PART 2: LHASA AND THE ROAD TO NEPAL
Lhasa
We spent three days in Lhasa Tibet’s capital, largest city, and, most importantly, the spiritual heart of Tibet. This holy city was the home of the Dali Lamas and is the destination for thousands of devout pilgrims. It is also a sprawling and bustling city exemplifying and exhibiting the best and worst of modern Tibet.
Modernization was a long time in coming to Tibet, and before the Chinese takeover in 1951 Lhasa looked and felt as it had for many decades, indeed centuries, with a population of between twenty and thirty thousand. Today, its population is around 500,000 and Chinese in Lhasa outnumber Tibetans two to one.
The city is divided into the Chinese and the much smaller Tibetan sector with the Potala palace occupying a sort of no -man’s land in between.
The Tibetan sector has so far resisted the invasion of the modern world and is the Tibet travelers know about and have come to see. It remains “old” Tibet: other worldly. It is a time -warp where traditional costumes, customs and architecture prevail. The sector is a labyrinth of narrow streets and
alleyways lined with the traditional whitewashed structures with all roads leading to Barkhor square.
Barkhor square is both the spiritual heart of the old city and the main commercial center for the Tibetans of Lhasa—the intersection of bustling religion and bustling commerce. The most interesting and popular Kora in Tibet files round the square in front of the Jokhang, Tibet’s most holy temple, while hundreds of stalls sell souvenirs, trinkets, handcrafts, jewelry, “antiques”, knockoffs of brand name luggage and outerwear and mountaineering gear. In short, everything a tourist might be interested in or persuaded to purchase.
Shopping here is a sport requiring much bargaining and back and forth. The square is hustle and bustle and crazy. One can wander for hours just taking it all in especially the crush of reverent and fervent pilgrims circumambulating the Kora route around and through the square, each one spinning a prayer wheel and most murmuring mantras.
The smell of Yak butter offerings and wafting incense combined with the voices of vigorous commerce make for some great travel moments. Where the Kora ends in front of the Jokhang holy temple, several dozen especially fervent pilgrims and penitents are repeatedly throwing themselves onto the ground, prostrate, only to rise and lunge again. One must carefully pick one’s way through this pandemonium to enter the Jokhang.
This is the Tibet of the books you read as a youngster and see in every travel publication. It is a thrill and great fun to finally experience it firsthand. Oh happy day.
In addition to Barkhor square there are four or five other must sees in Lhasa. All were visited and three are briefly described below.
The Jokhang
The Jokhang is the most sacred and “alive” of Tibet’s temples. Situated at the end of the Borkhor Square, it is the most revered religious structure in Tibet and every Tibetan visits this temple, many times if they can.
Built in the 7th century, the temple has undergone many renovations, but the basic layout remains ancient. The temple consists of several chapels, prayer halls, and an enclosed area of chapel statues, many larger than life-size. It is at all times is crammed full and overflowing with awed and enthusiastic pilgrims along with hundreds of Chinese tourists –a crush of humanity comprised of the faithful and the curious. Claustrophobic is inadequately descriptive, but it is all part of the “since- the- whole -world –became- mobile” travel experience. Especially since the Chinese became mobile. They travel in large boisterous groups, their guides use powerful megaphones, even in temples and churches, and they are everywhere and in great numbers!
The Potala
This magical white Palace on the hill is Lhasa’s cardinal landmark. It is massive and an architectural wonder. (Frank Lloyd Wright is said to have kept a model of it in his office). Built in the 17th century by the fifth Dali Lama, it was home to all of the subsequent Dali Lamas until the current Dali Lama was forced to flee Tibet in 1959. The Potala also served as the seat of the Tibetan government and housed schools, jails, chapels and tombs for the Dali Lamas. For centuries it stood as a self -contained and busy world but it now stands dormant—a huge lifeless museum inhabited only by throngs of tourists, it is a constant reminder that the Dali Lama and his government were forced into exile and that Tibet will never again see self rule or self determination. The Potala, along with much of traditional Tibetan society and culture is rapidly becoming a thing of the past.
Observing the many groups of Chinese tourists visiting the Potala comes with irony in that they tried to destroy the building during the Cultural Revolution.
The Drepung and Sera Monasteries
The Drepung monastery was once one of the world’s largest and housed around 10,000 monks. It operated as an assembly of colleges each with specific regional ties and each headed by an Abbott selected by the Dali Lama. It was one of the few monasteries surviving the Cultural Revolution relatively unscathed, and with its many campus clusters of whitewashed buildings resembles a village more than a monastery. The setting and relative serenity make it a very worthwhile visit.
The Sera Monastery is of interest because of its debating monks. They gather in the monastery courtyard each day at 3:00 PM and pair off. Then the debating begins. Each pair of monks is a self contained debating team with one monk shouting out the theological questions using hand chopping motions for emphasis while his debating opponent/partner responds with pithy answers. This goes on for about two hours and is great fun to watch and photo.
Moving On
Lhasa is the gate to the rest of Tibet and so, upon completion of our visit in the city, we joined our cars and drivers and took off to see more of Tibet along the Friendship highway and to find our way to Kathmandu.
The Route Across Tibet
Our route would take us south to the Samye monastery and then west to Gyantse crossing Yomdrok Lake and the Norjing glacier to Shigatse and Shekar and on to Mt Everest, visiting all the significant panoramas and many monasteries along the way. From Everest we visited Old Tingri and then began a wild descent—the first half of two miles in two days-- into the Border town of Nyalam, crossing the next morning into Nepal.
WHY ALL THESE MONASTERIES?
The short answer is because that’s what there is, structurally and culturally speaking.
One travels to Tibet for three reasons: its delightful people with their infectious smiles, the spectacular and unsurpassed scenery, and to learn something of its history and culture. That would be the monasteries
Tibet, unlike other travel destinations, has no beautifully lined, narrow winding streets (Lhasa’s small section of narrow streets notwithstanding), or glorious architecture (but for the Potala), or great food, or outdoor cafes, or great shopping or any decent white wine. There are no castles, cathedrals, ancient university campuses, Great Walls, Forbidden cities, or ruins. Tibet has monasteries. They embody the history, culture, art, architecture, and religion of the country. There is nothing else. But, that is OK, all the rest of it can be found in lots of elsewheres. Tibet is unique.
South To The Samye Monastery
Leaving Lhasa, we traveled south to Tsetang to acquire the required permit for the monastery of Samye. Chinese bureaucrats control all permits and are perhaps the most officious and ungracious humans on earth. The permit- giver was having a fight with officemates over furniture and office space or some such and, in retaliation, had turned off her phone, refusing to answer any queries about permits or indeed to issue any, and had left her office for the day. She could not be reached, yet we could not move on without the permit which only she could give us. Our determined guide kept searching throughout the town and finally located the lady somewhere having lunch. After much officious strutting and much flapping of papers and forms, and receiving the required obsequious gestures and murmurings on the part of the guide and four tourists, the permit was finally in hand. It was just another example—they were daily—of the arrogance and gracelessness of the Chinese occupiers. And, the more power they hold, the more offensive they become. And it is these folks who are soon going to rule the world.
Permit in hand, we left Tsetang heading north across the river for Samye the first and oldest monastery in Tibet. Samye was one of the major monasteries that were located several miles off the road. The drive can be described as challenging or horrible, or both. The fording of many streams and plowing through much mud was required to cross the terrain. The guide book said the monastery is “approached via a beautiful river crossing” Yes, sort of, but, THROUGH the river might have been a more apt description.
The approach notwithstanding, the monastery was well worth the trip. As Tibet’s first monastery, and the place where Buddhism was established, the site has a magic aura about it and if the magic is lost on you, just take comfort in the fact that it is of major historical importance.
Our overnight was in the monastery guest house which was half finished and pretty basic situated as it was in a barn yard complete with crowing roosters and chickens all about.
Upon completion of our visit at Samye we turned west headed for Gyantse, crossing on the way the 14,500 foot Kamapala pass and then stopping for a view of Yamdrok Lake one of the largest, most beautiful, and most sacred lakes in Tibet. It is a magnificent sight. It situated several hundred meters below the road thus providing a panorama of the entire lake. On clear days its waters are a stunning shade of turquoise.
Gyantse
Gyantse is a pleasant town famed for having the Gyantse Kumbum, the largest chorten, (a sort of spiraling temple) in Tibet. The Gyantse Chorten is a magnificent tiered structure with an endless number of mural filled chapels (the name Kumbum is said to mean “100,000 pictures”). From its upper decks there are some outstanding views of the valley below but it was a serious elbow-struggle with the pilgrims to climb the ladder stairs to reach the upper decks.
The other “have to” in the town of Gyantse is the Pelhor Chode monastery, a 15th century sprawling red walled compound once housing 15 monasteries for three different orders of Buddhism. Most of the structure is now deserted although there is a small population of monks. The small population of monks is more than compensated for by the streams of pilgrims donating, praying, prostrating, pushing and aggressively elbowing their way through the various stations to complete their pilgrimage rounds.
SIGHTS ON THE WAY TO MOUNT EVEREST
We left Gyantse for the Mt Everest base camp stopping first in the town of Shigatse, home to a Kora popular with and very much visited by many pilgrims. We visited the Tashi Lupo monastery and the local market here and then traveled onto Sheka to visit the Sakya monastery our last monastery. Whew.
Tashilhunpo Monastery
The Tashilhunpo is a pleasure to visit with its many cobbled lanes winding throughout its nearly 70,000 square meter campus. It was founded by a religious leader retroactively named the first Dali Lama, but is more important for being the birthplace of the lineage of the Panchen (“great scholar”) Lamas. All are entombed here. (Note: I have done some reading about the Dali vs. the Panchen Lamas, in an attempt to get it straight and be able to convey an intelligible short explanation. Thus far I have failed and my understanding is such that I best remain silent on the subject, at least for now. I will keep trying).
The Tashilhunpo is the largest functioning monastic institution in Tibet, relatively unscathed by the Cultural Revolution, and, according locals, is full of monks spying for the Chinese. I believe this to be true. Why not augment the thousands of video cameras and military police with a little human intelligence?
The monastery is a grand view. First a level of white monastic quarters, topped by a crown of ochre colored buildings with gold towers. It is within these towers that the Panchen Lamas are entombed. Higher still is the great white wall surrounding the heights of the monastery? The wall is festooned with flags, banners and tapestries.
This monastery goes on and on and is one that is easy to get lost in. There are rooms upon rooms, tombs and tombs, ladders and more ladders and no “exit” signs. But, when we did exit we were pleased to have visited and at the same time pleased to be back on the road.
SAKYA MONASTERY (SOUTH)
This monastery is sort of the mother lode of Tibetan monasteries. It is a massive, great walled, fortress like structure dubbed “the Great Wall of Tibet”. (Sakya north, its monastery neighbor, is mostly ruins thanks to the zealots of the cultural Revolution; Sakya south requires and separate permit and there are checkpoints to ensure that all travelers are in possession of one).
Before the Cultural Revolution, Sakya housed one of the largest monastic communities in Tibet. Today its population is much smaller and much of the monastery itself is under reconstruction from the damage of the Cultural Revolution.
But, those parts of Sakya remaining open are, even to the monastery- weary, an extraordinary experience. The entry hall houses dozens of towering gilded Buddhas and massive columns—many made of whole tree trunks holding up the ceiling. This was a place to pause and just soak up the atmosphere. But, then it was time to move on.
By the time we visited this last monastery we were all suffering from what one of the guide books characterizes as “Buddha fatigue”. No matter how hard one tries to focus and to absorb and learn, it all begins ,late in the trip, to sort of look and feel the same—the statues of the gods, the chapels, the murals , the Sanskrit manuscripts, the burning yak butter , the monks collecting photo fees and the throngs of pilgrims. I have never been one to turn down a visit to anything historical, but when the monasteries were finished, I was finished with the monasteries—at least until the next trip
On the drive to Everest, We also had the opportunity to visit some rural villages and to visit in a rural home. The typical rural Tibetan home is two storied with a large open courtyard at the center. The livestock are housed on the first floor and the human inhabitants on the second in several rooms surrounding the courtyard. The arrangement works well in that livestock have to be sheltered in the Tibetan winters. But life appears far from comfortable.
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MT EVEREST AND MT EVEREST BASE CAMP
After an overnight in Sekar, also known as New Tangri, and without merit but for being a place to sleep, we were now ready for Mt. Everest and the “rough and ready high altitude night” as our itinerary described it.
Tent hotels at base of Mt Everest
Rather than stay in the very ramshackle Rombuk monastery, the closest structure to the base camp, we chose instead to sleep in a tent further up the road and closer to the mountain’s base. I still think this was the right decision although it was a very long night.
Mt Everest: The View and the Night in the Tent
The drive to the base camp was another long trip off the highway and, again, an adventure in itself. Although along the way we were able to enjoy some very panoramic views of the highest peaks of the Himalayas, we were relieved to arrive at the camp of some 30 tents in the late afternoon. With dark coming soon, we quickly made our way up the hillock to the furthest point tourists could go without a special mountain climbing permit.
Not to worry. It was far enough. I could not have gone a foot further. We were at 17,000 feet elevation and the wind was howling and it was cloudy, preventing any kind of a good view of the crest—just peeks as the clouds rolled by. We were very disappointed. We were also very cold. We had come half way around the world to view this famous crest and the view was weathered in! We knew, however, that the weather changed rapidly up here and crossed our fingers for a morning break.
Night at the Base Camp
But, what a night. We settled into a Yak- hide tent bedding six. We had four tourists and our two drivers --our guide slept in another tent with the owner Our beds were benches around the perimeter of the tent covered with heavy rugs. There was a sheep -pellet burning stove in the middle of the tent, which served as the source of heat and the hot water warmer. Dinner was an omelet and great fried potatoes. It tasted especially good on this evening. The wind was picking up and the temperature was dropping precipitously and sheep-dung -smoke was filling the air. I had two miniatures of gin left and this was definitely the occasion. No tonic, but forget that. Beer as always was available, but the beer drinkers semi abstained hoping to stave off any late night consequences of imbibing.
As night settled in, we each settled into our “beds” under at least 30 pounds of bulky yak hair quilts. If you did not have a breathing problem already, the weight of these covers would give you one. But, the alternative was to freeze as the stove was allowed to burn out at about 10:00 PM and the quilts and one’s body were the only heat.
And then, for me, the real joy of the evening began. Once again the altitude ( at 17,000 feet ) played havoc with my bladder, calling me out to nature at least seven times (perhaps eight?) during the night. Good grief! For each journey I had to wrestle out from under the 30 pounds of covers, locate and put on my fleece under jacket, The North Face mountaineering jacket (purchased in Lhasa at one of the knock- off stores and left as a gift for the guide), the stocking cap, the gloves and finally the boots. Then I had to locate my flashlight and glasses, tiptoe around the stove and sleeping bodies to the tent “door” with the tricky rope knot latch, all the while trying not to wake anyone, and out of the tent into the bright and very cold moonlight. Next to make a short search for a semi private spot as many others in the camp seemed to the suffering from the same disorder. Then all the steps in reverse. When you’d just be getting back to sleep you’d wake again shortly thereafter and, begin the routine again. I could not wait for daybreak! Each trip into the moonlight, however, made me more optimistic about the morning’s view as the clouds were dissipating and the view of the crest was becoming clearer.
And, sure enough, at about 6:00 AM the drivers called to us, excitingly pointing to their eyes and then to the outside. It took us about two seconds to realize that the clouds had disappeared and the photo opportunity was upon us. Not knowing how long it would last, we threw on our outerwear and rushed cameras in hand, out of the tent to an unsurpassed view of the crest of Mt. Everest. The one you see on all the post-cards as a matter of fact. Oh happy day!
After a satisfying egg and potato breakfast we packed our gear and packed the cars and began our descent to Zhangmu and the border.
THE ROAD TO THE BORDER
From Everest we began a descent into Nepal that dropped two miles in two days. OMG as the texting folks would say! What an incredible trip!
On our way to our overnight in Zhangmu, the Tibet -side border town, we passed through Nyalam situated 30 km west of Zhangmu. Nyalam means “gateway to hell” in Tibetan, and the hell is the Tibetan border town of Zhangmu. But the road linking the two towns is where the incredible descent and scenery began. This 30 km route is a great natural wonder and should be included in a book entitled “the most incredible drives in the world”. (The next 70 km from the Tibet/Nepal border to Dulikhal in Nepal also needs to be included in this book, but that report is for Part 3).
To begin the descent, the road out of Nylam drops like a stone from the high plateau to a deep gorge of forests, falls and more rapid rivers. The desert turns to jungle, the cold becomes heat, the arid becomes over 200 waterfalls (anyone of which would be rated an A plus site if visited as a single site), monsoons, rain clouds, mud and landslides. In Zhangmu the quiet order of Tibet becomes cacophonous chaos, what was calm traffic in the rest of the country becomes unruly and unrestrained—everyone just trying to get through at any cost--,streets become vertical parking lots with screeching and squealing brakes, many passages are blocked as it is a one road town and the one road is very narrow, there much backing up and shouting and much grime and ugliness. Like the worst port town you have ever visited—dirty, boisterous, reckless ,and very noisy—this is a truck port town. God what an awful place, (one now knows why the road into this city is called “The Gateway to Hell”, but what a great travel experience.
Zhangmu
TO THE BORDER
After a night in a hotel I want to forget—flooded toilets, surly staff and noise and more noise—we took the short but hairpin winding drive to the border station. We arrived at 9:00 AM only to find that the pedestrian border station did not open until 10:00 so as to inflict maximum inconvenience upon the waiting tourists.
The crossing was uneventful but sort of a perfect memory of the Chinese functionaries. At their best and most officious, white gloves, perfectly coiffed hair and exactly placed uniform hats, lots of heel clicking and polite but very coldly and authoritatively delivered instructions. One felt a little like running into Nepal as one cleared.
A few feet away was Nepal and the Nepalese functionaries. Night and day and a reflection of the profound cultural differences, even in this modern age, that make the world fun and interesting. And, they can be found only 50 feet apart, but this a story for the Nepal, the next installment.
