An Hour in Tibet

I left Chengdu around 4AM and headed to the airport. I was ecstatic although I was quite sleepy at the same time. The reason for my excitement was the connecting flight to Kathmandu. I had a one hour layover in Lhasa, Tibet.

Tibet has always been part of my dream destination list. I tried to look for a cheap way to go there when I was still in Chengdu last August 2009, but the cheapest I found was around $200 including the Tibetan Permit. I think it’s already cheap because most Tibet tours that I saw online were more than a thousand bucks.

Some facts about Tibet from Wikipedia

“Tibet is a plateau region in Asia and disputed territory, north of the Himalayas. It is home to the indigenous Tibetan people, and to some other ethnic groups such as Monpas and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han Chinese people. Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average elevation of 4,900 metres (16,000 ft). It is sometimes referred to as the roof of the world.”

One thing that did not appeal to me was the itinerary. I’m not sure if I have to follow that or what. I was never fond of booking a tour with any travel agencies and following their itineraries. I love having my own freedom of going when I want to. I’ve read though in some forums that it’s just for formality, no one really follows it.

As soon as we arrived in Lhasa, we were welcomed with smiling airport staff. Even the Immigration officers were happy compared to other airports were you’ll find a lot of grumpy Immigration officers. I wasn’t sure if it has to do with the altitude of the airport (LOL) maybe it’s the altitude sickness that makes them happy.

I was still sleepy and I headed straight to the smoking area to kill some time. I was amazed with the view of the smoking area. This is so far, the most breathtaking view that I’ve seen while in a smoking area. I saw the mountains and some clouds that were just hovering over the airport. It’s like you could almost touch them. And no, I don’t think I was hallucinating because of the altitude.

After an hour of waiting, it was boarding time at last. I only spent an hour inside Tibet. I’ll make sure that I won’t miss this controversial land on my next trip.

And by the way, when you take the Chengdu to Kathmandu (via Lhasa flight), there's a big chance that you'll also see Mt. Everest (if it's not too cloudy).

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Bus from Shangri-La to Xiangcheng

I left my room around 4AM and waited for another 30 minutes before the caretaker opened the door. The wind was cold and it was still dark. I was deciding if I’m going to walk from my hostel to the bus station or not which was a bit far. I took a taxi instead and I arrived at the bus station around 5AM. There were a few backpackers at that time lounging around the waiting area.

I waited for a couple more hours and we were finally called to board the bus. I was afraid that I might be the only tourist inside the bus but I was wrong. Half of the bus was occupied by backpackers from different countries.

We stopped after a couple of hours for a bathroom break. The bus didn’t have any portable toilet inside. I went out the bus and I was surprised. I just saw the most amazing landscape that I’ve ever seen in my life. China is the most beautiful country that I have ever seen in my life. Seeing China’s Southwestern area was like watching National Geographic live.

After the break we went on again, as we crisscrossed different mountains, I couldn’t help but smile. The world is really beautiful and I feel so lucky that I could travel. I felt that this was the best decision that I’ve ever made in my life.

After two or three hours we stopped again. I looked outside the window to check what’s going on. It seemed that there were a couple more local buses in front of us. Some of the passengers got off to check what’s going on. Curious as I was, I also went down.

A small bus got stuck in the mud. Everyone’s helping to dug up the bus and pulled it to a more stable ground. After half an hour, they were able to pull the bus out. Our bus overtook the two local buses and drove thru the muddy dirt road.

And it got stuck as well. The piled stones that were used to help the other bus were no use to our bus, maybe because our bus is bigger and heavier.

Most of us helped to dig the bus out of the mud. We were all gathering stones and throwing it to the dirt road so that the bus’s tires could have something solid to grasp on. It was a funny and tiring moment. After almost an hour, the bus was able to pass by. Everyone who helped was full of dirt, mud and small debris.

It was funny inside the bus. The local Tibetans and Chinese were teasing us because we’re full of mud and dirt. And we were all laughing. It was surreal because no one was using the same language and yet we could understand what’s going on. It was another perfect moment of human harmony, I was thinking. The language barrier didn’t block us from communicating what we felt. The smiles and laughter made the experience very memorable.

It was almost dark when we arrived in Xiangcheng. The town is like a city in the making. Even though it’s pretty inaccessible due to remoteness, there were a lot of new buildings already. The road inside the county is paved and there were commercial shops and banks.

We all checked in the same hostel. I found out that all backpackers inside the bus were heading to Chengdu, same as my itinerary. But we’re stopping to some Tibetan villages along the way for some tourist sightseeing.

This Chinese road trip was turning out to be a very good experience.

Here are some pictures from my bus trip from Shangri-La to Xiangcheng

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Dreaming of Shangri-La

It was raining when I arrived in Kunming around mid August of this year. I immediately checked myself in a cheap backpacker’s hostel together with an Israeli couple that I met on the bus. The hostel was great, the staff were all English speaking and there’s a lot of useful travel books and brochures that you can borrow regarding traveling in Yunnan and Sichuan province.

Kunming is an average size city. I spent a couple of days walking around the city, hopping from one bus to another while deciding if I would go to Lijiang or to Shangri-La. Yes, you heard it right, Shangri-La.  It used to be just a fictional place described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by James Hilton. But now China has adapted the name, maybe for tourism purposes.

Some facts about Shangri-La from Wikipedia

“Shangri-La County is primarily Tibetan county in northwestern Yunnan Province in southwest China and the capital of Diqing Tibetan Autonomus Prefecture. The town was formerly known as Zhongdian County.”

 After a couple of days of lounging around the laidback city of Kunming, I had decided that Shangri-La would be my next stop. I’ve always wanted to go to Tibet but since I wouldn’t be able to afford it, I might as well go to other Tibetan villages which wouldn’t require the highly sought after Tibetan permit.

I took an overnight bus from Kunming to Shangri-La. I couldn’t remember how much I paid though but I’m sure it wouldn’t break your bank. There are several ways to go to Shangri-La. You can either fly directly or take a bus from Kunming, Lijiang, Dali or Deqin.

I met two other tourists from Switzerland inside the bus. Both of them already had a reserved hostel in Shangri-La which made me worried a bit. I didn’t have a place to stay yet. But what the heck! I thought I would just figure it out when I arrive there.

As soon as we arrived, we immediately went out and were surprised with how cold it is. I really don’t like cold places but it didn’t stop me from being excited in experiencing Shangri-La.

We shared a wagon like vehicle which brought us to the old town. The old town is primarily inhabited by Tibetans and it’s also the backpackers’ area in that town. It seemed like Shangri-La is divided into two areas, one is inhabited by Han Chinese and the other by Tibetans.

The county center seems to be gearing towards modern development. You’ll see a lot of new buildings, modern shops like laptop and mobile phone stores and some other stuff. The interesting thing was, you would see Tibetans dressed in their local clothes using modern technology like mobile phones.

I found a very cheap hostel which cost me only 30 Yuan or approximately $4. There were two beds inside the room, and it could have been cheaper if I found someone to share the room with. What a waste right?

The old town is full of souvenir shops. I was shocked to see some stores selling fur. I thought they were prohibited already. There’re cheap food stalls that served barbequed food in the middle of the city center too. I personally like the grilled wild mushrooms, the vendor in her limited English words told me that it came from the mountains. It was awesome!!! I couldn’t describe how it tasted but it’s really delicious and cheap.

There’re some tourist agencies as well offering trips to Lhasa or camping excursion to the Tibetan wilderness. It could have been great if Flip could afford it. But Flip couldn’t.

I stayed up until nightfall in the center of the old town doing what a usual traveler does, people watching. And then they started playing some Tibetan folk songs. They cleared the center from all the vendors, and the locals started dancing.

The act attracted a lot of tourists as well. After a few minutes, the center was filled with people dancing to the Tibetan hymn.

I couldn’t explain the emotion that I felt while watching them dance. Their faces were happy and calm. No trace of worries for the inevitable future. It’s a face of contentment and happiness that we’ve all been dreaming about.

I wanted to join them dance but I was glued on my seat. They danced maybe for an hour or more. As they were enjoying the rhythm of their folk music, I was enjoying observing everything.

And there it was, a perfect moment. For once in my life, I felt I was present. For once in my life, I felt I was not living in my past or future thoughts.

For once in my life, I felt free and alive. And it all happened just by listening to their hymns and watching their movements.

Weird, yeah I think. Surreal, definitely! Though I would give up everything just to feel that calmness and serenity again.

The following day, I took a bus and headed up north to see and experience more Tibetan culture.

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