Lhasa, Tibet

I went to Tibet.  It’s such a simple statement about a vacation, but there’s nothing simple about Tibet or traveling in Tibet. 

In my travel fantasies, I often imagined Tibet as a mystical place with magnificent landscapes, colorful people, and a spiritual culture.  …. That turned out to be mostly true. 

I thought I understood the basics of Tibetan history, the controversy of the Chinese “liberation” (invasion), and Tibetan Buddhism.  …That turned out to be mostly false.

Either way, it was an emotional week and that was surprising.  Maybe the biggest benefit to travel is to see different lifestyles, attitudes, and worldviews.  Travel always makes me feel humble and small, but mostly it makes me grateful for all that I have as an American.

To get into Tibet, foreigners need a permit; we can’t buy any travel ticket without one.  To get a permit, foreigners need a guide and/or a tour.  PCV Steph did the research and found an inexpensive tour with Tibet Travel starting in Lhasa and going to Everest base camp: $850 included everything for 1 week, except lunch and dinner (but we ended up often skipping dinner because of late lunches).  Also, travel to Lhasa was not included.  I’m not a fan of organized tours, especially with strangers, but we didn’t have a choice and thankfully this one turned out to be awesome.

The tour company arranged and delivered the permits, but it caused us much hassle and anxiety.  We had to provide a copy of our passport, work permit, full address and telephone numbers, proof of work at our universities with contact name, address, and most importantly a red stamp.  All that had to go to the police station for approval.  With less than 24 hours before departure, we still hadn’t gotten the permit.  I asked a school employee to help me receive the post delivery, so it only cost me a watermelon to say thanks.  (There’s a common practice about giving fruit in China).

At the airport, we had to show our precious permit multiple times, getting shuffled around at the security check, not as bad as that scene in the movie ARGO, but enough confusion to send the message that Tibet travel is serious. 

Steph at the airport with our guide.
We were so happy for the cool temperature
and clear sky.

When we arrived in Lhasa, our fabulous, trilingual Tibetan guide greeted us with white prayer scarfs, introduced us to our Tibetan driver, answered our questions on the drive, and delivered us to the hotel.  At that point, he took charge of our permit, which he needed to check into hotels and get though many, many police and military checkpoints.  We spent the first few days in Lhasa.

This is the first of several posts about my week in Tibet.

our room

Tibetan Hotel

shops in Barkhor, the old part of Lhasa

around the Barkhor is a kora (a pilgrim circuit)

"singing" musical bowls 

walking clockwise around Barkhor

1300 year old Jokhang Temple,  Barkhor

view of Barkhor and pilgrims

lunch of barley mixed with yak milk

the next day was rainy,
view from Potala Palace over the
Chinese developed part of Lhasa

prayer wheels around Potala Palace kora

no pictures allowed inside

Potala Palace, former seat of Tibetan government
and residence of the Dalai Lamas,
now nearly deserted and very eerie
and depressing

security check for all entrances
to the Potala Palace and the Barkhor 

PCVs Izzy and Stephanie,
lunch at New Mandala Restaurant, Barkhor

yak butter tea, I tried it once

vegetable cakes
I couldn't eat them all, and after I got up
some little kids who were begging scooted around the servers,
who were trying to get them to leave,
and grabbed what I had left and ran out.
Really common and really sad.

around temples and monasteries are
prayer wheels, with prayers written on many layers of paper inside,
people walk by and spin them to release the prayers