07-02-2010, 02:07 AM
Photos and a short description for you from my trip to Tibet:
Qinghai railway from Xining to Lhasa, 24 hour train ride with some spectacular views
Beautiful salt water lake and a holy mountain on the way from Lhasa to Gyangse
Gyangse Monastery
Himalayas and Mount Everest (You had to be there for it to take your breath away, literally and figuratively)
Holy Namtso Lake (Highest Salt Water Lake in the World)
Sheep Crossing on the return to Lhasa
Potala Palace
The Entrance into the rooms of Potala (Fucking unbelievably awesome inside, but you weren't allowed to take any photos inside anywhere, also you were pushed around and couldn't really get to close look at everything)
Sera Monastery
Debating Courtyard
Cute kids and I (I think I wore my Ommegang shirt about every day there, haha)
Lhasa market street
Overall it was a pretty nice trip. The altitude was a tough thing to overcome. Lhasa is at about 12,000 feet above sea level while Namtso and Everest Base Camp is at 17,000 feet. At first it was an interesting feeling when your heart misses beats and it's hard to breath, but the constant headache really gets to you. After staying overnight at Everest everyone was miserable. We all felt like we were going to die that night because we didn't have enough time to acclimate. For everyone it was either Nausea or our circulatory system flipping out on us. I felt like my heart beat so hard and so fast that night that I probably lost a couple years of my life.
The politics behind Tibet is probably it's biggest shortcoming. While interesting to see guards walking around Lhasa and the Chinese flag put at every possible place it could, the business that China makes of Tibet kind of ruined it for me. I never really felt engaged in the culture there, it was just a sightseeing tour and I hated it. I felt like one of the many herds of Yaks that were led around the country side. You can't go into any Monastery without a guide and it's basically impossible to do anything without being on a tour. Plus not many people could speak good Chinese there, so it really does feel like a different country and probably should be (something I never thought before).
So, is it worth a look? Probably. Would I do it again? No.
The only way I would go to Tibet again would be to just go to the cities and hang out with the very warm people. Especially the country side folk.
With Love,
exanimo (Brandon)
Qinghai railway from Xining to Lhasa, 24 hour train ride with some spectacular views
Beautiful salt water lake and a holy mountain on the way from Lhasa to Gyangse
Gyangse Monastery
Himalayas and Mount Everest (You had to be there for it to take your breath away, literally and figuratively)
Holy Namtso Lake (Highest Salt Water Lake in the World)
Sheep Crossing on the return to Lhasa
Potala Palace
The Entrance into the rooms of Potala (Fucking unbelievably awesome inside, but you weren't allowed to take any photos inside anywhere, also you were pushed around and couldn't really get to close look at everything)
Sera Monastery
Debating Courtyard
Cute kids and I (I think I wore my Ommegang shirt about every day there, haha)
Lhasa market street
Overall it was a pretty nice trip. The altitude was a tough thing to overcome. Lhasa is at about 12,000 feet above sea level while Namtso and Everest Base Camp is at 17,000 feet. At first it was an interesting feeling when your heart misses beats and it's hard to breath, but the constant headache really gets to you. After staying overnight at Everest everyone was miserable. We all felt like we were going to die that night because we didn't have enough time to acclimate. For everyone it was either Nausea or our circulatory system flipping out on us. I felt like my heart beat so hard and so fast that night that I probably lost a couple years of my life.
The politics behind Tibet is probably it's biggest shortcoming. While interesting to see guards walking around Lhasa and the Chinese flag put at every possible place it could, the business that China makes of Tibet kind of ruined it for me. I never really felt engaged in the culture there, it was just a sightseeing tour and I hated it. I felt like one of the many herds of Yaks that were led around the country side. You can't go into any Monastery without a guide and it's basically impossible to do anything without being on a tour. Plus not many people could speak good Chinese there, so it really does feel like a different country and probably should be (something I never thought before).
So, is it worth a look? Probably. Would I do it again? No.
The only way I would go to Tibet again would be to just go to the cities and hang out with the very warm people. Especially the country side folk.
With Love,
exanimo (Brandon)