My Unforgettable Tibet Tours

How to describe Tibet? I have heard it called “Shangri La”, and I have heard it called “The Rooftop of the World”, but there is really no accurate way to describe this amazing and mysterious place in a few simple words or even paragraphs. It is an absolutely amazing place that time seems to have forgotten. It features some of the most breathtaking man-made, and natural sites in the world, and as a whole, has the friendliest people I have ever met. They seem to smile and laugh more than any other people in the world. The sky in Tibet is so blue, and seems so low, that if I stood on a chair, I felt like I could have touched. My trip to Tibet with my family, simply put, was a life changing experience.
The first site we visited, and the one which I was most looking forward to visiting, was the Potala Palace. It stands in the center of the city of Lhasa and it took my breath away. I was surprised at how big the whole complex is. The bottom half is painted half, with red buildings on the top. It looks like a giant fortress. It was the home to Tibet’s Dalai Lama. It was packed full of people, but because they limit the amount of tickets sold each day, it was not overwhelming. I’m glad I had a guide, because if one was allowed to wander alone, I’m not sure they could have ever found the way out. It seems to just keep going and going. It is like a huge labyrinth. It is full of unbelievably beautiful treasures. Every square inch seemed to be decorated. Even the ceilings are incredible. Everything seemed to have secret meanings. I’m sure that place could be studied for decades and never be fully understood.

We also checked out Jokhang Temple. The tour guide told us the legend of its creation and I thought it was pretty bizarre. Supposedly the temple was built on a lake. They had tried to build the temple a bunch of times, but each time it collapsed. An educated woman said that the geography of Tibet was like an old woman, with the lake at the heart. In order to build the temple, she suggested that they kill the old woman by filling in the lake. They were supposed to use 1,000 sheep to carry the soil. Those must have been some pretty strong sheep! The temple is really cool though. It is actually a large complex, and it was filled with pilgrims that had come from all parts of Tibet. There is a long passageway that had paintings showing the temple being built. I tried to get some photos of it, but they didn’t turn out too well, too many people. After the temple, the guide took me to visit Barkhor Street. It wasn’t a far walk, because it is a round road that surrounds the temple. I had a lot of fun there. It was packed with tourists, Buddhist monks, and pilgrims. It was a really neat mixture of peoples. Many of the pilgrims were crawling on the ground. Apparently, on their pilgrimage from their homes, they walk two steps, then prostrate themselves on the ground, then walk two more steps, then prostrate themselves on the ground. This is repeated for hundreds of miles, until they reach Lhasa. Talk about dedication. Many others were spinning prayer wheels. The street was lined with stalls selling all sorts of stuff. There were some really beautiful arts and crafts, and of course some touristy things. Most of the objects for sale were Buddhist related. I saw a lot of pottery, and tea shops there. I think my favorite things they had for sale there were the Thangka paintings. These are religious Buddhist paintings. Some of them were really beautiful, and the details on them are amazing. I watched a man painting hair on a creature’s head. He was painting them one by one. I can’t imagine how long these paintings take to complete. My mother and I picked up a couple of these.

On my second day, we went to Norbulingka Park. Apparently it is the biggest garden in Tibet. This place was gorgeous. Even though it was filled with people, it was actually quite peaceful. The park actually isn’t a park, but the summer palace of the Dalai Lama. It was quite large, with a lot of water, and wooded areas. Every wall in every building was covered with murals. After the park, I went to the Sera Monastery. This place was packed too, but it was filled with monks in their red robes. They were having a debate. I was told that monks often gather here to have debates on the Buddhist scriptures. I couldn’t understand them, but it was really fun to watch them, and I could tell they really took it very seriously.
We saw the largest mountain in the world, Everest. It was really beautiful. It was covered with white snow, and seemed to be the pillar that holds up the sky. I took so many photos of it. It could be seen from almost everywhere we went. I don’t think I’d like to attempt climbing it, but I really did enjoy looking at it.

I think my favorite part about visiting Tibet, was the evening we spent with a local family. Ours was a small group, so it was a really nice intimate visit. The family we visited lived in a traditional wooden home, which was beautifully painted. It was very colorful, and had religious decorations everywhere. It didn’t have all modern conveniences, but it was really beautiful, and I felt really comfortable there. They wore traditional Tibetan clothing. I asked if it was just for our visit, but they said that they wore it every day. The family was so sweet. I got the feeling that they were just local folks, and the language barrier didn’t seem to matter. Of course I did have my guide to translate, but I could tell that this was a truly loving family. The father gave us a tour of the home, while the women prepared dinner. It was all local food. At first I wasn’t sure I liked it, but after a few bites, they really seemed to grow on me. We had what they call Tsamba. It is a kind of dough made from barley. They had it plain, but offered some sugar and butter for me to mix with mine. I tried it both ways and defiantly liked it better when I added the extra ingredients. I was told that this was a staple, and was eaten at every meal. We also had beef stew, steamed duck, and beef jerky. I was offered Tibetan vodka, but I am not a big drinker, so I politely declined, and they did not push it. After dinner we had Tibetan butter tea. I had heard about it, and was told that most visitors don’t like it, but I liked it. It really filled me up. I can see why they drink so much of it. It really seemed to instantly warm me up and give me energy. I watched the woman prepare it, and asked her to teach, because I’d never seen anything like it. They put boiling tea, salt, and butter into a thin churn, and then churned it all together. It took some work, but was worth it. After dinner, they showed us some of their local dances. They wanted us to join in. At first, I wasn’t comfortable doing it, but seeing how much fun they were having I decided to give it a go. We were all laughing so hard, that we could hardly dance. I really hated to leave. It was a really wonderful experience.

I had been warned by many people about altitude sickness. I was concerned about it, but didn’t have too much of a problem. I did experience headaches for the first few days, but that was it. My brother on the other hand had it much worse than I, and had to miss our first day of site-seeing. Our guide suggested we drink a lot of water, and that really seemed to help a lot. Something to do with dehydration I think.

Tibet is truly an amazing place. We were only there five days, and I hated to leave. I felt I could spend the rest of my life exploring this amazing province. Sadly, with my limited writing ability, I cannot even come close to describing it. It felt so mysterious, yet welcoming. It is a place where ancient religious beliefs mix seamlessly with modern life. People live as they have for thousands of years, and it seemed to me that they do this by choice, not by necessity. Every place we went was packed with people, but it did make for some really cool photographs. The diversity of people there was really kinda cool. It was a wonderful experience, and I really hope I can return one day.
Tibet is a part of my adventure, below is the whole itinerary of my “China Adventure Tour”:
Beijing: Day 1: Arrival in Beijing. Day 2: Beijing city tour to the Forbidden City & Temple of Heaven Day 3: Drive to outskirt of Beijing; hiking the Simatai Great Wall. Day 4: Beijing Hutong tour; half day free.
Lhasa: Day 5: Fly to Lhasa; visit the Tibet Museum. Day 6: Lhasa city tour to the Potala Palace & Barkhor Street. Day 7 : Explore Lhasa Monasteries and visit Tibetan family.
Chengdu: Day 8: Fly to Chengdu; try Sichuan Food Day 9: Chengdu city tour; visit the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base and observe the giant pandas up close.
Lijiang: Day 10: Fly to Lijiang; excursion to the Ancient Town. Day 11: Drive to the Upper Tiger Leaping Gorge; hiking and overnight at guesthouse. Day 12: Continue hiking up to the Middle Tiger Leaping Gorge; overnight at guesthouse. Day 13: Continue hiking up and get across the Yangtze River; drive back to Lijiang. Day 14: Lijiang city tour; half day free.
Guilin: Day 15: Fly to Guilin via Kumming. Day 16: Drive to Longji; walks on rice terraces. Day 17: Li River cruise to Yangshuo; bike ride in the countryside. Day 18: Guilin city tour; final Departure.

Lhasa – Kathmandu Overland Tour

LHASA – KATHMANDU OVERLAND TOUR

This overland tour connects two old capital cities, Lhasa in Tibet and Kathmandu in Nepal. The tour begins in Lhasa and ends in Kathmandu. En route, you cross over several high mountain passes with spectacular mountain views, including those of the majestic Mount Everest, Cho Oyu, Makalu and Shishapangma.

This tour gives you an insight into the rich culture and history of Lhasa. Most popularly known as ‘Sunlight City’, Lhasa is regarded as the heart and soul of Tibet. It is the most sought after tourist destination in Tibet. As you drive across the Tibetan plateau, you can visit all the Tibetan monasteries, temples, monuments and important tourist sites. In Lhasa you can explore the Potala Palace, Sera Monastery, Norbulingka, Jokhang Temple, Drepung Monastery and the busy Barkhor Square.

This tour gives you an opportunity to discover the real Tibet and introduces you to the rich Tibetan culture, art and history. From the bustling old cities to the ancient villages and settlements, you get to observe Tibetan lifestyle at close quarters.

Lhasa’s Main Attractions

Potala Palace is situated at the west of old Lhasa, atop the “Moburi (Red) Mountain”. In 1994, the Potala Palace was declared the United Nations World Cultural Heritage site. It was originally built in the 640’s, during the reign of King Songstan Gampo. The 13-story palace stands 117 meters high and has over 1,000 rooms. Covering an area of 130,000 sq meters, the entire building is made of stone and wood. The palace is widely known for its treasures, which includes sculptures, murals, ancient Tibetan Buddhist scriptures, Buddha figures, antiques, and jewelry. These are of great cultural and artistic value. The Red Palace contains various chapels and mausoleums for previous Dalai Lamas. The White Palace contains the living quarters of successive Dalai Lamas and their tutors. The offices of the old Tibetan government and their assembly halls are also located here. The original Potala was destroyed in the 9th century, during the breakdown of the Tubo Kingship era. It was rebuilt during the reign of the 5th Dalai Lama and completed in the late 17th century.

Jokhang Temple is located in the centre of old Lhasa city. It was original built in 647 AD. It is said the site was chosen personally by the wife of King Songstan Gampo, the Tang Princess Wen Cheng. It was built by craftsmen from Tibet, China and Nepal and thus features different architectural styles. The Jokhang is the spiritual centre of Tibet and the holiest destination for all Tibetan Buddhist pilgrims. In the central hall is the Jokhang’ s oldest and most precious object-a sitting statue of Sakyamuni Buddha ,when he was 12 years old. It is a gilded statue adorned with many jewels, in an elaborate setting. Pilgrims have prostrated themselves in front of this statue for centuries.

Drepung Monastery lies in the west of Lhasa under Mt. Gambo Utse. Built in 1416, it is considered as one of the largest monasteries in the six principle monasteries of Gelu Sect. Drepung Monastery used to be the living palace of Dalai Lamas before the reconstruction of Potala palace. This magnificent monastery resembles a huge walled city. From its roofs, one can enjoy the scenic view of Lhasa city. As the most powerful of the “Gelukpa” monasteries, Drepung had seven colleges and, at its height, housed over 10,000 monks. It owns many splendid murals, elaborate statues and other rich treasures. A giant golden statue of Buddha “Jiangba Tongzhenma” sits near the precious conch shell. During the building of the foundation of Drepung, Tsong Khapa discovered a magical white conch shell with counter clockwise swirls, believed to be buried by the Sakyamuni Buddha. Tsong Khapa bestowed this religious treasure to Drepung, and it can still be seen today in the “Great Sutra Chanting Hall”.

Norbulingka is the Summer Palace of the Dalai Lama. Located in the west of Lhasa, Norbulingka was built in 1755.It covers an area of 46 acres, with 370 rooms of different sizes.

Barkhor Street is found in the heart of Lhasa. It means “a pilgrim’s inner circuit”, and is the oldest street in Lhasa. Barkhor Street is an essential pilgrim route. It bustles with activity and is always jam-packed with trades people. The market is “a must visit site” for souvenir-hunting tourists. Many people call the Barkhor “the window of Tibet” as it offers a typical reflection of Tibetan life. The old circumambulation circuit is always crowded with pilgrims. Here you will find people from all over Tibet.

Sera Monastery – Sera means “Hailstone” in Tibetan. Legend has it that hail stones rained while laying the foundation of this famous monastery. Sera was the last of the three principal Yellow Sect monasteries to be built in Lhasa. It was completed in 1419, under the supervision of Shaka Yeshe. Shaka Yeshe traveled to Beijing and as far as Mongolia to preach Buddhism. He was given the title “The Tutor of the Empire”, by the Ming Emperor, Xuan De. Many precious gifts were sent to Sera by the Chinese Emperors, many of which are kept well preserved and can be seen at Sera to this day. Sera comprises a great sutra chanting hall, a college and 32 sections. It once housed nearly 10,000 monks.

PEOPLE AND CULTURE

The Tibetans are classified as belonging to the Mongoloid family of people. They are probably descendents of a variety of nomadic tribes who migrated from the north and settled along sedentary cultivation of Tibet’s river valleys.

The Tibetans living within the borders of present day Tibet are easily identified by their distinctive dialects, social customs and dress. The Topas live in the highland regions (Lato and Ngari), the Tsangpas in the West Tibet (Tsang), the Upas live in central Tibet, the Horpas comes from the north (Nagchu/ Jangtang), the Kongpowas from the south, the Khampas live in the east, the Amdowa in the northeast, and the Gyarongwa in the extreme east.

In Lhasa, you will find some Tibetans speak a bit of English and are happy to have a chat with you. Travelers to Tibet inevitably find Tibetans to be friendly and possessing a great sense of humor. It is appreciated when you try and use Tibetan language when communicating with Tibetans. Religion is extremely important to the majority of Tibetans, and travelers should endeavor to respect their customs and beliefs. Always circumambulate Buddhist religious sites or monastery in a clockwise direction, and when in a monastery do not wear a hat, smoke or touch frescoes. In addition, refrain from climbing onto statues, mani stones or other sacred objects. Don’t photograph people without permission, and be aware that some locations prohibit photography without a fee.

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