It seemed surreal to finally be in Tibet. For months Niek researched, planned, emailed with contacts in various countries to come up with our current itinerary, which takes us through Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Northern Vietnam. The most difficult itinerary to establish and execute happened to be the first lag of our trip, which was Tibet.
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The Chinese hurdles to landing in Tibet
In order to get a full grasp of the Tibetan adventure, the bureaucracy necessary to bike Tibet cannot be neglected. Just to get into Tibet is a procedure in itself. First Niek applied for a Chinese visa without stating that we want to go to Tibet, because if we did, they would reject the visa. Once you have a Chinese visa, you apply for a permit to go to Tibet. Once you have this, then the permit has to go arrive somewhere before you enter Tibet (in our case the hotel in Chengdu). Then, if you want to go to Western Tibet the Ngari region you need a whole new set of permits, which are regularly checked by the military. To make matters more complicated, before foreigners are allowed a permit to Tibet, it is required to submit an itinerary of with a distinct day to day plan. Once this is has been the accepted by the Chinese government, the arrival and departure dates cannot be extended or changed without submitting a whole new itinerary which can take weeks. This provided hours of diligent work for Niek, who often even after departure sometimes wondered if all the hassle, planning and insanity was really worth it. Especially our flight to Ngari was sketchy. The flight only goes twice a week and they generally do not sell tickets to foreigners. The flights kept changing days and right up until two weeks before our departure we had to change plans again as a result of a schedule flight change. Although the plane was large, they could not fill the plane because it has to land at 4300 meters in Ali, a military base town near the Indian border.
Another interesting feature is that in order to be a tourist in Tibet a guide and driver are mandatory. This partially proved beneficial for us (and particularly me), because we did not have to carry our own luggage and I could jump in the jeep when the distances were too great while I’m still getting back into shape.
Tough Going
Biking in Tibet is easier said than done. Niek had developed the itinerary including camping due to the great distances between towns and still we were intended to cover distances of sometimes 130 kilometers in one day. At home, this would not be so challenging, but at an altitude of over 4000 meters we felt like were crawling. Another challenge on top of the altitude was that the prevailing winds came from the east, which meant that we faced head winds for a large part of the day. The sun came up around 8:30 and we tried to be on the bike by 9:30 to enjoy the calm before the wind picked up, but this meant that we would be facing sub zero temperatures for biking. It was a frigid and often frustrating experience that resulted in split lips, frozen fingers and as many layers of clothes that could fit under a wind proof jacket. As frustrating as the cold or the wind were at times the scenery was absolutely stunning. Majestic mountain tops that commanded respect, valleys that dropped through various types of rocks and dramatic vistas from mountain tops of over 5000 meters became an everyday experience.
During the days we were excited to be in Tibet and enjoyed the adventure, but as soon as nightfall came we dreaded the next 13 hours we would spend huddled in our sleeping bags and under at least 2-3 more dirty blankets which were provided by the dismal accommodations throughout Tibet. Hotels did not have heating and the toilets were often located a good distance outside and were usually a rectangular hole in the ground with the visible evidence of previous visitors and an extremely cold draft that threatened to create urine stalagtites while squatting. We only encountered showers in three locations throughout or Tibetan adventure, and laundry only once. The cold also resulted in us dreading in taking off any base layers and the warm clothes that we did have, we barely took off even to sleep (welcome to our honeymoon!).
The cold posed another problem to our plans, which was camping. We had brought our miniature Africa tent because it is so light. At first it brought back fond memories, but these quickly faded as the temperature started to drop. We were forced to crawl into our tent at 8pm because of the dark and the onset of sub zero temperatures. We tried to read, but our hands froze. We tried to sleep but the cold had gotten to our bones. We had not brought tenting equipment for the -10 or lower temperatures because we did not think it would get that cold, and because the extra weight was not worth it for only four nights of camping in Tibet. Neither of us could move out of the fetal position because the chill would run down our bodies. We spent 13 hours in the tent freezing and tossing from one side to the next until our hip bones were bruised on both sides and Niek had barely closed an eye. Getting out of the tent before sunrise at 8:30 was a stroke of insanity, (which I realized during my four bathroom trips that night), but as soon as the sun came up I decided to brave the cold while throwing my extra sleeping gear over Niek. The sunrise was stunning in this desolate place and not far from our tent was a yak grazing and making me jealous of its thick fur coat.
Our driver and guide looked like Tibetan popsicles as they crawled out of their tent. They had also had a terrible night. Following our one experience of camping we decided not to subject ourselves to it again and sped up our trip, sometimes having to jump into the jeep to cover the distance to the next hotel. The cold in the hotels was not much different nor the time spent under blankets, but the extra blankets did provide solace that made the nights more bearable. The mornings usually started with cursing and “what the f@#$ were we thinking?” to “wow, this is incredible!” when it warmed up and we enjoyed the wide vistas.
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| Soldiers in Lhasa |
Where are the Tibetans?
We sort of stumbled into Lhasa with post wedding tiredness, jet lag and necessary altitude adjustments. Our trip to Lhasa first led us to Chengdu, China, which is roughly at the foothills of the Himalayas and a town few have heard of, but hosts a gentle population of 10 million. Arriving in Lhasa was a stark contrast to the cement and high-rise, four-lane madness we’d encountered in Chengdu. The Tibetan influence and colorful nature of the Tibetan prayer flags, flowers and dress provides a social, friendly and busy atmosphere. At the same time not to oversee was the strong Chinese military presence all over town. On the main square and on many rooftops the army is positioned with an ever watchful eye and routinely groups of eight military men dressed in combat gear circle the area. For three months this summer Tibet was closed to foreigners because of the ‘celebrations’ of the 60 year anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet. Lhasa apparently had some violent uprisings, and areas of Tibet are still closed off to foreigners because of unrest. When we planned this trip, Niek had kept a close eye on the political situation and always with the hope that the promised ‘reopening’ would hold true in time for our arrival.
The Chinese presence in Tibet was a marker that was a daily reminder through our Tibetan journey, whether it was political slogans carved into mountain sides, the excessive amount of Chinese flags, the army towns, the ruins left behind from the cultural revolution, the army check points, or Tibetan guides expressing their discontent about discrimination.Niek had put endless hours into planning the itinerary that would take us through Tibet. The route that resulted took us from Ali (Ngari), Tibet to Kathmandu in Nepal by bike in three weeks time. This include camping on several occasions, visiting the Guge kingdom, hiking the mount Kailash kora, going to lake Manasovar, and simply enjoying the landscape and the culture of Tibet. The itinerary was challenging and adventurous, just how we like it, but we encountered challenges that from Amsterdam sounded like ‘fun’ and others that were unexpected. Landing in Ali provided our first reality check of what Tibet is like today. Lhasa has a bit of a romantic charm to it for tourists with the Potala palace, and multiple Buddhist temples and a mix of Tibetan and Chinese residents. Ali, our starting point in the west of Tibet provided a stark contrast. As an army town it is purely functional and we could not find a single Tibetan or foreigner. We stuck out like sore thumbs, and definitely were not particularly welcomed in the town, which was evident when we tried to get a hotel room. Many of the hotels do not host foreigners and our guide had to convince the hotel to let us stay. We were not sad to leave Ali behind and even though it was the most unfriendly place we encountered, we mostly stumbled upon these kinds of army towns and were far fetched to find Tibetans. Western Tibet lies mostly at over 4000 meters and therefore does not host a big population to start with. Zanda, also an
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| Guge Kingdom army town, but also the home of Thoeling Monastery and the starting point to venture to the ruins of the Guge Kingdom, provided our first glimpse at Tibetan population and at the same time a look at the ruins left behind by the Red Guards from the 10 year cultural revolution that eradicated much of Tibetan history and culture. The Thoeling Monastery, which used to boast a large population of Buddhist monks now largely lies in rubble and ruins with only a couple of buildings still in tact. Our guide was a monk for 15 years and still hopes to return to the monastery if he finds a sponsor and a spot frees up. According to our guide, Tibetan monks are regulated in numbers today by the Chinese government and teachers are hard pressed to find. Most are left reciting old scriptures and in order for a new Tibetan Monk to be schooled, another one has to leave or pass away. This is because of the monks representation of Tibetan freedom and religious affiliation. |
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| 5630 meter Drolma- la Pass |
The most Tibetans we encountered were on the Mount Kailash kora and these were incredibly fun and pleasant encounters. Mt. Kailash is the most holy mountain for Buddhists as well as Hindus, and walking around it in a clockwise direction repents sins. It really is a visually spectacular mountain. It is higher than its neighbors and boasts a somewhat square shape covered in snow. Some choose to prostrate around it, which means lying flat on your stomach with arms outstretched, getting up, walking a few steps and stretching arms into the air, only to lie down again with the arms outstretched. Getting around the 52 kilometers around the mountain this way takes about one month, including getting over a pass that exceeds 5600 meters of elevation. Only considering our time crunch and our itinerary, we decided to walk the kora instead. Most take three days to walk it, some Tibetans do it in one day (to increase the number of sins repented), and we decided to do it in two days. We had brilliant sunshine and the first day was an easy 22 kilometers during which we laughed and joked with the Tibetan pilgrims. They were mostly amused at our large backpacks and long limbs. They were mostly going around with barely a bag and always carrying a giant smile and humming prayers. Sleeping the night at 5100 meters proved to be incredibly cold, as did the climb to 5600 meters the next morning. During the climb we played leap- frog with Tibetans climbing up to altitude, who carried babies and children up the pass. |
| Mt. Kailash |
Another incredible encounter with Tibetans was a surprising sleep over with a family by lake Peiku-tso, two days before leaving Tibet. We had been skipping rest days because of the lack of charm, showers, good food and the biting cold in the towns, and while Niek powered through another day on the bike over gravel roads I decided to hop into the jeep. During the day I would climb to small peaks and enjoy the Tibetan silence and at the end of the day we rolled into a small, but unfinished guest house in the most beautiful valley with the gorgeous Peiku-tso lake. Niek was still biking and the family that we stayed with had not encountered many foreigners and I enjoyed my anthropological nature and joked with the family while attempting to communicate with my hands and feet. I also ventured down to the lake where I encountered sheepherders. With sign language and fun with my camera, I sat with them for a long time while they wove their wool, fixed their shoes and ran after their sheep. It was also here that my sunglasses found a proud new owner.
What kind of meat do you think this is?
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Aside from tourist guides barely anyone speaks any English. This posed an extra challenge to ordering food. While other tourists spent 99% of their trip with their mandatory guide who would order food for them, ours was generally MIA (missing in action). We were hard pressed to ever find him and he was barely ever able to drag himself (or our hungover driver) out of bed in time to get going in the mornings. This resulted in Niek and I having many comical and interesting encounters with locals and an ever increasing interesting array of dishes on our menu. If we needed to communicate outside of numbers we hoped that hand gestures, facial expressions and pointing would do the trick. Ordering food usually required trips to the kitchen to point at stuff, or simply walking over to other people’s tables and pointing at dishes they were eating. And even then we often received something completely different. It was always quite amusing and created fast bonds with other visitors or the staff. The most common phrase for both of us was: “what kind of meat do you think this is?” with the common answer being “I hope it’s beef?” A particular reason why we enjoyed Zanda so much was a small Sichuan restaurant that boasted an English menu and a charming couple with whom we quickly bonded over our excessive food consumption. We proceeded to eat every meal there for three days and every day our portions got bigger and bigger and their laughter louder.Outside of larger towns, expanding our culinary experience outside of instant noodles required stocking up on Snickers bars (of which Niek consumed on average three in one day), Oreos and other junk food.
The heart and body warming descent into Kathmandu
Tibet had its highs and lows, but often the lows were more persevering. The cold as well as the unfriendly and extremely dirty nature of the towns left us rushing through Tibet at a faster pace than planned. Niek and I are known for enjoying certain luxuries, but we figured that showers, clean beds and clean clothes was not too much to ask.
Tibet had its highs and lows, but often the lows were more persevering. The cold as well as the unfriendly and extremely dirty nature of the towns left us rushing through Tibet at a faster pace than planned. Niek and I are known for enjoying certain luxuries, but we figured that showers, clean beds and clean clothes was not too much to ask.
We left Tibet while it was snowing. We had planned to bike the longest descent in the world from the Tibetan Plateau to Kathmandu down 3000 meters of elevation loss, but the snow that had fallen overnight, as well as our driver and guide that could not make it out of bed, forced us to ride it in the car. After a frustrating and partially amusing border crossing, (where the Chinese customs confiscated our Lonely Planet because it insinuated that Tibet was an independent country), we were finally in Nepal. We jumped on our bikes and quickly descended from the snow to thirty degree weather, palm trees and the friendly, colorful and spectacularly messy world of Nepal. The further we descended the bigger our smiles got and the more layers we peeled off. It was a joy to see men sitting on Nepali mats gossiping, kids running all over the place and seeing beautiful Sari clad women along the roadside. Descending from the frozen and forbidden pleateau into a world of color, life and laughter has resulted us in collapsing into the warm sun and not intending to move for at least a few days.
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| First photo taken by a Tibetan Sheepherder |
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No tread, too much speed and gravel. Thankfully no one was hurt and a lucky call considering the drop offs on other turns To see more photos: |
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| Tibet |
