My Pilgrim Footsteps In Tibet

Blog number 12   05.12.2020.     nguptatravelscrapbook.blogspot.com

My Pilgrim Footsteps in Tibet

"When you work, work as if everything depends on you. When you pray, pray as if everything depends on God". JRD Tata.

Covid Status: UK is the first country in the world to approve the Covid Vaccination programme, being rolled out by NHS on 08.12.2020 (in less than a week)

Passage 1

Potala Palace, Lhasa

I plan to write Tibet travels blog in two passages to keep it precise and yet detailed enough.

Before planning our journey to Tibet in October 2011, I read the following books, primarily to feel on the approaching travel rendezvous.  

• Himalaya: Michael Palin 
• Everest, 50 Years On Top of The World: George Band 
• Tibet: Lonely Planet  

The following books were more related to the authors' personal experiences but found most rewarding to me. 

• Seven Years In Tibet: Heinrich Harrer 
• Tibetan Foothold: Dervla Murphy 
• The Wisdom Of Forgiveness: Victor Chan 

I wrote the travel chronicles every day (nearly 60, A4 size pages) throughout this journey. I collected maps of en-route travel and other travel trivia like tickets to various monuments and landscape parks. I re-read these chronicles before composing this blog, although I observed how difficult it is to read my handwriting!

For centuries they severed Tibet from the rest of the world because of its remote location (The world's Rooftop), extreme climate and geographical environment. Travelling to Tibet is both a privilege and a unique travel experience that entails some added reflective observation. I have put my thoughts in this direction towards the end of this blog (Passage 2)

Everest In the background

We did not forget our time in Tibet easily. It is a country where some pre-romanticised beliefs are smashed, and you leave Tibet with more enigmas and passions than you first arrived with. Comprehending Tibet today is about getting lost in an ancient culture dating back centuries surrounded by summits and crests of the Himalayas that naturally embrace Tibet in shielding, with mighty Everest guarding over. There is a very famous phrase in the Hindi Language, Himalaya Ki Goad Mein (Hindi: हिमालय की गोद में, English: In the Lap of the Himalayas). We both felt authentic and factual to this phrase while travelling there. Our visit was the returning home to tell the world what Tibet was like and about. 

Vastness of Tibetan Plateau

Politics and Permits 

There's no getting away from politics here. One may see Tibet as an oppressed, occupied nation or an underdeveloped province of China. On the positive side, new airports, fancy hotels, dual carriage highways, fast train links, ATMs, Wi-Fi, banks etc. offer a comfort level unheard of in the past. 

We travelled with On the go tours, a travel company with expertise in reaching the unique places, with a stopover in Kathmandu where they issued Tibet Travel permits, taking over two days. There is a Chinese military presence everywhere in Tibet, heavily controlling tourism, including plainclothes police officers and CCTV cameras. One gets used to the process of regular police checkups of the vehicle you are travelling in, usually addressed to the guide and the driver. One of the most isolated cultures globally exists now as an Autonomous Region of China and therefore trickier to travel, as you cannot move there on your own. One would need the sponsorship of a reputable travel company and a local driver and guide.

The Tibetan People and Culture.

Tibet is one of the most alluring countries on the planet. Mystic, enchanting and inaccessible; Tibet offers an overload on our senses. The beauty of the world's highest mountains, the unknown images of Buddhas to the rest of the world, the colourful Tibetan art, the poignant dedication of the pilgrims circumambulating sacred icons, the turbulent history of migration to India, the determination and the resilience; this is what Tibet is all about.

I felt the cold and thin mountain air at 4500 meters when I walked alongside pilgrims and let the chants fill my ears while sipping Yak Butter tea offered by monks. It was fascinating, inspiring and endlessly photogenic.

 Ways to travel to Tibet 

1. From China to Lhasa by a flight or by train or by road. This far-flung region disillusioned all but the intrepid travellers until the start of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway in 2006 (Established at an altitude of 4000 meters and above) connected Tibet to the rest of China speedily.

2. Travelling On the Friendship Highway from Kathmandu to Lhasa and return.

The Friendship Highway is an epic drive over 1050km between Kathmandu and Lhasa or in reverse. It is one of the most spectacular road trips in the world. The Friendship Highway follows the western portion of Chinese Highway for approx 865 kilometres via Yamdrok Lake, Gyantse, Shigatse, and Everest Base Camp before descending to Tibet-Nepal border. At the Nepal border, the Friendship Highway continues as the Araniko Highway (Japanese friendship Highway) for approx 115 kilometres to reach Kathmandu.

Anyway, no matter how one gets there, Tibet's journey is an out of the ordinary, giving a new meaning to an old Label: Trip of a lifetime.

 

Tibet is a kingdom of extremes with one of the most adventurous, scenically stunning and physically demanding road trips in the world. We followed the trail from Tibet's capital Lhasa, through hard conditions, past vast landscapes, deep blue lakes, snowy peaks and glaciers, remote high altitude deserts, dizzying gorges and virtually unpopulated high altitude moor-land. It was a picturesque and religious discovery!  

The highlights of Tibet will be spiritual for most of the travellers. We encountered masses of red robbed monks taking part in debating classes in recurring monasteries. These institution's large prayer halls get filled with heavily perfumed air from burning butter lamps, alongside rows of enormous cauldrons stocking up Yak butter offered in by visiting pilgrims and alike.

From densely clothed local grandmothers, their wrinkled sunburnt faces, carrying children fastened to their backs while murmuring mantras in the temples, to hard-core professionals walking or prostrating themselves around the complexes – are an indispensable part of this encounter. Tibetans have a level of devotion and faith that seems to belong to an earlier, almost medieval age.

My footsteps in Tibet.

Our journey started with obtaining travel Tibet permit in Kathmandu, by our Travel tour company. We utilised these days to see Kathmandu and its surrounds. On the third day, we boarded one hour flight to reach Lhasa by midday. 

From Airport to Lhasa City

The highlight of travelling to Tibet is the memorable flight to Lhasa over the Himalayan range. With clear weather in our favour, we watched the stunning views of Everest, Lhotse, Cho Oyu, Makalu, and countless other peaks stretching into the horizon interspersed with deep blue lakes from the windows of the aircraft. Our guide explained the different mountain peaks from our camera pictures later on. 

Our guide (Tensing)  and driver (Tensen) picked us up to take to our hotel for a three-night stay, requiring this time to get acclimatised to high altitude (3656 meters) in Lhasa. 

Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) is the mildest and a common form of altitude sickness. We started taking Diamox, a preventative therapy, the day we reached Lhasa and continued the same until we returned to Nepal. This way, we prevented AMS, but we experienced some side effects of Diamox. Our guide prearranged a supply of Oxygen cylinder with face masks, to hold in our vehicle, in case of any need. 

Potala Palace.

In Lhasa, Potala Palace is the highest ancient Palace globally, reaching 3,750 meters above sea level, towering 100 meters above Lhasa. As we got to the centre of Lhasa city, Potala Palace was magnificent as we swept past it on the left side of our vehicle.

Once the Tibetan government's seat and the Dalai Lama's unique winter residence, the magnificent Potala Palace is Lhasa's cardinal landmark.  

We visited Potala Palace after resting and acclimatising for a full day in our hotel, which was comfortable and somewhat luxurious. The Palace's vicinity was bursting with worshippers and pilgrims, conducting circumambulations in many customs and varying hardness, while chanting, swirling prayer drums and carrying a flask full of yak butter (Ghee) for offerings to deities. One can visit and get startled by the constructive hugeness of Potala Palace. But the real secret is to seek a cultural experience by mingling with the locals and performing the same they were practising. 

Potala Palace and surrounds

I watched them repeatedly and realised that their spiritualism was most obliging. My husband and I performed the Kora (Circumambulation) of the Potala Palace, taking over an hour. It was a religious experience while being physically tiring. It was rewarding mixing with the locals and watching people keeping to their faiths and traditions.

Face Coverings: I took these pictures in 2011, in COVID-19 free era of course. I am really astounded to see the number of people covering their faces in these pictures, a Tibetan habit of protecting their faces against the harsh & relentless sun. 

Lhasa city

Jokhang Temple

The Jokhang temple is in the Old Lhasa centre, the two-storeyed Jokhang is best visited in the morning, though the crowds of yak-butter-spooning pilgrims can be thick. We visited the temple in the afternoon, access granted through a side entrance. The 1300-year-old Jokhang Temple is the spiritual and cultural heart of Tibet. We saw the continuous streams of pilgrims prostrating outside on a famous street named Barkor Street, being a testimonial to its timeless charm. The central golden Buddha image here is the most revered in all of Tibet.

In complete submission,

Jokhang Temple and surrounds

On the second day, we visited world-famous Drepung and Sera monasteries, housing thousands of monks in their settings about their studies, debates, and daily rituals, including meals distributions, etc.

Yamdrok Lake and Glaciers

The following day, we left our hotel. We headed south-west to Gyantse, taking the Friendship highway, passing thru two famous mountain passes named Kamba La (4794M) and Karo La (5010M) showcasing the most beautiful mountain scenery throughout with the massive vastness of the grasslands in the upper valley of Yarlung Tsangpo River and breathtaking Himalayan views. Tibet is extensive; its land is the source of a tremendous amount of river water on this planet. Tibet's glaciers and snow-fed highlands feed Asia's greatest rivers, The Brahmaputra, Indus, Mekong, Yangtze, and the Yellow River.

I love this pic of Yamdrok Lake, Reflections are stunning!

As we passed thru the mountain pass, Yamdrok lake (Yamdrok Tso) came in view with stunning blues to turquoise blues shades at 4700 M. It is one of the holiest lakes in Tibet after Lake Mansarovar (Nam Tso) near Mount Kailash in Tibet's western sector. We also saw peaks of Mountain Nojin-Kangtsang (7191m) covered with glaciers at Karo La. I recorded these altitudes as our driver was conferring the altitude heights in his watch equipped with altimeter!

We reached Gyantse (290 KM from Lhasa) by late afternoon and rested for the remaining day. Tibetan food was not delicious, and we had to stick to the meal of rice and vegetable soup most of the time. The city itself was primary with typical shops, few scattered restaurants, occasional ATMs but had right roads and office buildings.

Scintillating pics of Yamdrok Lake

Life around glaciers

Tashilhunpo's Monastery.

The following day we headed further south to the second largest city named Shigatse (90 Km from Gyantse). On our route, we came across flocks of animals including sheep, buffaloes, cows, horses, mules and yaks alongside ripe fields of wheat, and maze, ready for harvesting by modern means. We stopped en-route at Tashilhunpo's Monastery, one of the few monasteries in Tibet to remain unscathed during the cultural revolution. 

Our travelled route

The main hall is one of the most beloved buildings in Tashilhunpo, dating from the 15th-century founding of the monastery. The extensive throne that overlooks the centre of the hall is the throne of the Panchen Lamas. The loggia is a dark, reflective place, with rows of arranged cushions for monks, and long thangkas, characterising the Panchen Lama's different incarnations swinging from the ceiling. The central inner chapel holds a remarkably lavish statue of Sakyamuni (Sakya Thukpa).

Scenes around monasteries note the flasks of yak butter.

On the persuasion of our guide Tensing, we observed a monastery's kora taking about 45 minutes! The complex was full of young students who had come from far-off places to get blessings a day before a major examination.  Tonight we were lucky to have dinner in a Nepalese restaurant who served us Pilao, daal, nans and plain yoghurt. No doubt we ate to our heart's delight!

Chumolungma National Park, Xegar (Old Tigri).

On the sixth day of our journey, we started early at 8 AM, for Xegar (Old Tigri) covering approx 250 Km along the same friendship dual carriage Highway. It was a long drive reaching Xegar about 5 PM, which serves Everest Base Camp's underpinning in Chumolungma National park. Our guide, Tensing, got necessary permits for Chumolungma park and the Everest Base Camp visit the next morning. 

Scenes near Base Camp's arrival

Everest Base Camp, North Face

The original Everest Base Campsite (5200m) that we travelled to is on the North Slope of Himalaya on Tibet side. In February 2019 Tibet's Everest Base Camp was closed to all visitors to allow for a continued clean-up and environmental restoration efforts, taking off in 2018 with the removal of eight tonnes of garbage. The climbers' base camp reopened in mid-2019 for those with climbing permits. A new centre for non-climbing tourists has been put into operation beside Ronghpu Monastery, where the mountain views are essentially the same as those from the previous tourist camp. I would blog the details of my remaining journey in Passage 2, in the following week.

I thank you for reading my blog, which I would continue as Passage 2.