Drokpa Journal

Another one down, as I just finished in Kathmandu on September 11th. I ended up flying immediately to Hong Kong to try to sort out a new visa, do a bit of work, and have my camera repaired. I’m leaving here tomorrow and making my way to Beijing in order to start my last trip of the season on Monday the 19th. That will be another 28-day trip identical to the one I just completed.

It was another interesting trip, though this time it wasn’t because of passengers dropping out or buying pets along the way. This trip was interesting for the fact that some of the population were celebrating the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). Obviously there were a lot of changes apparent to me, as I had previous trips with which to compare. However, one didn’t have to be overly perceptive to see through the veil of deception that had been put in place. There were flags everywhere – some that looked like prayer flags, though prayer flags emblazoned with the dates “1965-2005”. Other flags hanging from homes and public buildings were of the red-with-five-yellow-stars variety. Or how about the immaculately clean uniforms for the school children who were taking part in the festivities? Trust me – Tibetan school uniforms are generally anything but clean! There were new facades on many of the buildings around the Potala, where the main festivities took place. There was also a new park unveiled across from the Potala, which I must say is a beautiful improvement over the disco and decrepit buildings that occupied the space just a few short months ago. The Potala itself had been undergoing some renovations during the preceding months, and many of those were completed when we went through this time. However, the renovations also seemed to leave behind many video cameras and motion-activated microphones.

Pervasive throughout the planning of the anniversary, and the event itself, was fear, which explains why there weren’t many foreigners around. Stricter entry guidelines were imposed such that many foreigners couldn’t even make it into Tibet during a 3-4 week period. Foreigners who were in attendance for events in previous years caused problems when they reported what they’d witnessed. Or how about the fear, such that you throw a celebration, but impose an 11PM curfew – maintained by police in full riot gear walking the streets at night, scowling at any who were still out and about (at least they only scowled at me – not sure what they did to others).

As I said, an interesting time to be in Tibet. We were fortunate enough to leave Lhasa a day before the full celebration – making it out before 9 AM when many of the roads were to be closed. Yes, it would have been interesting to stick around to witness everything, but the rumor going around at the time was that there was going to be a 24-hour curfew, though I don’t believe that actually happened. I do know that many of the shops were forced to close, so I think it was best that we went on our way.

Anyway, that’s getting WAY ahead of the itinerary, so let’s backtrack to the start of the trip. We met in Beijing on August 15th – we being myself and a group of 9 passengers. It was another great group; aided by the fact that 7 nationalities were represented among the 9 passengers, which I find always helps out with the group dynamics.

We did our standard stuff in/around Beijing – or at least tried to. After driving 3 hours out to the Great Wall at Simatai, and walking to the wall in the driving rain, we discovered that we could only go between roughly 3 towers. It was probably a good thing, as the wall was pretty slippery and not overly safe, but the authorities seemed to be overly cautious. I found out later why – it seems that 2 days earlier a foreigner had been struck and killed by lightening. Doh! A performance that night (kung fu, opera, or acrobats), followed by the Forbidden City the next day, and the next thing you know we’re on the overnight train to Xian.

Again, the standard routine in Xian – wandering around the fantastic Muslim quarter, checking out the Terracotta Warriors, and doing some street-grazing for great food.

Then it was another overnight train to Lanzhou, followed by breakfast and hopping on a bus for Xiahe. I liked the feel of Xiahe (Labrang, in Tibetan) much more this time than I did in the past – probably because I had more time to wander around the huge monastic compound. It’s considered one of the 6 most important monasteries for Tibetan Buddhism.

A short bus ride had us in Langmusi, a place that I love. It’s a small town with some great hiking possibilities just outside of town. The people are extremely friendly, and it has a timeless energy and feel to it. I always love returning there.

A homestay was next – and this time we didn’t arrive in a downpour…what a concept! It meant that we could wander around the village and surrounding hills, which is where I ran into kids who seemed eager to play and pose for the camera – as long as I could show them the results immediately. It was a lot of fun, and a very genuine moment.

Driving across the beautiful grasslands, playing basketball on a court seemingly in the middle of nowhere, and popping our heads into a nomadic tent for some tea and smoke inhalation rounded out the itinerary on our way to Chengdu – our gateway for the flight into Lhasa.

Lhasa was the conventional stuff during an unconventional time – Jokhang, Potala, debating at Sera, Braille without Borders, Dropenling crafts, shopping, and simply wandering – including strolling through the beautiful new park.

As always, the 5 days in Lhasa went all too quickly, and before we knew it we were on our way to Samye, Gyantse, Shigatse, Sakya, and then the monastery near Everest. We arrived to a veil of secrecy – not because of the celebrations, but because of the cloud cover…Everest was nowhere to be found. We still set our alarms and vowed to see it in all its glory at 7 the next morning…or not. We were completely socked in. Still remaining optimistic, we decided to do the 2-hour walk to basecamp, and so set out. We had a brief glimpse of Qomolangma/Everest just as we started, and then the pea-soup veil returned, but still we slogged onwards and upwards. Shortly before we arrived at basecamp the curtain lifted and we were treated to spectacular views of the highest peak (views which I was unfortunately not able to capture, as my camera had broken in Lhasa). There was a beautiful blue sky, and the mountain itself had a new coating of snow which made it brilliant. We sat in awe for awhile; admiring the view, then grabbed some noodles and set off for the return hike. Other times heading down on motorcycles is an option, but the police had evidently put the screws to that a few days earlier. That also explained why there was much less activity than normal – many of those who normally drive the motorcycles or work the tents at basecamp were now back at there homes – many in Tashi Dzom.

Anyway, the rest of the trip was the standard – Tingri, Zhangmu, a few relaxing nights at Dhulikhel High View Resort in Nepal, and a final day in Kathmandu.

I’m hoping to post some new pictures within the next few days as well, so be on the lookout for those. While here in Hong Kong I finally broke down and bought a video camera. Hopefully I’ll get some shots on my next trip, as well as on a trip I’m taking through Tibet with my dad in November/December, and I’ll see if I can post those sometime in December. We’ll see how that works.

Anyway, I hope all is going well in your part of the world, and I’ll catch you from somewhere down the road.

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