Potala Palace, former home of the Dalai Lama before his flight to Dharamsala in 1959, and the Jokhang, the temple at the spiritual heart of Tibet, with its surrounding "old town" and "Barkhor" pilgrimage circuit, busily occupied by endless streams of pilgrims reciting mantras and spinning prayer-wheels while completing a circumambulation. Sadly, these areas are the only remnants (well, the extent really) of the old Tibetan capital of Lhasa (population 20,000), with a massive, new and decidedly ugly (did I already mention that), Chinese city (population 300,000 and rising) surrounding it.
But it is not only this physical construction at the heart of the problem. Tibet was helpfully 'liberated' by Mao and friends in 1951, justified by a claim that because both China and Tibet were once occupied by the Mongols in the Yuan dynasty, they should be forever one (by this same logic, Australia has a claim on New Zealand due to their status as former British colonies, but thankfully there's not really much
reason to want the Shaky Isles!). Since the occupation, there has been a deliberate process of Han (ethnic Chinese) immigration, diluting the ethnic Tibetan population to the point where they are now a distinct minority in their own land. Additionally, ethnic Tibetans seem to be treated as second-class citizens. Tibetans begging for alms, a tradition in their society, seem to outnumber those working. The Dalai Lama has called this 'cultural genocide'. Now, I'm no Richard Gere, and certainly no women seem to think of me as their "American Gigolo" at the moment, but any fool can see that the Dalai Lama is right.
But enough about that! Well, thats we thought anyway, so Mottie, Alastair and I decided to escape for a few days and trek between two of Tibet's most famous monasteries east of Lhasa: Ganden and Samye. Having hired our sleeping bags and tents, and bought the food, we set out at dawn to the magnificent mountain-top monastery of Ganden to start our four-day trek. No sooner had we started, than my gender-challenged companions immediately called for the services of a Yak and Yak-man, and so despite elevations being over 4,300m for most of the trek (and
reaching as high as 5,250m on the high passes), it was actually quite an easy walk.
The area was spectacular, trekking high above wide, lush river valleys, with a backdrop of distant snowy peaks, and nomadic herder camps. Our faithful yak "Lebu" never let us down (as long as he was allowed to stop to eat for approximately 98% of his waking time), and it was fantastic to pass the days with seemingly 'real' Tibetans, even if our 14yo guide "So Nam Da Ba" needed a little prodding now and then. We finished the trek at Samye Monastery, in the middle of a sandy desert (which most of Tibet actually is) and a boat ride over the mighty Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) River en route to Lhasa.
The trek also gave us a perfect example of another kind of negative influence on Tibetans - the rich American tourist. Now don't get me wrong, I love seppos as much as the next person (and that's a big hello to Thad, Dave J, Monty and Joe), but behind us on the trek were a couple of American "trekkers", with the completely justifiable entourage of five yaks, two horses, 2 guides, 1
My feet, and a big mountain
Kickin' back at Everest Base Camp yak-man, and 2 cooks! (and of course sleeping, and dining tents!). Each to his own I say, but the vast majority of western tourists in Tibet, and particularly Lhasa, these days are wealthy Americans, who care nothing for keeping prices low, will pay whatever is asked, and in the process hyper-inflate the economy of the poorer local tibetans by creating artificial riches for certain jobs. It also gives the average Tibetan the impression that all travellers are rich, and in the process is turning a lot of them into Tibet-namese! The only thing worse in my books are the rich (corrupt!) Han Chinese package tourists walking around Lhasa taking stupid photos in front of buildings their forefathers were trying to destroy just 30 years ago!
But enough about that too! Well, thats what we thought anyway, so once back in Lhasa, the Dirtman and I said goodbye to Mottie (who was heading off to Mt Kailas to walk and think for 3 months) and hello to our 2 new friends, the cool Japanese couple Shoji and Asuka, who had answered our ad and agreed to share the costs of a Landcruiser to the Nepali border over the next 9
The Potala
... and a chorten days.
Our trip took in the heartland of Tibet's Tsang province, and was the most spectacular land journey of my travels. Starting north of Lhasa, at the beautiful torquoise blue inland sea that is Nam-Tso lake (surrounded by 7,000m snowy peaks, no less), we headed south-west via coiling Yamdrok-Tso (another spectacular lake), and Tibet's second and third biggest cities, Shigatse and Gyantse. Gyantse was the highlight of Tibet's cities, with its towering fort (Dzong in Tibetan) and Pelkor Chode monastery dominating the skyline and offering beautiful views of the surrounding valleys strewn with fields of barley... (it really did make you want to sing like Sting!). Shigatse, a traditional rival to Lhasa with its Tashilumpo Monastery being the seat of the Panchen Lama, had a remarkably intact and beautiful Tibetan old town. We were also lucky enough to pass through towns which were real contenders for the "arse-end-of-the-universe" award: Nangartse, Lhatse, Shegar and Tingri.
It was about half-way through the trip that we discovered the true fabric that binds Japanese and Australian cultures together. No, it isn't our mutual love of Sushi and Sony, but the TV program "Monkey". Shoji couldn't believe it when we said we were
Herder's Encampment
... under the morning moon on the Ganden-Samye Trek big fans of the cult classic, his favourite show which he knows as "Saiyûki", and left me in just as incredulous a mood when he produced not only "Monkey Magic" on his iPod, but that forgotten (by me) classic "Gandhara". Its an understatement to describe hearing the song again after 20 years as one of the truly happy moments of my life!
But the best was yet to come. After a few hours driving and trekking from Shegar we arrived at a little settlement at 5200m in the shadows of a mountain the locals know as Chomolangma (or Qomolangma in Chinese spelling). We know it as Everest, and it really is hard to describe the feeling of staring at the North Face of the world's highest peak, and staying in the same camp Mallory and Irvine did before their failed bid for the summit in 1924. It was especially amazing given that on our first night the summit was just about covered (by the monsoon clouds coming up from India and Nepal), and we didn't discover the enormity of the mountain until it appeared in all its glory the next morning (thanks again Shoji, the luckiest man on earth!).
Our faithful steed
For a change, Lebu stops to eat as we're descending the valley There was not much to do at Base Camp itself except look at the mountain, and when the winds got too cold head inside our tent hotel (named "Hotel California"! It was a lovely place), and teach the Tibetan kids at Base Camp to speak Arabic, "Team America" Style! I wish I could be there when little Tashi Hacha sees his first Arabic guy at the camp and exclaims "Derka, derka, derka, Mohamed.... Jihad!".
From Everest it was all downhill on the way to Nepal on a road through past the spectacular peaks of Shisha Pangma and others as we crossed the Himalayas. However, we did get to have one night in the absolute victor in the battle for "arse-end-of-the-universe" stakes: the town of Nyalam, due to a series of landslides blocking the road ahead. We had to cross the landslide by foot the next day in the pooring rain - "thanks for having us Tibet!" - and in the process say goodbye to our expert driver, the rowdy "Kyicha" - before heading to Zhangmu and crossing the border to Nepal, and bussing it to Kathmandu.
And that's where we've been for the last few days, staying in
the Thamel area, and it looks like, will be for the forseeable future. After roughing it in China and Tibet, it will be very hard to leave the Steaks, Pizzas, DVDs, Pubs, and other western treats that this place has to offer, so don't expect too much in the next blog!
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Rob
non-member comment
Gotta agree - that's SOME beard!
But don't worry - Paul's now proficient enough to airbrush it out with Photoshop.