Tibet is the plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people and the Dalai Lama as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people. Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average elevation of 4,900 metres (16,000 ft).
Tibet, often referred to as the rooftop of the world is one seriously cool place to visit and has always exercised a unique hold on the imagination of the West.
After weeks of anticipation, I finally got to accomplish one of my dream of visiting Lhasa and then traveling on through the region to Mt Everest's North Base Camp at 5,545 meters (18,192Â ft), it is the highest of the two base camps located in Tibet, the South Base Camp at an altitude of 5,364 meters (17,598Â ft) is located in Nepal.
Here's my trip report:
The journey started with a flight into Beijing China which in itself was a fantastic place to visit steeped with thousands of years of history. Formerly known in English as Peking, Beijing is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the four municipalities under the jurisdiction of the central government in China.
Beijing was an amazing few days where I managed to visit the Donghuamen Night Market where Items such as sheep's particular parts, offal soup, deep fried crickets, centipedes and lizards are available to eat on a stick. There are also the more widely recognised Western foods such as spring rolls, dumplings, crab cakes and candy fruit, to name a few, for the not so brave.
I also went on a Rickshaw ride through some Hutongs, which are the narrow streets or alleys, most commonly associated with China. In Beijing, Hutongs are alleys formed by lines of siheyuan, the traditional courtyard residences.
A must do for the Beijjing trip was a visit to Tiananmen Square the third largest city square in the world, and the Forbidden City the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty.
No trip to China would be complete without seeing the Great Wall of China. At the time of my trip Simatai a section of the Walllocated in the north of Miyun County, 120 km northeast of Beijing was said to be the best place to visit. A specialist on the Great Wall, Professor Luo Zhewen, has said "The Great Wall is the best of the Chinese buildings, and Simatai is the best of the Great Wall. Unfortunately it was closed in June of 2010. Some reports have suggested October 1, 2012 as the reopening date.
The next leg of the journey was Beijing to Xian a 1200 km (750 mile) train ride taking about 14 hours. China has one of the biggest and busiest rail networks in the world, and trains link almost every town & city. Chinese trains are a safe, comfortable & cheap way to travel around China, and a Chinese train journey is an experience in itself.
I booked a soft sleeper, a comfortable, civilised & affordable way to travel. Soft sleepers are spacious 4-berth compartments with two upper & two lower berths, all necessary bedding is provided. The compartment door locks securely, and a smartly-dressed attendant looks after each car. Passengers share with other passengers, but this is no problem, and a good way to meet people.
There were two compelling reasons for me to visit Xian number one was to visit the famous Terracotta Army a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. The second reason and probably the most important was that Xian was a well recommended place for organising permits to visit Tibet.
On reaching Xian I stayed in a small fairly low budget hotel near the train station just withi the walled city that had been recommended to me. This was a great choice and far more enjoyable than the International hotel I had stayed in while in Beijing. I have spent years traveling and have stayed in some of the worlds finest hotels and resorts and to be honest most of the time I find them sole destroying.
Contrary to popular belief, a tangible Tibet Tourism Bureau (T.T.B.) permit does exist and there are no plans of eliminating this permit in the near future. Permits are arranged by tour agencies only. Permits can take up to 10 business days to arrange, depending on how you plan on entering You also need a China Visa as well as a passport that is valid for at least 6 months before applying for the TTB even if you are entering from Nepal.
Xian was a great city and I ended up staying there a few more days than I had originally intended, the city wall surrounds the square inner city of Xian. It is the most complete city wall to survive in China. Visitors can ascend the City Wall and you can tour the whole circle of the wall if you like.
There are numerous organised trips to the Museum of Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses, but I am not big on organised trips so I did it the good old fashioned way. I walked to the bus station which is right next to the train station and hopped on a bus. The bus departs about every hour and the ticket costs CNY 25 (under $ 4) the whole journey takes about one hour.
Upon ascending the throne at the age of 13 (in 246 BC), Qin Shi Huang, later the first Emperor of all China, had begun to work for his mausoleum. It took 11 years to finish. The figures, dating from 3rd century BC, were discovered in 1974 by some local farmers who were digging a well. It caught the attention of archeologists immediately. They came to Xian in droves to study and to extend the digs.
The State Council authorised a museum to be built on the site in 1975 which now covers an area of 16,300 square meters, divided into three sections: No. 1 Pit, No. 2 Pit, and No. 3 Pit respectively. They were tagged in the order of their discoveries.
Nothing can prepare you for the sight of the Terracotta Army it is absolutely amazing it makes the hairs on the back of neck stand up. Altogether over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry and even weapons have been unearthed from these pits. Most of them have been restored to their former grandeur.
The men have such detailed face, it is said, that no one man looks the same. The terracotta figures are life-sized. They vary in height, uniform and hairstyle in accordance with rank. Most originally held real weapons such as spears, swords, or crossbows. The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses are the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century.
There was also some fairly interesting nightlife in Xian so not much chance of an early night either. Once permits had finally been arranged through the travel agent for Tibet it was time to leave Xian behind. I decided to take a flight this time instead of another train journey as the train takes the best part of 2 days.
The flight to Lhasa is spectacular, every now and again there's a gap in the clouds revealing some exceptionally impressive mountain scenery. Even though we were flying at over 30,000 ft the mountains appeared to be so incredibly close to us.
Arriving to Lhasa was a bit of a disappointment. It's a urban city. People were dressed in jeans and t-shirts, very developed,very different from what i had expected. The Bus dropped us off close to the Potala Palace, a vast white-and-ochre fortress soaring over one of the world's highest cities and one of the worlds most famous landmarks. While the Potala dominates the skyline, the Jokhang, some 2km to the east inside the old quarter, is the real spiritual heart of the city. This was the Lhasa that i had been expecting and the place where I spent my time while in the city.
The Barkhor is an area of narrow streets and a public square located around Jokhang Temple and is the most popular devotional circumabulation for pilgrims and locals. Despite the onslaught of Chinese industrialisation Lhasa remains a fantastic cultural hub, its streets bustling with a diverse mix of people.
I stayed in Lhasa for a week and managed to visit the Potala Palace where you need to book in advance as they only allow 700 tickets per day for individual travelers. The remaining 1600 tickets are taken by organised tour groups.
I was very fortunate with the timing of my visit to Lhasa as it coincided with the Shoton Festival. It's one of the Tibetan traditional festivals. In Tibetan, "sho" means "Yoghurt" and "ton" means "banquet". So Shoton Festival is also called the 'Yoghurt Festival'. In May 2006, Lhasa Shoton Festival was inscribed on the family of National Intangible Cultural Heritage List. The masked opera is performed just as it was over 300 years ago. It was the first art form added to the Shoton Festival, which served only as a religious ritual prior to the 17th century.
I really wanted to learn more about Tibetan Buddhism as a school of thought. I don't necessarily believe in all the religious aspects, but there are a lot of really good ideas about how to live your life. I think anyone who spends time in Tibet and meets the people first hand cant help but be touched by the Tibetan people, and feel for their daily struggle to live the life they believe in. The first activity of the following day found us  watching the monks in the their morning  debate. We wandered freely amongst the monks as they diligently debated the Buddhist philosophy.
My original plan had been to visit Lhasa for a few days then make my way back to Beijing by an as yet unplanned route then catch my return flight to Dubai. The plan had just gone out the window, I was now hooked on Tibet and wanted to see more. While I was in Lhasa I had met an American couple that had both been teaching English to Tibetan kids in some remote village. We decided to take a 7 day trip across Tibet staying at Gyantse, Shigatse, Shegar, and Everest North Base Camp on the way and ending up at Zhangmu close to the Nepalese border.
Once we had left Lhasa things became a lot more difficult the mass of tourist friendly places was suddenly gone. People were very helpful and considerate. We felt comfortable eating at restaurants and sleeping at guest houses along the way. During the entire week I rarely remember anyone speaking any English or finding an English menu apart from in Shigatse. Fortune once again had shinned upon me as one of my travel companions spoke some basic Chinese and some Tibetan and even read a little.
I thought the conditions that the Tibetan people lived in around Lhasa were pretty grim but the hardship these people endure in the more remote areas was unbelievable. We met people of many different ethnic backgrounds and cultures along the way.
The main attraction in Gyantse is the Pelkor Chode Monastery. Pelkor Chode was founded in 1418 and was originally a compound containing 15 monasteries from 3 of Tibet's 4 main sects of Buddhism. The Gyantse Kumbum is the biggest and most famous chorten (stupa) in Tibet, it rises to 35meters (115 feet) high.
Shigatse is a prosperous Buddhism city as it is the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama. In the past it was the most important political and cultural center of Tsang. Shigatse is the most colorful area in Tibet with vast grasslands, fertile fields in river valleys.
Shegar is where you can buy your entry ticket to the Qomolangma Nature Preserve. Inside the preserve are North Everest Base Camp and the Rongphu Monastery. The preserve office is in the QNP San Cheng Guesthouse, this is the place to you need to buy your entrance ticket.
Traveling along some of the roads across Tibet was quite nerve racking at times as there was quite a lot of construction underway of the Friendship Highway. Sometimes the so called highway gave way to a narrow, bumpy path, with a sheer 300m drop on one side and falling rocks and boulders on the other, the perfect recipe for a landslide. Sure enough, a few hundred meters later our Land Cruiser came to a complete stop due to a landslide that had occurred a few hours earlier. Along with trucks and buses all at a standstill in the middle of nowhere we were stuck. At times our driver thought he was driving an Formula One car, on this occasion he showed himself as a true off road professional and somehow got us out of there and on our way.
Rongbuk monastery lies by the foot of the Rongbuk Glacier at 5,100 metres (16,700Â ft)above sea level, making it the highest religious building, as well as one of the highest-elevation settlements and overall structures ever built and colonized. It is only 200 metres (660Â ft) lower than the north side Everest Base Camp. Believe me when I tell you altitude sickness is very real, while we were at Rongbuk Monetary it was impossible to sleep and you could hear people been sick all night. Thankfully no one in our party was ill apart from a bit of headache.
The next morning we had breakfast and hiked to Base Camp we arrived just before lunch as we spent quite a bit of time climbing up the mountains to take photographs. The base camp itself is dry and barren, but the views of Everest should more than compensate for it. Unfortunately it was a cloudy day so the only really good view we got of Everest had been the previous day from the monetary. It didn't matter it had been a spectacular day and a fantastic trip.
We passed through some amassing places while in Tibet, far too many to mention in this article alone. The highlight of the trip was no particular place but the journey itself, and the exposure to the Tibetan people we interacted with along the way. Over the next couple of days we traveled across the Chinese border into Nepal where we were stopped by armed Maoist Rebels and asked to pay money to be allowed to continue our journey. We managed to talk our way through the check point wallets in tact and were in Kathmandu in time for a couple of beers before a nights sleep in a proper bed and a hot shower with running water.
Tibet, often referred to as the rooftop of the world is one seriously cool place to visit and has always exercised a unique hold on the imagination of the West.
After weeks of anticipation, I finally got to accomplish one of my dream of visiting Lhasa and then traveling on through the region to Mt Everest's North Base Camp at 5,545 meters (18,192Â ft), it is the highest of the two base camps located in Tibet, the South Base Camp at an altitude of 5,364 meters (17,598Â ft) is located in Nepal.
Here's my trip report:
The journey started with a flight into Beijing China which in itself was a fantastic place to visit steeped with thousands of years of history. Formerly known in English as Peking, Beijing is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the four municipalities under the jurisdiction of the central government in China.
Beijing was an amazing few days where I managed to visit the Donghuamen Night Market where Items such as sheep's particular parts, offal soup, deep fried crickets, centipedes and lizards are available to eat on a stick. There are also the more widely recognised Western foods such as spring rolls, dumplings, crab cakes and candy fruit, to name a few, for the not so brave.
I also went on a Rickshaw ride through some Hutongs, which are the narrow streets or alleys, most commonly associated with China. In Beijing, Hutongs are alleys formed by lines of siheyuan, the traditional courtyard residences.
A must do for the Beijjing trip was a visit to Tiananmen Square the third largest city square in the world, and the Forbidden City the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty.No trip to China would be complete without seeing the Great Wall of China. At the time of my trip Simatai a section of the Walllocated in the north of Miyun County, 120 km northeast of Beijing was said to be the best place to visit. A specialist on the Great Wall, Professor Luo Zhewen, has said "The Great Wall is the best of the Chinese buildings, and Simatai is the best of the Great Wall. Unfortunately it was closed in June of 2010. Some reports have suggested October 1, 2012 as the reopening date.
The next leg of the journey was Beijing to Xian a 1200 km (750 mile) train ride taking about 14 hours. China has one of the biggest and busiest rail networks in the world, and trains link almost every town & city. Chinese trains are a safe, comfortable & cheap way to travel around China, and a Chinese train journey is an experience in itself.
I booked a soft sleeper, a comfortable, civilised & affordable way to travel. Soft sleepers are spacious 4-berth compartments with two upper & two lower berths, all necessary bedding is provided. The compartment door locks securely, and a smartly-dressed attendant looks after each car. Passengers share with other passengers, but this is no problem, and a good way to meet people.
There were two compelling reasons for me to visit Xian number one was to visit the famous Terracotta Army a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. The second reason and probably the most important was that Xian was a well recommended place for organising permits to visit Tibet.
On reaching Xian I stayed in a small fairly low budget hotel near the train station just withi the walled city that had been recommended to me. This was a great choice and far more enjoyable than the International hotel I had stayed in while in Beijing. I have spent years traveling and have stayed in some of the worlds finest hotels and resorts and to be honest most of the time I find them sole destroying.
Contrary to popular belief, a tangible Tibet Tourism Bureau (T.T.B.) permit does exist and there are no plans of eliminating this permit in the near future. Permits are arranged by tour agencies only. Permits can take up to 10 business days to arrange, depending on how you plan on entering You also need a China Visa as well as a passport that is valid for at least 6 months before applying for the TTB even if you are entering from Nepal.
Xian was a great city and I ended up staying there a few more days than I had originally intended, the city wall surrounds the square inner city of Xian. It is the most complete city wall to survive in China. Visitors can ascend the City Wall and you can tour the whole circle of the wall if you like.
There are numerous organised trips to the Museum of Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses, but I am not big on organised trips so I did it the good old fashioned way. I walked to the bus station which is right next to the train station and hopped on a bus. The bus departs about every hour and the ticket costs CNY 25 (under $ 4) the whole journey takes about one hour.
Upon ascending the throne at the age of 13 (in 246 BC), Qin Shi Huang, later the first Emperor of all China, had begun to work for his mausoleum. It took 11 years to finish. The figures, dating from 3rd century BC, were discovered in 1974 by some local farmers who were digging a well. It caught the attention of archeologists immediately. They came to Xian in droves to study and to extend the digs.
The State Council authorised a museum to be built on the site in 1975 which now covers an area of 16,300 square meters, divided into three sections: No. 1 Pit, No. 2 Pit, and No. 3 Pit respectively. They were tagged in the order of their discoveries.
Nothing can prepare you for the sight of the Terracotta Army it is absolutely amazing it makes the hairs on the back of neck stand up. Altogether over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry and even weapons have been unearthed from these pits. Most of them have been restored to their former grandeur.
The men have such detailed face, it is said, that no one man looks the same. The terracotta figures are life-sized. They vary in height, uniform and hairstyle in accordance with rank. Most originally held real weapons such as spears, swords, or crossbows. The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses are the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century.
There was also some fairly interesting nightlife in Xian so not much chance of an early night either. Once permits had finally been arranged through the travel agent for Tibet it was time to leave Xian behind. I decided to take a flight this time instead of another train journey as the train takes the best part of 2 days.
The flight to Lhasa is spectacular, every now and again there's a gap in the clouds revealing some exceptionally impressive mountain scenery. Even though we were flying at over 30,000 ft the mountains appeared to be so incredibly close to us.
Arriving to Lhasa was a bit of a disappointment. It's a urban city. People were dressed in jeans and t-shirts, very developed,very different from what i had expected. The Bus dropped us off close to the Potala Palace, a vast white-and-ochre fortress soaring over one of the world's highest cities and one of the worlds most famous landmarks. While the Potala dominates the skyline, the Jokhang, some 2km to the east inside the old quarter, is the real spiritual heart of the city. This was the Lhasa that i had been expecting and the place where I spent my time while in the city.
The Barkhor is an area of narrow streets and a public square located around Jokhang Temple and is the most popular devotional circumabulation for pilgrims and locals. Despite the onslaught of Chinese industrialisation Lhasa remains a fantastic cultural hub, its streets bustling with a diverse mix of people.
I stayed in Lhasa for a week and managed to visit the Potala Palace where you need to book in advance as they only allow 700 tickets per day for individual travelers. The remaining 1600 tickets are taken by organised tour groups.
I was very fortunate with the timing of my visit to Lhasa as it coincided with the Shoton Festival. It's one of the Tibetan traditional festivals. In Tibetan, "sho" means "Yoghurt" and "ton" means "banquet". So Shoton Festival is also called the 'Yoghurt Festival'. In May 2006, Lhasa Shoton Festival was inscribed on the family of National Intangible Cultural Heritage List. The masked opera is performed just as it was over 300 years ago. It was the first art form added to the Shoton Festival, which served only as a religious ritual prior to the 17th century.
I really wanted to learn more about Tibetan Buddhism as a school of thought. I don't necessarily believe in all the religious aspects, but there are a lot of really good ideas about how to live your life. I think anyone who spends time in Tibet and meets the people first hand cant help but be touched by the Tibetan people, and feel for their daily struggle to live the life they believe in. The first activity of the following day found us  watching the monks in the their morning  debate. We wandered freely amongst the monks as they diligently debated the Buddhist philosophy.
My original plan had been to visit Lhasa for a few days then make my way back to Beijing by an as yet unplanned route then catch my return flight to Dubai. The plan had just gone out the window, I was now hooked on Tibet and wanted to see more. While I was in Lhasa I had met an American couple that had both been teaching English to Tibetan kids in some remote village. We decided to take a 7 day trip across Tibet staying at Gyantse, Shigatse, Shegar, and Everest North Base Camp on the way and ending up at Zhangmu close to the Nepalese border.
Once we had left Lhasa things became a lot more difficult the mass of tourist friendly places was suddenly gone. People were very helpful and considerate. We felt comfortable eating at restaurants and sleeping at guest houses along the way. During the entire week I rarely remember anyone speaking any English or finding an English menu apart from in Shigatse. Fortune once again had shinned upon me as one of my travel companions spoke some basic Chinese and some Tibetan and even read a little.I thought the conditions that the Tibetan people lived in around Lhasa were pretty grim but the hardship these people endure in the more remote areas was unbelievable. We met people of many different ethnic backgrounds and cultures along the way.
The main attraction in Gyantse is the Pelkor Chode Monastery. Pelkor Chode was founded in 1418 and was originally a compound containing 15 monasteries from 3 of Tibet's 4 main sects of Buddhism. The Gyantse Kumbum is the biggest and most famous chorten (stupa) in Tibet, it rises to 35meters (115 feet) high.
Shigatse is a prosperous Buddhism city as it is the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama. In the past it was the most important political and cultural center of Tsang. Shigatse is the most colorful area in Tibet with vast grasslands, fertile fields in river valleys.
Shegar is where you can buy your entry ticket to the Qomolangma Nature Preserve. Inside the preserve are North Everest Base Camp and the Rongphu Monastery. The preserve office is in the QNP San Cheng Guesthouse, this is the place to you need to buy your entrance ticket.
Traveling along some of the roads across Tibet was quite nerve racking at times as there was quite a lot of construction underway of the Friendship Highway. Sometimes the so called highway gave way to a narrow, bumpy path, with a sheer 300m drop on one side and falling rocks and boulders on the other, the perfect recipe for a landslide. Sure enough, a few hundred meters later our Land Cruiser came to a complete stop due to a landslide that had occurred a few hours earlier. Along with trucks and buses all at a standstill in the middle of nowhere we were stuck. At times our driver thought he was driving an Formula One car, on this occasion he showed himself as a true off road professional and somehow got us out of there and on our way.
Rongbuk monastery lies by the foot of the Rongbuk Glacier at 5,100 metres (16,700 ft)above sea level, making it the highest religious building, as well as one of the highest-elevation settlements and overall structures ever built and colonized. It is only 200 metres (660 ft) lower than the north side Everest Base Camp. Believe me when I tell you altitude sickness is very real, while we were at Rongbuk Monetary it was impossible to sleep and you could hear people been sick all night. Thankfully no one in our party was ill apart from a bit of headache.The next morning we had breakfast and hiked to Base Camp we arrived just before lunch as we spent quite a bit of time climbing up the mountains to take photographs. The base camp itself is dry and barren, but the views of Everest should more than compensate for it. Unfortunately it was a cloudy day so the only really good view we got of Everest had been the previous day from the monetary. It didn't matter it had been a spectacular day and a fantastic trip.
We passed through some amassing places while in Tibet, far too many to mention in this article alone. The highlight of the trip was no particular place but the journey itself, and the exposure to the Tibetan people we interacted with along the way. Over the next couple of days we traveled across the Chinese border into Nepal where we were stopped by armed Maoist Rebels and asked to pay money to be allowed to continue our journey. We managed to talk our way through the check point wallets in tact and were in Kathmandu in time for a couple of beers before a nights sleep in a proper bed and a hot shower with running water.