Himalayas & China 2005: 13 - Lhasa to Zangmu, Tibet

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

It would appear that the Chinese rule about hotels giving bank exchange rates doesn't apply here, so our first stop was the bank where the exchange rate was 8.7 instead of the 7.5 yuan per US dollar being offered at the hotel. When leaving Lhasa we drove back on the same road towards the airport. After exiting the new tunnel we turned the opposite way from the airport, on the road that used to be the only route from the airport to Lhasa.

We were soon winding our way up a series of switchbacks on excellent road until we reached the top of the Kampa La pass. This is a controversial height as well - the guide says 4,794 meters and the official sign at the top says 4,990 m (16,367').

We stopped to take some photos of the beautiful, turquoise Yambrok Lake and its backdrop of snow-capped peaks, but were immediately mobbed by beggars and peddlers. Marilynn paid to photograph one of several decorated yaks available to sit on. I quickly got fed up with being grabbed at, so retreated to the car. Even then it was necessary to lock the doors to keep beggars out. We stopped again about half a mile along the road to take some photos in peace.

After descending to the lake we travelled along its shores for a long time. It is one of the largest lakes in Tibet. When we reached Nangartse town we stopped for buffet lunch at a restaurant popular with tour companies. This town is at 4,500 meters (14,760') so climbing to the second floor of the restaurant proved a challenge to some people, but we were fine.

Shortly after leaving Nangartse the excellent road we had enjoyed ended, turning to a dirt and gravel track that often hugged the side of a cliff. We had one near miss when we met an oncoming 4 X 4 on a blind curve - fortunately we were on the inside but the other vehicle came very close to going over the unfenced edge. Our Toyota Land Cruiser rides well and the track appears to have been graded in the not too distant past.

We made a number of photo stops along the way, but in Tibet Marilynn found that when asking permission to photograph people she was more often than not refused.

People in the mountain villages lead a very tough life. Not much grows, as the valleys in this area are at between 4,500 and 4,900 meters (15,000 to 16,000') and they don't support much vegetation. The farmers scrape a living out raising yaks and sheep.

At the end of the lake is a large dam, which we reached after crossing the Karo La Pass, which the guide says is at 5,045 meters (16,547'), another altitude record for both of us. We stopped to take some photos, then descended to the town below and on to Gyantse, a mere 3,950 m (12,956') in altitude. Even so, we would both wake up in the night short of breath and have to do deep breathing exercises. It makes getting a good night's sleep difficult.

Gyantse is located in the shadow of a huge, old fortress. There was an interesting story in Youdon's Lonely Planet guide about the British invasion of Tibet in 1904. When they first came to Gyantse the fort was deserted, and for some reason after hoisting a British flag the troops camped below the fort instead of occupying it. During the night some 800 Tibetans occupied the fort again.

The British went on to fight the Tibetans defending the Kampa La pass in the highest battle fought in British military history, then returned to Gyantse to await further orders. When ordered to take the fort, they first attacked from one side as a diversion, then from the other side with the main force, using artillery to blast holes in the walls. They blew up the Tibetans powder store, and in the end the Tibetans were defending by throwing rocks. Several hundred Tibetans were killed to only 4 British casualties. The British had canon, maxim guns and modern (for 1904) rifles against flintlocks and swords.

The British buried the dead Tibetans, and set up a field hospital for the wounded. The Tibetans could not figure out why the British were trying to kill them one day and save them the next! During the night, Tibetans came to dig up their dead so they could give them a "sky burial". Youdon informed us that a sky burial is a Tibetan custom still in effect today. They cut the body up into small parts for the eagles and vultures on the theory that this continues life.

The Tibetans gave up after the loss of the fort at Gyantse, so the British commander marched into Lhasa and set up camp near the Potala Palace, where the Dali Lama finally signed a trade agreement. To prevent Tibet coming under the sphere of influence of Russia, the British signed another agreement in 1906 putting Tibet in the Chinese sphere of influence.

Gyantse is the third larges city in Tibet with wide paved streets and virtually no traffic. There are a few cars, a few animal drawn vehicles and quite a few tractors or those flat wagons pulled by what looks like a two-wheeled roto-tiller. We saw many in China years ago, but none this time. Now I know where they went - they are all over the place in Tibet.

After checking into the Gyantse Hotel we visited the Palcho Monastery, which was built in 1418. It was damaged during the cultural revolution, but has been partially restored. There is an enormous Stupa, which apparently has a marvellous view from the top, but there was no way Marilynn would make it, so we declined. A tapestry of the original monastery hanging in the hotel lobby illustrates how extensive the destruction was to the massive walled complex.

The hotel is quite good, except there is no heat and the beds are short. We had the buffet dinner early in a restaurant with wonderful wall murals, and were in bed by 7:30, not to sleep, but to keep warm. This hotel has BBC news, so we caught up on what is happening in the world. We seem to have left a trail of destruction behind us with the Pakistan earthquake, floods and a rocket attack near the Canadian Ambassador's residence in Kabu. I received an email from the ambassador a few days ago, in which he said he was leaving Afghanistan the next day, so fortunately he wasn't home.

Thursday, October 13, 2005

We left Gyantse on good road for Shigatse, the second largest city in Tibet. It seems the second and third largest cities merit a paved road for the three-hour drive between them. We travelled through a broad valley with better farming and a lot of greenhouses. Bright sunshine makes for warm days, but the nights are bitterly cold. It has been extremely dry in Tibet, which accounts for their lower snowfall and our dry skin.

A little over halfway we turned onto a four-wheel drive track, travelling part of the time up a riverbed, to reach the Shalu Monastery that was built in 1076. It had also suffered in the cultural revolution, but is pretty much restored. It is located in the centre of a small farming village on flat ground, so there were no steps to navigate. It was interesting, but not spectacular. The monks there were very friendly, as I guess they have few tourists.

We met a German couple there that had a German speaking Chinese guide, who really seemed to be unable to give them any information - he just stood around with a smile on his face and nodded. They got some of their questions answered by our guide, as they spoke English. Youdan is not very knowledgeable, but unlike many guides she is not afraid to ask, so often our data came directly from the monks. When we were on the road the driver often answered questions about the area we were passing through. According to Youdan there is no course for guides in Tibet, so they must train themselves. She had an English language Lonely Planet book on Tibet for much of her information.

When we arrived at Shigatse we went to the huge Tashilunpo Monastery, where about 600 monks are in residence. One Buddha statue in the monastery is 26 meters (85') high and is plated with 558 kg (1,227 lb) of gold according to the monk. The notes in our travel itinerary says 286 kg and Lonely Planet says three hundred some odd kg, but no matter what figure you use it is still a lot of gold!

The monastery is very impressive, and definitely worth seeing. Three of the huge buildings are stupas containing the remains of lamas who were resident here. This monastery also had to be repaired after the cultural revolution, but was more fortunate than thousands of others throughout the country that were destroyed beyond restoration.

After lunch at a local restaurant we checked into the comparatively deluxe Hotel Manasarovar. We have a nice room with a heater and hot water. The twin beds even fit me! Shigatse is only 50 meters lower than Gyantse, so the altitude effect is about the same.

Having the afternoon free, we had a rest then walked miles through the streets and the bazaar. Along the streets were frequent foul odours suggesting open sewers, but the people we met were very friendly. There was no problem with altitude, but as feet were getting sore we took a bicycle rickshaw back to the hotel were Marilynn had tea and I had a large beer.

I tried the internet section of the hotel to get this update away, however one computer had word on it and no internet, and the internet ones had no word to read my floppy, so I'll have to wait. At dinner were two tables of bicycle riders going from Lhasa to Kathmandu. We had passed another large group earlier today as well. That is definitely extreme sports!

Friday, October 14, 2005

It was pitch dark when we went for breakfast at 7:30, and the streets were almost deserted. We were on the road at 8 AM for the long drive to Shegar. Our itinerary was a bit deceptive, as it says "Later we take a short drive to Shegar". In reality the short drive was 7 ½ hours in spite of our driver not wasting any time.

The drive for the first third of the way, to the town of Thokmen Shen, was on good paved road. There is a fair sized army base in Thokmen Shen. Once through town we were on dirt road, covered with the dreaded fine powdered dust. About 11:30 AM we hit some pavement at the small town of Lhaze were we had a bowl of vegetable noodle soup for lunch.

Once out of town we were back on a dirt track made worse by construction. For much of the trip we needed the high centre of a 4 X 4 as we drove up riverbeds and through rough blasted rock. It was a bone shaking, tooth rattling drive. Traffic wasn't heavy, but there was enough that the choking dust clogged nostrils, and when coming up behind a truck to pass it was like flying through dense clouds, visibility zero.

We stopped at the top of the Gyatsola La pass at 5220 m (17,122') where a sign over the road, highly decorated by prayer flags, welcomed us to Qomolangma Park. Qomolangma is the local name for Mount Everest. This is the highest on land either of us has been, and it was cold - well below zero with a stiff wind blowing. Surprisingly, neither of us had any ill effects from altitude in spite of running around taking photos. Any water for the last several miles was frozen solid.

No one was braving the weather to offer yaks for photos, but much to my surprise two wee urchins rose up out of a pile of prayer flags where they had been huddling for warmth and came forward to solicit money. Now that is dedication! Marilynn made them a deal - 1 Yuan each for photos of them. In the end we loaded them up with cookies we'd bought at a bakery the night before as well as the agreed sum.

After bumping along and eating dust through dry, uninteresting country for another few hours we arrived at Tingri, a village which is no more than a stopping point on the road. We are to spend the night at the Hotel Qomolongma, the jumping off point for Mount Everest Base Camp.

We checked in, and then headed to the administrative town of Shegar to see the 730-year-old Shekar Choedi monastery. The drive was only a few minutes, but when we saw the monastery perched on top of its cliff we declined the visit. We are at the highest altitude yet for an overnight stay - 4,350 m (14,268'), and were not about to mountain climb.

Instead we opted to walk through the three block long town. This is not on the normal tourist route, so people were not familiar with foreigners. Everyone was friendly, and when Marilynn started photographing kids a huge line-up formed to have photos taken and then to see themselves in the camera viewer. We took our time strolling in and out of the tiny shops before driving back to the hotel. It was great, and Youdon had a good time as well.

Back at the hotel I had a beer in the bar/gift shop while Marilynn shopped. They were ending the season, so had some great prices on North Face and other name brand Gortex jackets - between $35 and $50. They also had Mt. Everest T-Shirts and sweatshirts, but none in sizes we could use. Unfortunately, this was the only place we saw them.

Dinner was from the menu and it was the best meal in a while. It was directly back to the room after eating as the dining room was cold. Our room had the setting sun shining directly in, so was fairly warm, but once the sun went down it was into bed again for warmth as there is no heat in the hotel. The curtains in the room were so full of dust I had to take an allergy pill to stop from sneezing! Marilynn didn't sleep badly, but I had problems as my nose kept drying out and closing. Breathing through the mouth just dries everything out there as well!

Saturday, October 15, 2005

After a delicious breakfast we headed off on dirt road under construction, so it was slow going for the first 40 km. After that it was reasonably well-graded gravel. The dryness makes dust clogged nostrils a problem.

The drive was not through particularly interesting country - a bare, dry valley rising into bare, dry hills on either side. One exciting part was where we could clearly see most of Mt. Everest for several miles. It is much wider than I had imagined! It refused to show us the top - that remained hidden in a layer of cloud, but its companion peaks were perfectly clear. To use local names, Qomolongma Peak (Everst) is 8848 m (29,022'), then from left to right we could clearly see Qowowuyag Peak at 8291 (27,195'), Loze Peak at 8516 (27,992') and Mr. Makalu at 8463 (27,759').

A little later we went through an area with the ruins of many forts, watchtowers and tall, thin buildings that were apparently part of a prosperous society that was defeated by an attack from Nepal in the 18th century. This was an area of stiff resistance to the Chinese "peaceful liberation" of the country in 1951.

We then climbed the Lalung La pass which the guide says is 5,153 m (16,902') and our itinerary says is 5,050 m (16, 564'). There was a spectacular view of the 8012 m (26,279') Xixabangma Peak which was outlined against a clear, deep blue sky. There were no vendors or beggars braving the howling wind and freezing temperatures, but there was an Italian cyclist with a badly frost bitten face. As before, Marilynn and I were running around taking photos with no ill effects from the altitude.

We started dropping rapidly after the pass, arriving at our second checkpoint for papers and passports just before the uninteresting town of Nylan, where we had lunch. It is a single street mountain town with 3 and 4 story buildings lining each side of the street. There is little to recommend the place.

Shortly after Nylan the scenery improved dramatically. Gone were the arid hills and plains, replaced by lush evergreen forest and green undergrowth. We followed a rushing river down a very narrow canyon, having to drop through a series of switchbacks now and then to keep up with the descent of the river. Even so we were usually cliffhanging hundreds of feet above the turbulent waters. At one point we drove slowly under a waterfall cascading over the road to get the car washed. It was a great area for video, with the many waterfalls dropping down high cliffs.

When we arrived at our destination we were on the cliff high above Zam Town, renamed by the Chinese Zhang Mu, located just inside the Tibet-Nepal border. The quite large town is constructed on a cliff, mostly on the single main road that descends through town in a long series of switchbacks. Buildings on the low side of the road are entered from a middle or top floor and buildings on the high side are entered from the ground floor. The buildings are quite tall - 5-9 stories.

We arrived at the Zhang Mu Hotel, which is on the low side of the street, so the spartan lobby is on the top floor at street level. Our first impression of our room was "no way"! It is a real dive, with carpets that have not be cleaned since their purchase some decades ago, dirty windows, bare wires hanging out of wall sockets, white walls with more watermarks, stains and dirt than white, a shower in the middle of the bathroom ceiling that would soak the tiny room and one smelly thin towel each. It had neither heat nor hot water. It turns out this is the best available in town! This was confirmed when an Chinese army general and his entourage arrived to stay on the same floor as us. It should at least be safe with all the general's guards in the hallway!

Having a couple of hours before dinner we took at taxi up hill to an internet café, where once again I couldn't send anything due to lack of a program that would read my floppy disc. We walked back down, discovering there was really nothing of interest to buy. Most people here are Chinese. Walking the streets is really not recommended due to the horrible smelling buckets of slop that are thrown into the sloping street by shops on each side. It really is a filthy place.

Dinner was at a nice little restaurant near the hotel during which I downed three quarts of beer to help me face our room (well, it seemed a good excuse), then taxied up to a higher internet café that also didn't have Word to show our guide how to research topics on the Internet. There were not many taxis around, so she had the driver wait to take us back to the hotel, where it was quickly to bed.

Tomorrow we cross into Nepal.

Tibet Summary:

Tibet earns its nickname of "Roof of the World" quite honestly - the average altitude of the country is over 4,000 meters (13,120'). There are more than 50 mountains over 7,000 m (22,960') and 11 over 8,000 m (26,240') in the 1.2 million sq. km. of the country.

Sanitary conditions, except in the better hotels, are very poor. Many people's clothing appears to have never been washed, and it is not uncommon to see women at market stalls picking lice out of each other's hair. Most public toilets are to be avoided. We did not see a hotel in Tibet with an elevator, and many have no heat as they shut down after the tourist season. Most have hot water, but some don't.

We asked our guide if she had hot water in her home, and the answer was no. Marilynn asked if she heated water for a bath, and was told there was no room for a bath. To bathe it is necessary to go to a public bathhouse where there is hot water. The 5-Yuan ($0.63) admission fee would be a deterrent to many low-income people.

Although guides have to take an exam, it deals largely with monasteries. From various guides I talked to, few are well versed in topics such as history or geography. Being in terror of their Chinese masters further hampers them. I'm told the Chinese have spies in monasteries, in the tourism industry, everywhere. Guides are not permitted to talk about politics or any disadvantage caused by the Chinese regime. None of the tourists I spoke to were happy with their guides. Due to this lack of general knowledge I would recommend anyone visiting Tibet bring along a good guidebook - it will fill in a lot of gaps.

I was unable to get per-capita income figures, but it would be very low. Most people are deeply devoted to Buddhism, which is reasonable. When life in this world is very difficult people keep going by the hope of a better reincarnation in the next life.

The Chinese are improving infrastructure, particularly between Tibet and China. A railway is nearing completion and improvements to roads that currently go to 5 areas of China are underway. Less is being done in the direction of Nepal, and little trade now flows that way.

The population of Tibet is about 2.3 million, of which 200,000 live in Lhasa and 69,000 in Shigatse, the second largest city - most people live in small farming villages.

The Tibetan Lhasa beer is quite good, Chinese beer is readily available, as are a number of US brands including Budweiser, Coors Light and Pabst Blue Ribbon. The latter is the most popular and is heavily advertised.

A Chinese prepared map I purchased says that Tibet was an administrative region of China during the Yuan and Ming Dynasties (1271 to 1644). As far as the more recent takeover of Tibet is concerned, this is a quote of the official position.

"Tibet saw a peaceful liberation in 1951. Eight years later, the feudal slavery system was replaced with the implementation of the people's democratic reform." It is currently called the "Tibet Autonomous Region". It is surprising how many Tibetans preferred the "feudal slavery system". People crave photos of the Dalai Lama, but it is illegal to bring them into Tibet.

The Chinese are causing some confusion in Tibet by renaming towns and villages with Chinese names. Our last night was spent in the Tibetan town of Zam, for example, which the Chinese have renamed Zhang Mu.