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  Lhasa, Tibet, China
Monday, October 27, 2008

We discovered that you are unable to have a Tibet visa and a China visa at the same time, so our China visas were cancelled in order to allow us entry into Tibet.  It is thus lucky that we had decided not to proceed with our planned trip to China, as our only chance to get a China visa after visiting Tibet would be a one hour period in Kathmandu before flying to Bhutan - a fact that was making the Peregrine staff in Nepal very stressed.  They were very glad to hear of our change of plans!  When our visas did arrive on printed paper (there was to be no evidence of our trip to Tibet in our passports), they simply stated that we had been allowed entry to the PRC, with no mention of Lhasa or Tibet (a sensitive issue).  We were all thrilled that our visas did come through, as the border has only recently been opened to allow entry to foreigners.  Our flight there was an experience in itself, as we were able to view mighty Everest and the rest of the Great Himalayan range in all its glory!
 
We had some special moments in Lhasa, but these were tempered by our shock at the effect that the large influx of Han Chinese has had on the country.  Driving into Lhasa, we drove through the modern Chinese part of town, with wide ordered roads lined by Western shops.  Thankfully our hotel was near to Jokhang Temple in the old town and we spent our first afternoon in Lhasa walking clockwise around the temple in the company of many Tibetan Buddhists, some of whom can be seen prostrating.  There were a few monks, but not large numbers, and the feel was sombre compared to the area around Bodhnath stupa in Kathmandu in Nepal.  The following afternoon we got to enter the Temple, which has a lovely interior filled with Buddha statues and images, including from all 4 sects of Buddhism.  On our first night in Lhasa we went to the large square in front of the Potala Palace, a wonderful Palace to behold.  It was lit up for all to enjoy, and suddenly fountains and music were turned on, creating a festive atmosphere.  It was truly a delight.
 
Unfortunately for me, I got to experience a 'mild' case of altitude sickness in Lhasa, having gone from almost sea-level to 3600m.  Our wonderful guide, Passang Sherpa, has summited Everest and is well versed with the features of altitude sickness (something he has had the joy of experiencing himself).  He wisely recommended that our group take prophylactic Diamox, but unfortunately I am allergic to sulphur and thus was unable to take any.  I was fine during the first evening other than a mild headache, but night is when the action is and the insomnia, thumping headache and nausea came to haunt me.   Take it from me - 'mild' altitude sickness is enough to make you miserable and turned climbing the steps up to the Potala Palace and Drepung Monastery an ordeal the following day.  However, I was glad I made all the stairs as they were fascinating places to visit.
 
The Potala Palace was built in 2 stages: the red part in the 7th Century by the King (who had a Nepalese and a Chinese wife) and the white part in the 17th Century by the 5th Dalai Lama.  It was the Winter Palace of the current Dalai Lama before he fled to India in the 1950's as a result of the Chinese takeover.  It is strictly forbidden to have any images of the current Dalai Lama on your person while in Tibet, and any demonstration of any kind along the lines of 'Free Tibet' would be incredibly stupid.  There is obvious military presence around Lhasa, including snipers on roof-tops and shield carrying soldiers in the area around Jokhang Temple (usually walking counter-clockwise!).
 
The Drepung Monastery is up in the hills of Lhasa, and is a large complex once home to thousands of monks.  Now, sadly, there are only about 700 monks living at this monastery.  Like the temple and the palace, the monastery has a huge collection of Buddha statues and figurines.  Thankfully, the incense burning was not over-whelming the way it was at the Potala Palace.  We were able to see some rock art and also visited the kitchen (and I very quickly decided I was not keen to share a meal - the kitchen was very basic with huge pots of food cooking in dim light smelling not great).  We even got to see some yaks on the hillside en route to and from the monastery.
 
With the changes that have occurred in Tibet with the Chinese presence, 2 days was enough time to spend in Tibet, and after another fairly sleepless night sitting upright in my bed, we were happy enough to say good-bye and return to Kathmandu.  I hope that something will happen soon to improve the situation for the Tibetans, to relieve them of their current situation, hopefully before their culture is completely destroyed.
 

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