Tibet - the roof top of the world

The day I saw 'Golden Child' starring Eddie Murphy was, to the horror of many, the day I decided I had to visit Nepal and Tibet. It looked amazing on screen. The film takes you to both countries and the amazing scenery coupled with a few choice one liners from Mr Murphy..well, it just sealed the deal! So to say I was excited when the plane touched down at Gongga airport in Tibet would be an understatement. I could harldy contain myself.

I actually decided to join a tour group to see Tibet. Usually the words 'organised' and 'group' send me running for the hills but seeing as I'm hardly au fait with Tibetean and Chinese langage - sadly as much as I like to try and kid myself I knew I wouldn't be able to get by with knowing 'hello, goodbye, thank you and where is the toilet?!! Plus the fact it's easier to travel around Tibet as part of a group - the Chinese prefer it. As it turns out the people I travelled with were fabulous. I guide, Nima and Pau Pau were great, didn't crowd us too much and did an amazing job.

Fortunately I was allocated the window seat on the left hand side of the plane which meant I had a birds eye view of the Himilayers and Mount Everest as we flew past. Before this I'd never, ever imagined I'd get excited about a mountain but low and behold there I was with my jaw on the floor doing a very good impression of an over zealous Japanese tourist with a camera as we flew past it.

Tibet is often described as the roof top of the world and for me it more than exceeded my expectations. Tibet was everything I expected and more. My head spun round for the entire time I was there. The scenery was luna, arid and breath taking. The people were so friendly and clearly resilient. Children would drop what they were doing as soon as they saw us and run up to say 'hello' and what seemed like stern stares from adults melted into beeming smiles as soon as you said 'hello' in Tibetean (tashee da lay - watch me as I hone the Tibetean language!).

The sights were something else. I'd dreamt of seeing the Palace Polata (where the Dalia Lama used to live) so when I saw it for the first time on the drive into Lhasa I got goose bumps. The contrasts throughout my trip were dramatic to say the least. One minute you'd see a 4x4 parked next to a horse and cart, a woman wearing a traditional Tibetan outfit next to a teenager in jeans and an off the shoulder tee or a monk helping a limping man cross the road. It was truly amazing and the atmostphere and given the hardship the country has suffered at the hands of the Chinese it's quite surprising the country has such a serene feel to it. Admittedly you can't help but feel the presence of the Chinese but if you choose to block it out (as I did) you get a sense of what Tibet used to be like.

That said sadly the evidence of the cultural genocide commited by the Chinese is all to apparent. For instance there used to be over 6 thousand monasteries before the 'cultural revolution' as the Chinese so eloquently refer to it. Now there are under 100. Over a million Monks and civilians were murdered, cultural buildings destroyed and since then slowly but surely the Chinese have tried to erode the Tibetan way or life. That was until they realised they were on to a money earner. But I'm not going to bore you with what I think about the Chinese in Tibet (more on that later!).

The fabled city of Lhasa was my first stop and it was utterly amazing. This was once an isolated city which is now a mixture of old and new. The palace itself had such an tranquil energy about it. Quite strange given the fact you had the Chinese guards breathing down your neck but if you blocked them out then you definitely get a better feel for the place. For me it was amazing to think the current and previous Dalia Lama's had walked the corridors. Fascinating in fact and I walked around it complete awe from start to finish.

Sadly the Chinese like to stamp their authority but sticking an ugly monument to the date of the occupation of Tibet right in front of the Palace, which everyone ignores. Worse still it's Tibetan Buddhist tradition for people to walk around a religious site clockwise so it's a massive shame the Chinese have insisted the entrance to the Palace means people have to walk around the place anti clock wise. Sadly Tibetan people aren't allowed to spend more than an house in the Palace to our lovely guide kindly suggested we walk around by ourselves to give us more time to absorb what the place had to offer.

Watching the Pilgrims and Monks go about their business at the Jokhang Temple, Sera and Drepung Monasteries was something I've never witnessed before. The Pilgrims walk for days to get to the Temple/monasteries. They then spend an enormous amount of time praying which involves raising their hand to prayer posit on, kneeling down on the floor, then reaching forward on the ground in a motion that looks very similar to breast stroke...VERY tiring!

The monks and the Sera Monasteries were something else in the sense that each afternoon they would gather in the court yard and debat. Nothing out of the ordinary there you may think. Except this was debating with a twist - they would shout at each other. If they disagreed the Monk asking the question would raise on leg and stamp it down at the other while claping at the same time. It was incredible to see hundreds of Monks shouting, stamping and claping at each other. What was also strange was while all of that was going on the place still had a really peaceful feel to it - very hard to describe.

The journey on the Friendship Highway - a spectacular road which traverses high mountain passes and crosses wide plateaus, connecting Lhasa with Kathmandu - was incredible. We travelled through Tibet’s richest farming areas, before crossing the Brahmaputra River as it wound its way down towards the Bay of Bengal many hundreds of kilometres away. In Tibet it flows at an altitude of 3939 metres above sea level, making it is the highest major river in the world - tick box!!

The people and scenery is what stood out for me the most. We drove within sight of towering peaks including Mount Everest and crossed five passes over 5,000 metres above sea level. Being that high above sea level meant the alitude sickness was pretty full on and ranged from massive pressurised, thumping head aches, to slurring my words (when I wasn't drinking!) and going to the loo the whole time which as far from ideal given the toilet situtation. The memory of trying to find a quiet spot at the foot of a mountain as goat herders and 4x4's drifted past me will stay with me forever!!

We then climbed to the Karo La (5010 metres) which is the same level as base camp at Mount Everest....not sure I'll be attempting to climb that given heady I felt there!! Still loved the hat I was wearing - see pic!!

The historic town of Gyantse, which served as the capital of a small kingdom in the 15th century was fabulous. I stood at the top of the stupar (Buddhist shrine) and gazed out over the Gyats. It was at the monastery next door that I was given the opportunity to meditate with a Tibetan Monk. He taught me the key elements of Tibetean Buddhist meditation, the mantra etc. It was so surreal. Aside from the fact I had to literally surpress my internal scream as I was so excited about the whole thing i.e. me in a temple, in front of a gaint golden buddha statu, sitting in fron of a Tibetean Monk, him teaching me (in Tibetean) how to meditate and my guide translating was more than I could take. My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets even though they were closed...nice image for you I'm sure!!

Shigatse, the second largest city in Tibet with a population of some 40,000 people was interesting. The Tashilhunpo Monastery is the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, the most important incarnation for Tibetan Buddhists after the Dalai Lama. This totally blew me away although we were warned we had to be very careful with what we said as some of the monks are actually in cahoots with the authorities. Slightly alarming and you could spot the one's which were; the shoved past you and spent all their time on mobile phones!!

The bus ride to Shegar was incredible. In the morning we crossed the Jai Tsuo Pass with stunning views of the Himalayan peaks to the south. We then passed through the Shegar checkpoint and then cross the Tingri Plains before ascending to Lalung Leh (5050m). At this pass we had spectacular views to the east (weather permitting) of Everest (8850m), Lhotse (8516m), Makalu (8463m), Cho Oyu (8201m) and Gauri Shanker (7146m). To the west we could seeXixapangma (8013m), Langtang (7245m) and Dorje Lakpa (6980m). That’s five peaks, each over 8000 metres in height - amazing!!

The drive to the small town of Nyalam, near the border, was the most horrifying journey of my life. The road was still being built, it was on the cliff edge with no barriers and oh, did I mention the 250 metre drop to the bottom? Thankfully our bus driver was amazing. We arrived in one piece. Those behind us weren't so luck as about an hour there was a landslide...think that qualifies as a near death situ!

So all in all an amazing trip. A massive contrast from start to finish. The scenery, people are utterly amazing, inspiring and really friendly which frankly makes a massive change. Thankfully tourism has turned the country and its people into a suspicous cynical bunch.

I imagine it's extremely hard especially under the rule of the Chinese. It's actually something I found very hard to come to terms with. For instance I heard of some children, under the age of 10, who were thrown into prision for writing on a public wall....they disapeared two months ago and haven't been seen or heard from since. An elderly man gave a speech about the political situation in Tibet and has since been accused of 'separatism' and locked away. The list is endless.

The cultural ways of 50 years or so ago are still there. Just. Obviously the more people who visit Tibet, then the more likely they are to stay and the more people who are aware of the dreadful situtation the Tibeteans are going through under the iron rule of the Chinese ie. how would you like all the shop, road signs in your country to be written in another languge, the better. So go. Visit Tibet and see for yourself just how utterly, jaw droppingly gorgeous it is, the people and the overall atmosphere there. It's really quite breath taking.