Tibet Journey Continued and the arrival in Kathmandu.

Nov 12,

After a deep sleep, I awoke at 5am. With such a short time in Lhasa, I had to make the most of it. I left my hotel room and proceeded to the monastery. This is one of the great Tibetan pilgrimage sites and pilgrims circle the monastery in a clockwise direction praying and giving thanks. I joined the throng, listening to the chants and observing the pilgrims, some of which had spent up to 200 days crossing huge mountains and braving the harsh elements of the plateau on foot. This visit was, for them, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It was a very powerful experience moving with the pilgrims for 3 hours before sunrise. The children looked at me with amazement and huge smiles, I was probably the first Westerner they had ever seen. Meanwhile smiling adults, ancient and grizzled by a long life in the harsh elements would flash toothless smiles and give me the sign of blessing and good fortune. I was in another world and the sunrise watching these amazing people welcome the day was a memory of a lifetime.

At 9am I came in from the cold and met my other tour companions, we went to breakfast and enjoyed a nice meal. From the second story window, I could see the endless Chinese soldiers in full combat gear and automatic rifles. The soldiers were posted on the roof 24/7, watching the pilgrims. The baffling scene further questions why and what is happening in Tibet, no pictures can be taken of the police or military forces, limitations on religion, and a feeling of intimidation and hostility. Yet for the most part the Tibetans take it in stride, with a smile on their face.

At 10am, we met our guide and we went to the Potala Palace. I usually find myself disappointed by unesco sites they turn into historical tourist traps with hawkers and scammers feeding of gullible tourists. With the Potala Palace, this is not the case. The spiritual energy in the Palace was pretty stunning. I am often a skeptic when it comes to religion, but witnessing the devotion and sacredness of the Potala Palace was a pretty inspiring experience. The temple inside, many parts over 1300 years old, was full of cultural relics, Dali Lama tombs, scriptures and hundreds of Buddha statues. In addition, there was no picture taking tourists, instead there were thousands of Tibetan pilgrims, paying their respects by giving meager sums of money as donations and supplying the candles with their Yak butter. Leaving the temple, I was asked to pose with numerous Tibetans who were thrilled to get to see a real Westerner. Descending from the palace, I felt as if I was leaving a place not entirely of this world and returning to reality.

Before parting ways, we went for a lunch in a Tibetan resturaunt where I ordered Yak tongue and Tsampa (Tsampa is a barley flour food that is the staple of the monks diet). While we waited for our food, 10 curious children stared at us, gradually moving from their table to ours where the gazed in wonder at us. I took the opportunity to teach them rock, scissors, paper. Our meal came and the children were called back to their own table. After an interesting meal we parted ways. I wandered the city, picking up trinkets and handmade crafts from vendors, many of which had come to Lhasa to sell crafts before returning to their homes in the plateau.

Nov 13^th,

I woke up for my final few rounds with the pilgrims before packing and getting ready for an 8am departure from Lhasa. Loading our bags into the van we were off into the country. The scenery was stunning and the road wound up, up, and up before arriving at the first pass which was 4900m. We stopped at the top and I got to ride a Yak and look at one of the 3 spirit lakes of Tibet.  

The next stop was at a lung busting 5600m where dizziness and thin air made the hawkers and the person charging 2  kwai for washroom use a little irritating. It was the highest I have ever been by over 1600 meters.

7100m mountain

Palace at Gyantse

Nov 14

This morning I found myself in Shigatse. After breakfast we headed to an ancient monastery which was, like the Potala Palace, a very spiritually charged place. It was tough to rush through it as it was a huge complex with many relics and wonders to see. 

After we finished, we piled into the van and began the massively long drive to a border town called Nylam. Our first stop was for lunch where I ate Yak noodles (The sixth variation of Yak that I have tried). While we ate, the window filled with curious Tibetans gazing at us westerners. It felt a little like being the feature attraction at a zoo, but it was still entertaining.

The next stop was a 5250m mountain pass where we got out and met a nomadic family selling prayer flags. The curious kids flocked to us and where really incredible little people, interacting with them was really cool and it was sad to have only 10 minutes but we had a lot of driving left.

Our next stop was to take a look at Everest which finally came into view. It was cool to see the mountain that is so steeped in history, tragedy and achievement. 

We wove through the plateau with its incredibly bright sun, Himalayan peaks and the ruins of fortifications from a Nepal/Tibet war that occurred centuries ago. As the sun set, we topped out on the last pass and gazed at the Himalayas in the growing twilight. 

 

Nov 15,

I woke up today at over 4000m again. My lips felt dried out, my nose was stuffed and my head fuzzy. After 6 days of yoyo travel between 3500 and 5500 meters, my body began to be unimpressed.  This day was my last in Tibet and I was a little bummed out. After departing Nylam, we wound down for 40km. This descent, the longest in the world, descends thousands of meters in only a handful of kilometers. I looked with envy at the numerous switchbacks that would have been oh so rewarding at the end of the bike trip I had dreamed of doing. However, the trekking in Nepal should make up for it.

Arriving in Zhangmu, we said goodbye to our amazing guide Dhorma and went through Chinese customs. After clearing the customs we were admitted to the friendship bridge which was a fascinating contrast between China and Nepal. On the Chinese side, twenty guards in full combat gear sporting automatic rifles demanded passports and tried to intimidate. On the Nepali side there was nothing. The visa took 5 minutes. The Chinese visa is almost a month.

The change was instantly apparent. The people and the atmosphere are similar to India far moreso than Chinese. The quiet Tibet with its happy, spiritual people was replaced by flying colors loud noises and the excitement of the Nepali. The change was shocking and we were instantly set upon by many people offering transport to Katmandu. Some offered 2500 rupees for a jeep, others 400 for a bus ticket. Ignoring those who were pushy we found a bus booth and bought a real bus ticket for 300 rupees (about 4 dollars). 

We waited on the bus for an hour until the seats, the aisles and the roof were full before descending down a chaotic dirt road. The bus ride to Katmandu, about 150 kilometers in length, took 6 and half hours. We kept going down and the barren plateau was replaced by palm trees, rivers shacks and naked children running on the street. Tibet was empty and silent, Nepal was another world. As the bus moved on, people where jumping off the roof, climbing on and the road was chaotic, full of colorful buses and trucks with loud and flamboyant horns.

After 4 and a half hours, we arrived at the hazy Katmandu valley, not as polluted as most Chinese cities, but still very polluted compared to everywhere around it. We then sat in bumper to bumper traffic for 2 hours. Chaos reigned supreme and after finally arriving, we grabbed a taxi to Thamel, the backpackers district. Thamel was full of climbing shops, pashmere, yak wool and restaurants and bars, a colorful and noisy shopping paradise. I grabbed a room and the hotel Shree Tibet and have a single room and free luggage storage for the next 15 days at the cost of ten dollars a night.

Having a final dinner with my Tibetan companions, I headed to the hotel, tomorrow is a busy day and I have much to do to prepare for my next foray into the high altitude of the Himalayas.