TIBET
Tibet, the roof of the world is the highest region on Earth, with an average elevation of 4,900 meters. It is located in high plateau called Tibetan Plateau. Some of the highest mountain in the world also located in Tibet. The highest elevation in Tibet is Mount Everest, Earth's highest mountain, rising 8,848 m above sea level. Several major rivers have their source in the Tibetan Plateau (mostly in present-day Qinghai Province). These include the Yangtze, Yellow River, Indus River, Mekong, Ganges, Salween and the Yarlung Tsangpo River (is called Brahmaputra River in India). The Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, along the Yarlung Tsangpo River, is among the deepest and longest canyons in the world. It is located west of the Central China plain, and within mainland China Tibet is regarded as part of 西部 (Xībù), "the Western section".
The reasons why I go to Tibet, because when I was a child, I read a comic by Herge - Tintin in Tibet. And in my teenage years, I read the wuxia novel by Liang Yusheng, The Glacial Maiden/ 冰川天女 And to my surprise, what Liang Yusheng described in the book about Tibet, was just like what I saw in Tibet. The story The Glacial Maiden, mentioned the Mountain Nyenchin Tanghla, Potala Palace, and Namtso Lake.
Tibet is a very beautiful place. I really love Tibet, its blue sky, clean air, culture, architectural buildings, natural sceneries, etc. I just love it! I hope I could go back there again one day.
Traveling in Tibet is not as easy as traveling to other places in the world. For other places, you just need your passport, visa (probably) and money. But traveling in Tibet is not that easy. For foreigners (non China passport holder), besides the Chinese visa, you need a special permit to enter Tibet. You might get a visa, but doesn't mean you could get your Tibet Permit. Also you have to go and travel with tour agent in Tibet. Thanks to some stupids foreigners who came to Tibet but then they provoked the local people to against the authority. Can't believe that even until now some foreigners still say that Tibetan live under oppression, etc. Geez! Seriously, people need to go to travel there and talk to the real people instead of just believing media! See the history part to know the details.
Also traveling in Tibet means you need to be physically fit. High Altitude Sickness!! Don't underestimate it! I have a friend who went to Lhasa (only) and she didn't take any HAS prevention medicine. As a result, she got headache and couldn't do anything for two days. Also saw a lot of tourists in the hotel and inside the train who got HAS. Not only headache, some of them vomit, short of breath, etc. Gladly I didn't get any altitude sickness - except once in Yambrok when I forgot and ran for a bit and then I short of breath. I only ran for less than two minutes, but then I got short of breath for five minutes!! Remember : do not run, do not carry heavy stuffs when you're in high altitude! I took HAS prevention medicine two days before my trip to Tibet, and still took until the third day I left Tibet (as the medicine prescription).
Tibet, the roof of the world is the highest region on Earth, with an average elevation of 4,900 meters. It is located in high plateau called Tibetan Plateau. Some of the highest mountain in the world also located in Tibet. The highest elevation in Tibet is Mount Everest, Earth's highest mountain, rising 8,848 m above sea level. Several major rivers have their source in the Tibetan Plateau (mostly in present-day Qinghai Province). These include the Yangtze, Yellow River, Indus River, Mekong, Ganges, Salween and the Yarlung Tsangpo River (is called Brahmaputra River in India). The Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, along the Yarlung Tsangpo River, is among the deepest and longest canyons in the world. It is located west of the Central China plain, and within mainland China Tibet is regarded as part of 西部 (Xībù), "the Western section".
The reasons why I go to Tibet, because when I was a child, I read a comic by Herge - Tintin in Tibet. And in my teenage years, I read the wuxia novel by Liang Yusheng, The Glacial Maiden/ 冰川天女 And to my surprise, what Liang Yusheng described in the book about Tibet, was just like what I saw in Tibet. The story The Glacial Maiden, mentioned the Mountain Nyenchin Tanghla, Potala Palace, and Namtso Lake.
Tibet is a very beautiful place. I really love Tibet, its blue sky, clean air, culture, architectural buildings, natural sceneries, etc. I just love it! I hope I could go back there again one day.
Traveling in Tibet is not as easy as traveling to other places in the world. For other places, you just need your passport, visa (probably) and money. But traveling in Tibet is not that easy. For foreigners (non China passport holder), besides the Chinese visa, you need a special permit to enter Tibet. You might get a visa, but doesn't mean you could get your Tibet Permit. Also you have to go and travel with tour agent in Tibet. Thanks to some stupids foreigners who came to Tibet but then they provoked the local people to against the authority. Can't believe that even until now some foreigners still say that Tibetan live under oppression, etc. Geez! Seriously, people need to go to travel there and talk to the real people instead of just believing media! See the history part to know the details.
Also traveling in Tibet means you need to be physically fit. High Altitude Sickness!! Don't underestimate it! I have a friend who went to Lhasa (only) and she didn't take any HAS prevention medicine. As a result, she got headache and couldn't do anything for two days. Also saw a lot of tourists in the hotel and inside the train who got HAS. Not only headache, some of them vomit, short of breath, etc. Gladly I didn't get any altitude sickness - except once in Yambrok when I forgot and ran for a bit and then I short of breath. I only ran for less than two minutes, but then I got short of breath for five minutes!! Remember : do not run, do not carry heavy stuffs when you're in high altitude! I took HAS prevention medicine two days before my trip to Tibet, and still took until the third day I left Tibet (as the medicine prescription).
View from train window (1-4 hours after departure from Xining)
View from train window, 2 hours before train arrival in Lhasa
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I took a 21 hours train from Xining (Qinghai Province) to Lhasa to adapt the altitude. 21 hours in a train was not that bad actually. I would suggest anyone who plan to take a train from Xining to Lhasa to take a morning train, although it means they would be arrived in Lhasa very early in the morning (the sun rise around 8 AM in Lhasa). I recommend a morning train because the train from Xining to Lhasa, will pass the Qinghai Tibetan Plateau (青藏高原)with beautiful views, especially in the first 7 hours when the train pass Qinghai Lake, Kunlun Mountain, etc. After 6 hours, the train will start to "climb" to higher and higher altitude.
I think around 9 hours after departure, the train stopped at Geermu 格尔木/ Na-gor-mo (Tibetan) - the largest city in the world in term of area coverage. Mostly are mountains, therefore the population was only around 200,000. This town produces the best black goji berry! << we stopped at Geermu at midnight, the photo was not taken by me. After passing Geermu, then people will start to feel the low amount of oxygen. I was sleeping at that time, and started to feel uncomfortable in breathing. And then I heard some noise! Apparently the train is equipped with oxygen tanks, and oxygen masks. The noise came from the oxygen which was pumped into the cabins. But some people who didn't take HAS prevention medicine, or very sensitive won't get enough with that. They might need to use the oxygen masks provided in the train. New experience to me! The sun set around 7.30- 8PM at that time, so the train cabin light was dimmed after 9.30 PM. Couldn't see anything, and the best way is to sleep and collect some energy for the next day. The sun rose around 8 AM at that time. And the view from the train window is amazing! <<< After 21 hours on a train, we arrived in Lhasa. And ..WOW!! Lhasa Train Station is huge, clean and beautiful! It's a nice architecture. Didn't expect Lhasa could be that well developed. Arrived in Lhasa station, and for foreigners it means the security checking is starting. Foreigners will have to go to special building and has the "immigration" officers check the Tibet Permit and passport. Remember to make several copies of your Tibet Permit! Seriously...your permit will be checked almost everywhere. Taking a private tour is an advantage, cause the tour guide handled all of those security check for us! Lhasa station is located in the newly developed zone of Lhasa. New buildings, high rise buildings...all the modern stuffs. I didn't feel like I was in Lhasa. It's just look like another city for me. Then after passing this Lhasa River, we arrived at the old part of Lhasa, where our hotel located. <<< that's the pic of the Lhasa River bridge which separate the old part and the newly developed part of Lhasa. |
Lhasa 拉萨
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<<-- Old Lhasa, this street is called Beijing Road. The longest old road in Lhasa. This is the view from our hotel. So many little shops with traditional architecture. Little shops, in which means : the front width of the shop is only around 3-4 meters. There's a lot of tailors in Lhasa, and they're making traditional Tibetan clothes. They're pretty nice and good quality. There's also a shopping mall in Lhasa, called "Time Square", they have KFC, Bread Talk, coffee shops, Adidas, Nike, and other foreign brands counters over there. |
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Lama..... crimson robed lamas is a common sight in the whole Tibet. They are monks who live in monasteries all around Tibet. Some of them already embrace modern life... they have wechat, do selfies, and wear modern shoes, watches, etc. Saw a lama wore Nike shoes, and taking a selfie. Too bad we're not fast enough to catch the moment on camera. In the small alley where I took picture, there's a small temple. It's pretty easy to find temples in Lhasa. Just follow the juniper scents...and you'll find a temple. Because mostly temples burn juniper scents in front of their gates. Visiting Tibet won't be complete without visiting Potala Palace. Potala Palace, is located in Old Lhasa. Just walk along Beijing Road, and you'll get there! In front of Potala Palace, there's a big plaza. At night old peoples would go there to mingle and dance. There's a big giant LED screen, and also a dancing fountain in the plaza. In Liang Yusheng's novel, it also mentioned about the plaza. In the book, the plaza was used for night market, and people celebrated festival on that plaza. There's also a lotus pond near the plaza. Beautiful flowers, and you could take pictures from the pond overlooking Potala Palace. |
Nyenchen Tanghla Moutain or in Chinese is called 念青唐古拉山 (nian qing tang ku la shan)
The view from the road on the way from Lhasa to Namtso Lake.
Nyenchen Tanghla Moutain / 念青唐古拉山 Cold, but beautiful!
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View along the way from Shigatse (日喀则) to Lhasa. More than 6 hours drive (including lunch and break). Beautiful view. I love the blue of Tibetan sky! Namtso or Lake Nam (officially: 纳木错; Mongolian: Tenger nuur “Heavenly Lake” / 天湖 in European literature: "Tengri-Nor" Location : 30°42′N 90°33′E surface elevation :4,718 m is a mountain lake in Tibet, approximately 112 kilometres (70 mi) NNW of Lhasa. It's located on the west side of Nyenchen Tanghla Mountains According to LYS's novel, the Glacial Maiden's palace was located around Namtso Lake. With the access from the lake. Namtso Lake from space, with Nyenchen Tanghla on the right side. Sunset in Namtso Lake, and the next day I tried to see the sunrise, but it wasn't as I had expected. The lake color will be more blue in the afternoon, but I left Namtso at around 9 AM, while the sunrise was around 7.55 AM in Tibet in October. |
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Chubu Monastery - 楚布寺
Or...Tsurphu Monastery (Tibetan: མཚུར་ཕུ་དགོན་པ or Tölung Tsurphu (Tibetan: སྟོད་ལུང་མཚུར་ཕུ, "Tsurphu of Tölong") It is located in Gurum in Doilungdêqên District, 70 kilometres (43 mi) from Lhasa. The monastery is about 4,300 metres (14,100 ft) above sea level. It was built in the middle of the valley facing south with high mountains surrounding the complex. Tsurphu was founded by Düsum Khyenpa, 1st Karmapa Lama(1110-1193) in 1159, after he visited the site and laid the foundation for an establishment of a seat there by making offerings to the local protectors, the dharmapalas and territorial divinities. In 1189 he revisited the site and founded his main seat there. The monastery grew to hold 1000 monks. |
Entering Lhasa after Shigatse and Namtso. Potala Palace is the first thing catching your attention.