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Tibet simply rocked. Five of the current China Olmsted Scholars (eight people in all) representing the classes of 2004, 2005, and 2006 traveled to the beautiful “Roof of the World” for two weeks of trekking at the end of July/beginning of August. Couldn’t have had a better group of people to travel with—and we couldn’t have gone to a more interesting place.

We all met up in Chengdu (kind of the gateway for air travel into/out of Lhasa), where we spent the night before catching the early morning flight into Lhasa the next day. Shanghai is at sea level. Lhasa sits at an elevation of 12,500 feet and I could feel the oxygen difference as soon as I got off the plane. I was slightly light-headed, out of breath, and my heart was beating rapidly just by walking with my backpack from the luggage carousel to the parking lot. The feeling was kind of cool. The altitude sickness headache that night wasn’t so cool, but a couple of ibuprofen tablets that night and four more the next day helped make sure I was good to go by the second night.

Lhasa (particularly the Tibetan side of town) is amazing. Dominating the scenery is the spectacularly photogenic Potala Palace—I’m not kidding when I say I took 30-40 pictures of this one place alone. Getting to see the inside of the palace is no easy matter. We had to wait in line five and a half hours to secure tickets for the next day. We paid 100 RMB per ticket which makes the Potala by far the most expensive historic site I’ve visited in China. We learned the next day that some people were shelling out as much as 800 RMB for black market tickets to avoid the stampede for tickets we witnessed/were caught up in. The cause of the ticket difficulty is the newly opened train line to Tibet which has opened the floodgates to tens of thousands of Chinese tourists. It was obvious that Lhasa and its venues were not prepared for the hordes of additional people arriving daily from the rest of China. In my opinion, the exterior of the Potala is far more impressive than the interior (which we weren’t allowed to photograph), so missing it isn't a tragedy. Nevertheless, you still have to ask yourself if you can make a once in a lifetime trip to Tibet without seeing the inside of it's most famous site--just to say you've been there. 

The Jokhang Temple was a five minute walk from our hotel (the Yak Hotel which was terrific) and it is the spiritual heart of Tibetan Buddhism. The circular street around the temple is filled daily with crowds of worshiping pilgrims walking clock-wise around the temple spinning prayer wheels and chanting Buddhist prayers while keeping count with their prayer beads. Thousands of other people were perusing the busy market stalls which surround the temple and extend down narrow alleyways in all directions. The scent of burning incense pervades the air, while the distinctive smell of yak cheese/milk/meat can be intermittently detected wafting in the breeze. Dozens of pilgrims can be seen prostrating themselves in worship at the entrance to the temple.  It was impressive to see what a major role Buddhism plays in Tibetan society.

We visited Drepung Monastery outside of Lhasa on the third day. I thought the monasteries would be like the smaller temple complexes we’ve seen elsewhere in China, but I was wrong. Tibetan monasteries are massive and are more like small cities or large university campuses. Drepung was neat because we witnessed the monks engage in various ceremonies and I got to hear the unforgettable sound of a monastery assembly hall filled with monks doing the deep, growly  “OOOMMMM” chant that I had only heard/seen in movies about Tibet.

Getting to Samye was kind of fun. After a two hour drive, we arrived at a small ferry dock on the banks of the wide Yarlung Tsangpo River (which later becomes the Brahmaputra River). We boarded the flatbottom boat for the hour and twenty minute river crossing to the other side and tried to stay warm in the cold wind whipping along the river valley. We were met on the far bank by an interesting assortment of ground transportation: buses, pick-up trucks and even tractors pulling trailors. They all vied with each other for the opportunity to transport us over the remaining several kilometers of bumpy dirt road to Samye. You can see from the pictures below that our tour guide negotiated for us to take one of the pick-up trucks.

Samye is famous because it was the very first Buddhist temple built in all of Tibet in 775 AD. The temple and monastery are very small compared to other places, but it was interesting to see the architectural layout of the entire complex. It was patterned after the Buddhist concept of the universe with a round outer wall, square temple buildings and stupas placed at each of the cardinal directions. The most interesting thing we did was hike up the small mountain to the east of the temple and enjoy the views of the surrounding valley. Samye is relatively isolated and it was nice to look for miles in all directions and see vast emptiness and few people.

We stayed at the monastery guest house that night. It was one of the nicer guest houses we stayed in during the trip, but even so it left a lot to be desired. The public restroom for use by all guests was the cleanest we saw outside of Lhasa--see the picture below. You can imagine (or can't imagine, actually) what the other guest house rest rooms looked like at our other stops. Still, when you're with a great group of people--playing cards, talking, telling stories--the physical facilities don't matter too much. I liked Samye. We left the next morning at 0900--riding the same truck back to the ferry crossing and then the same ferry ride back across the river where the Land Cruisers picked us up again. Next stop: Gyantse.  

The road to Gyantse was interesting. A large portion of Tibetans are herders and as we sped along the highways our drivers had to be on the lookout for flocks and herds of different kinds crossing the road. Unfortunately, on the way to Gyantse our lead driver was temporarily distracted and he ran over a sheep. Our little convoy stopped and we got to watch our drivers, our tour guide, and the shepherd and his buddies haggle over compensation for the killed animal. After settling on the price of 200 RMB, the lead driver went back to his Land Cruiser and pulled out a tarp which he planned to use to wrap the sheep carcas up in and throw it in the back of the car. He reckoned since he just bought it, he might as well take it with him and eat it later--not an unreasonable idea. Our tour guide reminded him that it might not be the best idea to wrap up a dead stinky sheep and put it in the car with his clients and all their luggage. In the end, the driver and the guide split the cost and left the carcas with the shepherd. We also took a detour up a very steep and windy mountain road to the Kamba-la Pass (about 15,000 feet) from which we could view Yamdrok Tso Lake. We used this opportunity to sit on yaks and take pictures.

Gyantse is one of the more untouched Tibetan towns--the Chinese influence isn't as obvious here. The two main sites are the Pelkhor Chode Monastery with its large nine story stupa (the biggest in Tibet) and the old Gyantse Dzong which is an impressive fortress built on top of a rocky hill near the monastery. The scenery is beautiful. What I liked best though was the greenness of the surrounding mountain valley. Irrigated fields extended in all directions and horses grazed peacefully in grass-covered meadows. It was a beautiful place that reminded me of the Sanpete Valley in Utah--the only difference being the slight 8,000 foot elevation increase. 

Shigatse is the second largest town in Tibet and home of the Panchen Lama--the number two guy in Tibetan religion. The main attraction here is the Tashilhunpo Monastery and all of the pictures below are of this place. There is a kora trail around the monastery, but as I was searching for the start of the trail, I inadvertently started making my way up in a counter-clockwise direction and was soon turned back by a couple of agitated Tibetan pilgrims. They seemed to feel I was bringing bad juju to their trail by not walking it clock-wise--the auspicious direction in Tibetan Buddhism. Unless of course you are at a monastery where the native Tibetan Bon religion is practiced, in which case the auspicious direction in indeed counter-clockwise. We also visited the Tibetan market and saw the remains of the old Dzong fortress here. The most memorable thing about the fortress was the fact that the Chinese are busily building a huge new hotel-looking structure on top of the stone foundations of the ruined fortress. Enough said.

To tell you the truth, Shigatse didn't leave much of an impression on me. Kind of a blah town. What I remember most about it is that it was the last time we would stay in a reasonably nice hotel room with sit-down toilets and showers for the next four days. Next stop was beautiful Namtso Lake.

Getting to Namtso required us to drive over a high mountain pass with an elevation of 17,800 feet--we stopped for just a few minutes at the top to take in the scenery before coming back down the other side. We stopped again about an hour later in a beautiful little valley with a small Tibetan village surrounded by rolling plains of low grass and grazing yaks. A range of towering, jagged, snow covered peaks dominated the scenery. I wondered how people made it through the winters here. No trees for fuel made dried yak dung the default choice for heating and cooking--six foot piles of the hand-formed patties could be seen stacked in the front yards of most houses.  

At 16,500 feet, Namtso Lake is the highest lake in the world and we could definitely feel the altitude here. On the way in, we were reminded of the importance of taking the driving seriously because of the rolled Toyota Land Cruiser (it had been there for some time) at the bottom of yet another steep windy road. Our driver was really good throughout the trip and we felt confident in his safe driving ability. We stayed in a prefab guest house a few hundred yards from the shores of this beautiful lake. The Kora trail is spectacular. The early morning hike I took with one of my classmates to catch the rising sun was one of my favorite memories of the trip. The lake is a spectacular blue and depending on the light can appear in an amazing variety of hues. Where the trail ends at the top of the mountain, the spectacular views go on forever. It's also absolutely devoid of manmade sounds--just the wind blowing. Very peaceful place.

Unfortunately, the altitude and maybe some bad food started catching up with members of our group. Headaches, nausea, and stomach discomfort made it hard to justify staying longer despite how beautiful it was. We left a few hours earlier than planned to make it back down to a lower elevation in the hopes that the altitude sickness symptoms would be alleviated.   

Reting was our next overnight stop and one of my personal favorite places. The monastery is only a shadow of its former glory, but the natural setting and the ghost town-like atmosphere made it unforgettable. It sits high on a mountain slope overlooking a beautiful river valley. It's the only place we visited that was surrounded by what could be considered forest. Unfortunately, the guestrooms were filthy--members of our group suffered from what might have been flea or bed bug bites. The restrooms here were so terrible most people went for walks to find secluded places in the trees to take care of business.

My best memory is sitting on a grassy slope near the Kora trail and startling two elderly Tibetan women slowly making their way up the mountainside. When they looked up and saw me sitting there they kind of jumped a little. I waved and smiled at them and they immediately waved and smiled back then continued up the trail, spinning their prayer wheels and chatting quietly. Following this, a group of four yaks came into view a hundred yards to my left. Over the next thirty minutes they approached closer and closer to where I was sitting until I was literally surrounded by them--one of them within arms reach. I could hear every blade of grass being pulled up and every snuffle and snort as they grazed. They continued on across the hillside after a few more minutes and left me alone. This was one of those rare feel-at-one-with-the-universe kind of moments--and the reason why Reting is one of the places I liked best. 

My website hosting program is telling me that I have too much content on this page and that it may make for slower loading times for visitors. Because of this, I'm lumping Tirdrum, Drigung, and Ganden together in one section--it just so happens we kind of visited them the same way anyhow.

Tirdrum was different from our other stops because the main attractions here are the natural hotspring pools and the scenery (although there is a nunnery). We had our best encounter with Tibetans here--mostly by accident. Four of us started out hiking the kora trail which we were told was only about 45 minutes long. After 90 minutes of hiking at a good clip we decided that we had somehow gotten our trails mixed up. Our choices were to continue hiking the trail (opposite direction of where we wanted to go), walk back the same way we came, or head cross country straight over the top of the mountain back to where our guest house was. We were debating these when we realized we were being watched from above by a young Tibetan herdsman who waved at us and walked down the hillside to where we were standing. Using Mandarin and sign language we explained where we wanted to go and he then volunteered to show us the way over the top of the mountain for the nominal fee of ten yuan. Off we went. Before long, we were joined by two of his buddies and we made introductions all around. These young men ranged in age from 14 to 18. They had long whip-like slingshots they used to keep their yaks moving in the right direction that made sharp cracking sounds and that launched rocks with such velocity they made humming sounds through the air. 

After a while, our original guide said he couldn't take us any further and he handed us off to his 16-year-old buddy who took us the rest of the way up. At the top of the mountain, we were surprised to see several nomadic tents erected across the grassy summit surrounded by more grazing yaks and very loud, very large, tethered guard dogs. Our guide invited us to visit his tent and ushered us inside. He sat us down and then disappeared outside for a few minutes before returning with a large pot filled with yak milk which he put on the small earthen stove and heated for us. We think he may have milked the yak right outside the tent for the milk. We sat chatting and drinking for a few minutes talking about his family and life on the mountain. He lived up there with his two older sisters year round and it was his job to take care of their herd of 60 yaks. We noticed before we went inside the tent that a storm was blowing in and, after a few more minutes, we excused ourselves to hustle back down the mountain before the rain hit. He pointed us in the right direction and after another hour of picking our way down the mountainside, we made it home. The highlight of the evening was bathing in the wonderful hot springs--first time in three days we'd had a chance for a bath. Slept like a baby that night and woke up refreshed and ready to go on our hike to the next location--Drigung. 

Our itinerary called for us to hike to Drigung from Tirdrum which is about a thirty minute drive away by road, but considerably closer (distance-wise) if you hike across the intervening mountain. Our guide and drivers dropped us off at the roadside trailhead and drove the rest of the way there--carrying our heavy packs with them in the cars. The hike was only supposed to be about 90 minutes long, but it ended up taking nearly three hours. Definitely worthwhile though--the scenery was fantastic and the company good. We passed near a sky burial site here. Sky burial is the traditional Tibetan burial method whereby the remains of the deceased are put back into cosmic circulation by placing them at the top of a sacred mountain and allowing birds of prey (and other animals) to devour them. Understandably, Tibetans are very protective of sky burial sites and pictures are not allowed. It was impressive to see the spiralling hawks overhead--we learned there had been a burial just that morning.

By the time we made it to Drigung we were generally tired of seeing monastery after monastery so, after snapping a few pictures, we decided to skip spending the night here as originally planned. Members of our group were still suffering from altitude sickness symptoms compounded by possible food poisoning. Our final itinerary visit was supposed to be Ganden Monastery the next day but, after discussing it as a group, we made the unanimous decision to visit Ganden for a few hours and then push on to Lhasa that night to enjoy the lower elevation, clean beds, hot showers, and more sanitary food. It would also give us a last chance to do some souvenir shopping.

Ganden was--like every other place--spectacular (I need to come up with some new adjectives for this trip). It is perched on a high mountain top and the scenery as viewed from the kora is gorgeous. In fact, we skipped the monastery tour (monastery fatigue was well entrenched at this point) and just hiked the kora trail. It only took an hour and twenty minutes or so to make it back to Lhasa where we felt like we were back in the modern world.

We spent the last day in Lhasa resting, shopping, burning all of our pictures to DVDs to share with each other, and packing for the flight back to Chengdu. In Chengdu we split up and everyone caught their flights back home or to their next travel destinations. What a great trip this was. Unforgettable.