At the end of February I headed down to Tibet via the new train, a moral decision I wrestled with for awhile. I eventually decided that per the Dalai Lama's word, it isnt' the train that is bad, it's what it will be used for that is negative. Luckily neither I, nor any of the 8 people in the other 5 beds (eyes rolling) in our cabin got sick. Others were very ill. The scenery wasn't nearly as spectacular as I had expected but was well worth the money paid for the views the second night when we awoke to stars as bright as daylight and views of the milky way.
Lhasa, I believe the highest capital in the world (11,000 something feet) was an amazing city. Wandering through some of the smaller monastaries I was struck by how amazingly friendly all the Tibetans were. After months of the Chinese, who for better or for worse are very trying, the monks were friendly, open and excited to talk. I wondered, and still wonder, how a people so incredibly messed about in the past decades could still be so peaceful. Obviously, the Tibetan Buddhist philosophy has managed something our Christian-based ideologies seem to lack. I've been asked by friends, in light of recent activities in Tibet if I could feel there was something wrong. To be honest, I don't know how to answer the questions. I can honestly say that while I previously sympathised with the Tibetan cause, my traveling through Tibet made me really see that China does not belong there.
My Chinese students never seemed to lose an opportunity to tell me about China's 5,000 year history. Tibet may not have rivaled Ancient China in power, but here was real culture and real people, in many ways unchanged by modernization. The smell of incense and yak butter burning made my eyes red and my throat burn, but after awhile you begin to crave it. The smell still now puts me at ease. I joined up with a group to rent a land rover and head out across Tibet. I had initially desired to stay in Lhasa longer, but I guess someone was guiding me along and telling me to get going (we crossed the border the day after rioting began in Lhasa). This also turned out to be a fortuitous decision because the group was a great group to travel with.
On our 7 day, 6 night journey from Lhasa to the Nepali border we took in some amazing lakes, some of the best Tibetan monastaries and of course, Everest Base Camp #1. Everest is massive. At the time, we managed to convince the Chinese military to allow us a very rare experience-walking the 10 km from the nearest monastary where foreigners can sleep, up to base camp for sunrise, only meeting the military at the camp. Surely, this would not have been possible 24 hours later. The feeling of that walk was absolutely amazing no doubt the euphoria was partially induced by oxygen deprivation. In case you were wondering, a 10 k walk at 17,000 feet is mildly more challenging than one at sea level. :-) It was pitch black outside, and I was colder than I can ever remember being.
My water froze solid as I was walking so I was also thirsty. A stray dog accompanied us, at first making us nervous, and then reassuring us since we would be alerted of the presence of wolves long before we were able to see them (luckily we had no such problem). Later that morning we left on a very chaotic and nerve racking drive. My mother would faint if she saw where her daughter was in a vehicle. Our driver, overly cautious on beautifully built perfectly paved Chinese roads (often managing only 20 km/hr up passes) suddenly gained some courage and was averaging about 60 km/hr on this off-roading journey he did not tell us about.
We crossed a lake and a river (which was not frozen) in the car. We hugged the mountain side on a path only wide enough for the car, and held our breath when rocks and sand came tumbling down. Tibet is the most awesomely beautiful place I have ever seen. Beautiful not in colors or scenery variation-there is little of both-but rather beautiful in raw power. Massive mountains tower overhead, and sandy dunes surround you, there are no trees and little grass or vegetation.
This would not be terrain to become lost in. Finally, we made it to the border town where there was electricity! though still no running water. I think in 14 days of travel I had fewer than 5 showers. I had more than other members of the group. Now I've been in Nepal for a little while and have had many interesting experiences (including another drive that would make my mother faint. I won't come out and say it but it's entirely possible that we spent a day on the roof of a bus.) Generally I try to soften my political beliefs for other people and I don't want to make this article sound like a speech from atop a soapbox, but I do urge all of you to pay attention to what is happening in Tibet.
I have a feeling that western media and Chinese media are both distorting the truth but there are also blogs and videos on youtube placed there by regular tourists. Whatever the death toll and whatever reciprocal violence is occuring, the nicest people I've met anywhere in the world are suffering and being threatened by someone much stronger than them, it is not an even fight.