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Published: November 4th 2008
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4:40pm
I have been on a journey to Lhasa for the past 56 hours or so. Currently I am on the train and still have about five hours before our arrival in Lhasa. We crossed into Tibet early this morning and were immediately met by the Himalayas and the Tibetan plateau after a rather desolate and desert like area of the Qinghai province. The mountains seemed to just rise out of the ground from nowhere. The beauty of these mountains, the plateau, and this ‘special autonomous province’ is indescribable. On the plateau we have seen yaks, hawks, wild ass, and some small birds, but the land appears to be rather uninhibited. Probably because there is not much to live off of besides grass and amazingly pure turquoise blue water in the rivers, ravines, and lakes. While up here we have reached altitudes of 3500m, 4400m, and even 5500m at some points. During some parts of the ride we could only see white snow covering serene mountain landscapes for hundreds of miles. At other points of the ride there only appear to be red rock formations, dirt, small shrubs of grass scattered around. The sky might be the most remarkable thing. The
majestic blue sky up here is something I have not encountered in a long time. Chinese industrial factories have not really been within sight since we encountered the border. I figure the reason has more to do with the harsh terrain and difficult living conditions up here rather than anything else. We just passed a lake which just so happens to be the worlds freshwater lake with the highest altitude at 4590m high. Up to this very moment in time, this is the most beautiful lake I have ever set eyes on. I don’t think my pictures, or any, could ever do it justice.
5:50pm
Hundred of Yaks have now been witnessed grazing the hills and loafing as well as sheep and goats. The Yaks are huge, but they look as content and happy as my dog Bailey. Random nomads have now been seen as well just wandering in the middle of nowhere - possibly on a pilgrimage. In the far horizon beyond the grassy hills, snowcapped mountains play peak-a-boo. I talked to a Tibetan man earlier for about an hour named Chamba - very Tibetan name. He works at the Everest base camp - cool. His English was amazing
Kid in Xining
we made a detour in Xining to pick up our tibet permits (he was self taught!). He told me a bit about Tibet’s history and gave some good advice on places to eat, stay, and things to do. Since being in China and after talking to this man, I am really beginning to feel that America’s view on the whole ‘free Tibet’, ‘china is evil’, and ‘Tibetan people are all peaceful’ thing is more and more incorrect. I’m afraid to say that western media really loves to portray countries in need of what we see as ‘freedom’. It’s good to see both sides of the coin. All I can say is that if you see yourself as one of the ‘free Tibet’ folk, as I definitely once was and still partially am, please don’t let it simply be because you watched the movie ‘seven years in Tibet’ or because you have read or seen things about monks getting tortured by Chinese policemen (can we really lecture Chinese people about this issue without being complete hypocrites?). Talk to people from both China and Tibet and hear what they have to say. It’s a complex issue, but I feel that the fate of Tibet over the last century may actually indeed have been the
best one possible…but only time will tell. Once I arrive in Lhasa I think I will be able to have a clearer idea about how big the impact of Chinese culture has been. If I were to protest anything, I think I would protest for restrictions on the amount of foreign development in Tibet, the types of development (to limit factory and Chinese consumer product production), and opportunities available for Tibetan nationals (as opposed to the Chinese Tibetan population there that seems to always get the majority of life quality improvement opportunities). Tibet, as a body of land and people within, will never really have what westerners see as ‘freedom’, so I say lets work towards the best and most realistic alternatives as soon as possible.
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Tricia
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I really enjoyed reading this post junior, great perspective. You must have more pictures!!! (ps, LOVE the pix of the pups!)