Himalayas & China 2005: 11 - Xian to Lhasa, Tibet

Saturday, October 8, 2005

Our current guide has informed me China Telecom is still government owned, where our guide in Kashgar had said it was privatized - something I reported earlier. I'll now stay neutral on that topic, having one vote each way.

Today's first stop was Banpo Village. This is dedicated to the original primitive settlers of the area, but as the main building was being reconstructed there were only a few display cases with items that we'd seen in the history museum. The stop was a waste of time. Marilynn has come down with a cold and is feeling horrible, so she wasn't into walking around where there was nothing new to see. She asked the guide to stop at a pharmacy so she could get something for her cold, but neither that nor a requested stop at a shop with books in English came about. I guess not being in the driver's program made it impossible.

We visited the Terracotta Warrior Museum, which was as impressive as we expected. There are three pits covered by large buildings. In the main building 1,500 soldiers and quite a few horses are lined up in rows where they originally stood. There are another 4,500 soldiers still to be uncovered, and many more in the other buildings. Attacking troops had smashed the clay soldiers centuries ago, making piecing them together an enormous task.

There was no record of this tomb in ancient writings that have been recovered - farmers digging a well in 1974 discovered it. A well done 360-degree film acted out the history of the dynasty, graphically illustrating how the terracotta army came about and how they were damaged.

We went to a fourth building, where the guide showed us replicas of chariots drawn by four horses abreast. She then announced that we had 30 minutes free time. I said we didn't want 30 minutes more there; all that was left to see was a description of the construction of the buildings covering the terracotta army and some paintings. When she said we had to wait 30 minutes as she was going for her lunch Marilynn lost it. "What are we doing our about lunch while we wait for you to have yours?" Lucy then counter attacked, effectively saying we were to do as we were told, and that the driver was right not to vary from his itinerary. I finally stepped in and asked that we be taken back to the hotel.

When we got near the hotel, Lucy had calmed down and asked if we wanted to go through the Wild Goose Pagoda then walk back to the hotel. I said yes, as it was the last item of the day. It is an 8 level pagoda built before 1,000 AD, with a newer active Buddhist shrine in the same complex. After looking around we walked the couple of blocks to the hotel.

When told (not asked) that we would be picked up at 6 PM for dinner I said forget it, we'd arrange our own dinner - we have both had it with guide and driver. We dismissed them before 3 in the afternoon. She said to be ready, checked out of the hotel, for pick up at 6 AM to go to the airport, which is fine. We ate in the hotel bar/restaurant. I used the afternoon to catch up on writing and to get some emails away.

Sunday, October 9, 2005

The hotel had a box lunch ready for us, which we ate in the lobby while waiting to be picked up. It was foggy as we drove to the airport. I was surprised that at 6 AM there was almost no traffic on the road - this is obviously not an early morning town. There were no sad farewells when we left our guide and driver! I wonder if she will hand in the tour evaluation form she was so insistent that I fill out!

Check in was easy, and the flight boarded just as we arrived As usual the ticket agent had given me a seat impossible to sit in, but once again the crew on board came to my rescue, giving me 3 seats across at the back of the plane. The China Eastern Airlines flight was almost full for the hour and ten minute flight to Chengdu.

We had a wait of over 5 hours in the Chengdu airport. It was necessary to collect our baggage and wait until 1 ½ hours before the flight to check in once again. We decided to have a cup of tea, if for no other reason than to sit on chairs more comfortable than the metal seats in front of the check in counters.

Marilynn ordered some type of green tea, and so I said I'd have the same. It was a ghastly concoction with some sort of rolled up long, green leaves floating around on top of hot water. The leaves one by one sank to the bottom, but the "tea", now suspended above a layer of green sludge, had a horrible, bitter taste. Marilynn ordered sugar, which came in chunks and wasn't particularly sweet. By holding a chunk of sugar between the teeth and straining the liquid through it enough sweetness got through to make the beverage almost drinkable. We weren't about to waste it, as the cost was an outrageous $4.75 per glass.

I went to a ticket counter to see if we could check in, even though it was still 2 ½ hours before the flight. As I approached the counter a short Chinese chap shot in front of me, but a quick jab of my elbow in his ear quickly re-established the order of service. The agent checked us in with no problem, so we proceeded to the gate. There was a pub right across from our gate, so we sat there so I could down some Tsingtao beer to help pass the time.

It seemed airport workers were bringing their lunch into the pub/restaurant in styro containers, while clients were purchasing meals in steel partitioned trays. The women ate quite delicately, as did some men, but most men seemed to take devouring food very seriously - almost as if they would lose it if not ingested before a predetermined number of seconds had passed.

The most common technique was to lower the head to the level of the tray, approach with the lower lip extended and start a whirling motion with the chopsticks. They performed a similar function to the auger at the intake of a snow blower. As the whirling sticks were lowered into the rice the lower lip nearly touched the tray and an intake of breath caused the flying food to be inhaled.

The flight was a little late leaving, but not much, and for a change the ticket agent got it right and gave Marilynn and I three bulkhead seats between us. The food on board was pretty good and I got some writing done, so the two-hour flight passed quickly. We had sunshine and clear skies over Tibet making the views spectacular. The approach to the airport is up a broad, sandy valley with a wide, many-channelled river meandering through. Areas of huge sand dunes reach up into the mountains lining the river.

We arrived at the new, modern Gonggar airport were we were met by our driver, Nowone and guide Youdon, who presented us long white scarves, called Khadhaks. They are presented as a traditional welcome to Tibet. The guide, driver and their 4 X 4 Toyota land cruiser, and will be with us until we reach the Nepal border.

We were expecting a gruelling drive of almost 100 km to get from the airport to Lhasa, but the Chinese have built a bridge across he river and an 8 km tunnel through the mountains near the airport, cutting 40 km off the trip. The road was paved, so the drive was only about 45 minutes. The tunnel, which was built in a year, opened just one month ago.

Along the road to Lhasa we were pulled over by the police, as neither guide nor driver had their seat belts on, a requirement in China. The driver gave his license to the policeman, and then got out of the car to talk to him. I don't know what was said, but they both roared with laughter, the driver got back into the car and away we went - seatbelts still not on. Our driver has the greatest ear-to-ear smile you could imagine!

We also passed a four truck convoy of Chinese soldiers, three trucks with four armed soldiers across the tailgate and one with riot shield side by side across the back of the truck. I'm not sure what that was about.

Coming into Lhasa on streets with three lanes going each way and modern buildings everywhere was a bit of a disappointment. The famous monastery loses something as well, when viewed though a maze of new apartment blocks. There have obviously been a lot of changes since the Chinese invasion in 1959.

Getting to our hotel lifted the spirits, though. The Dhood Gu Hotel is located in a pedestrian alleyway filled with small shops - a policeman had to drop a chain allow us to enter. The hotel is in the traditional Tibetan style; the lobby has painted walls, ceilings and pillars and is very cozy. Our room is also really unique, with painted wall trim, door jams and all Tibetan décor.

Doris Lee, the sales manager of Tibet Ngari Kailash Travel Service, was at the hotel to meet us. Over a pot of tea she went through our itinerary carefully, suggesting a couple of sensible changes. She also said the manager of the travel company in Xi'an had phoned to apologize, so I guess my evaluation form did get turned in.

We are under orders to rest today, to acclimatize to the 3,780-meter (12,400') altitude. We ate a delicious meal in the hotel off the menu, and then headed for the room. We have an 11 AM start tomorrow so can take it easy.

China summary:

Since out first trip to mainland China about 17 years ago, things have changed drastically. No longer are the streets thronged with bicycles and wagons pulled by roto-tillers; now cars are everywhere and the infrastructure of highways seems to have kept up with demand. Pollution and other environmental problems are slowly being addressed, but most public washrooms are still in the dark ages.

In China foreign exchange rates at hotels are the same as at the bank. The bank of China is the only bank we saw that changed money. The use of foreign currency is not legal, and other than in the Uyghur area it was not accepted. The Uyghurs are a people apart - even illegal moneychangers were common, but not in other areas.

Disciplined, controlled employees are the norm. Restaurant employees can be seen marching on the sidewalk outside the restaurant before starting work, or standing in a line at attention while being given their daily instructions. If something is wanted that an employee is not familiar with, or programmed to do, it is likely not possible. Freethinking is rare. Education is very inward looking. History is according to government policy, and world geography is almost non-existent. I didn't meet anyone who knew about the Panama Canal, and all thought Central America was part of the US.

This was certainly the case in the travel business in Xi'an, where the concept of independent travel was totally foreign. Tourists are to do what they are told, when they are told and where they are told. Anything outside the program was either not possible or caused huge difficulties - and not only with our company. Most staff under Anna Song in the autonomous zone were not like that, although the driver in Urumqi fit the pattern.

The airports we have been in have been new and clean without exception. It is even fairly safe to use the toilets. Announcements are in Chinese and easily understandable English, as are signs and display boards. An English speaking person would have no problem finding their way around, as many staff speak at least some English as well.

It will be very interesting to go back to China to watch the continuing move into a free market economy. We plan to be there again in 2007.