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Published: August 14th 2009
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Flying into Lhasa, Tibet
The terrain changed many times and this was what it looked like ten minutes before landing at Lhasa International airport... Hello from the rooftop of the world! We landed here in Lhasa about 4:35pm, taking pictures of the changing landscape the whole way in, flying over brown tundra, snow-capped mountains, green hills with green and yellow-colored waters running through them. The lakes and rivers are lime green and yellow here...beautifully surreal. The weather is warm, low 70's right now, and the first thing you notice is how clean the air is and how crisp are the views. The sky is literally resting on your head we are so close to the heavens. The airport is surrounded by mountains and at first glance reminds me of living in Colorado.
Check out all the pics on my new account on Flickr,
just click here.
Our host, Mr. Chompa, is waiting for us and is quite ebullient at our arrival. He herds us towards our mini-bus slowly, letting us look around and acclimatize easily, with no rushing. I like him already. We pile in like kids going on a field trip. The ride takes about an hour from the airport through the countryside and we see Tibetan homes, the bright blues, greens, reds, yellows, painted along with their language which looks like Arabic to
Busride from airport to Lhasa...
The views were just breathtaking, mostly because the air is so crisp and clean but also because we had only 1/2 the usual amount of oxygen available and you can definitely feel the difference... me. Rivers that looked like yellow squash from the sky are now brown and muddy with strong pulling currents.
The road is better than I expected with only some irritating jostling as we weave and lumber by slower vehicles. The ride takes an hour but we hardly notice. I pay careful attention to the signs as we enter Lhasa and sure enough, there is the split I was looking for from my reading about this area; one way is downtown Lhasa, the Tibetan region of Lhasa, and the other is through the newly developing Chinese economic development region. This booming area is all Chinese and is now choking the last 1/3 of Lhasa after already swallowing 2/3 of old, traditionally Tibetan Lhasa, from it's last breaths. We go through the economic region because traffic is made to flow that way by armed police in the streets. Our first exposure to the armed controlling of the entire city by the Chinese military.
Check out all the pics on my new account on Flickr,
just click here.
The hotel, thankfully, is in the heart of the Tibetan area of Lhasa and we stop unexpectedly, pile out, and make our way as
Cool Yak hotel...
This is our hotel in Lhasa, the Cool Yak..it is a one star hotel but was perfect for us. They served a delicious breakfast, burned incense 24/7, offered internet for a very small fee per minute, were very friendly, and although the shower flooded the bathroom, we were very comfortable here... if we are blinded by the evening sun down a long alley. We pass a family selling large hanging murals with recognizable symbols of the country; the eight auspicious symbols like the endless knot, the conch shell, the wheel of law. The Cool Yak hotel is in front of us and we part two of the same hanging murals the hotel uses for their front door and we are inside. Incense greets us along with smiles, they are expecting us and we are checked in and unpacking within ten minutes. We agree to meet back in the lobby in 1/2 an hour and before the sun begins to fade on Barkhor Square right outside our alleyway, we are clean, fresh and ready to experience the Tibetan region of Lhasa.
We walk enough to have a light sheen of sweat on us before heading back to the hotel for an orientation. (I will be writing much more about Lhasa in upcoming blogs). We all say hello, and we are surprised because the tour company said they keep our groups small (between 5 - 8) and our group has 22 people. This is our first indication that things are not going
Prayer pole, Barkhor Square...
There are two of these large prayer poles directly in front of the Jokhang Temple, on Barkhor Square, and pilgrims will walk and pray clockwise all the way around Barkhor Square many times throughout the day and evening... to be as promised on this adventure. We laugh about it quietly and whisper, "What do you expect, it's China!". After orientation, the few of us who know each other from the airport make a small plan and I suggest we head over to a restaurant I read about that is has a great reputation here, Snowland. About ten us head over and let others know if they want to join us and within ten minutes we are seated and ordering another traditional delicacy here, Yak steaks and Lhasa beer!
Check out all the pics on my new account on Flickr,
just click here.
I had an unforgettable meal of Yak steak in a black pepper sauce, hash brown potatoes, and the vegetable of the day. You can find Yak meat here everywhere and to say it is delicious is an understatement. Clean, tender enough to cut with a fork, and tastes better than fillet mignon. They also have a slew of international foods here including naan bread, an Indian style bread shaped long like a tear (think pita bread but really light and airy) so we got some of that too. Jenny stuck with her veggies and loved them.
Buddha bell...
There are thousands of souvenir stalls lining the Barkhor Square selling traditional Tibetan treasures...everyday we bought different and unique gifts for ourselves and our loved ones...unbelievably beautiful stuff for very very good prices... We both had a few Lhasa beers and I mentioned a bar I read about just down the street, Music Bar, so some of us headed out and some headed back to the room to relax. Music bar was small, very cozy, very cool and played a huge variety of music including ethnic Tibetan, no Chinese though, and I even heard some Jack Johnson thrown in along with videos on a huge flat screen. Only had a few beers this evening, Jenn headed back to the room after dinner, so we all called it a night pretty early but happy to be finally in Tibet.
Before bed I walked through the day as my fingers and toes continued to tingle as if they have fallen asleep. This is a side effect of the acetazolamide for altitude sickness we are taking twice a day. Feeling great but can tell there is less oxygen here, climbing anything takes work. First impression is this is a beautiful place with fundamentally spiritual people everywhere, and we are walking and talking and stomping through their church with our money and our arrogance but we bring money but it is taken by the Chinese. The irony is enough to make me tear up. There are many Chinese here and armed guards everywhere, stationed in the middle of the streets in groups of three to five, one has a silver suitcase and one carries the grenade/tear gas launcher, some have shotguns, all have pistols. They look as menacing as eighteen year old's can look and after being in the military I can empathize with the sheer boredom, but certainly not the mission. Will explore more tomorrow...hard to believe China will completely eradicate this entire culture within the next five years or so...
Check out all the pics on my new account on Flickr,
just click here.
Peace.
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Robin
non-member comment
tour company?
We are looking at a trip to Tibet in 2010--can you tell me what tour agency you used? Were you generally happy with the service and the price? thanks, robin