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Tibet to Kathmandu: Buddhism and the Himalayas

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Lhasa, Tibet is the hightest capital city in the world at 3650m.  We flew in by propeller plane from Cheng du and planned to visit the Potala, the former seat of Tibetan government, walk the Barkhor, an infamous pilgrim circumambulation around the Johkang monastery, and gear up for an overland 4WD trip to Kathmandu via the Friendship Highway.˙ Having experienced life in the small village of Surmang, we were keenly aware of˙ the overwhelming Chinese influence on Lhasa.˙ Tibetan architecture was replaced with chinese shoe-box storefronts and tacky modern businesses dominated over the more organic Tibetan marketplaces.˙˙ In fact, the Tibetan area was reduced to a small quarter ironically located on "East Beijing Road!"˙ Once at the Kirey Hotel (Tibetan-run), Deb opted for a nap,˙ while I made the rounds to all the major backpacker hotels, checking notice-boards for offers to share Land-Cruiser rides to all points, including Kathmandu.˙ I posted a few "extreme-goo" notes, and by evening, beers in hand, a match was made. 3 Israeli companions would join us for the trip:˙ departure October 2, 2003.˙

We spent four fast days buzzing around Lhasa.˙ Turns out, visiting Buddhist monasteries in Tibet is sort of like visiting churches in Europe.˙ Each is more ornate than the last; each has its own claim to fame.˙ But, after a while your senses become numb.˙ What makes each site interesting and memorable is its setting, the people we encountered, and the feeling we'd get winding through the many rooms, corridors, courtyards, and gardens of these ancient places.˙ The Norbulinka, the summer palace grounds of the Dalai Lama, was a cool, tree-covered respite from the hot,hectic streets of central Lhasa.˙ There, we met a 29 year-old monk on a month-long pilgrimmage to Lhasa from QingHai province in China.˙ He acknowledged that it was a privelege for him to have the chance to study in Lhasa, given China's restrictive visa policies.˙ He was curious about the USA and other places we had traveled.

The Drepung monastery, once a very large temple housing over 10,000 monks, is now a quiet monastery with only several hundred monks.˙ It is set on a dusty mountainside just outside of Lhasa.˙ With a friend, Ohad, we rented creaky "flying pigeon" bicycles to climb a fairly steep dirt road, battling buses and taxis up to the monastery itself.˙ We spent several hours wandering in and out of the temples and up and down steep staircases for rooftop views.˙ In one courtyard three young men were carving wooden print blocks in the heat of the day.˙ These would be used to print buddhist symbols and mandalas as well as buddhist prayer book pages. At one point a guy with a huge teapot full of cold water emerged from the side corridor and offered to douse my head in the heat.˙ I gladly accepted the offer!˙ Shortly thereafter, my trusty "flying pigeon" nearly took flight as my brakes failed on the way down the hill!!

The next day, after breakfast at Tashi II (a homestyle Tibetan restaurant associated with our hotel), we toured the Potala.˙ Once the seat of Tibetan government, it has over 15 stories, sits high up on a hill in the center of town, and consists of a maze of rooms, temples, and corridors filled with statuary:˙ thousands of Buddha statues, walls covered with thangka paintings, a number of thrones and tombs and a room with 3 three-dimentional mandalas, one with a circumferece of over 12 meters.˙ Yak-butter lamps and small dishes of holy water lined the rails in front of each statue in homage to certain buddhas.˙ Different from the mondasteries where we heard monks actively chanting and beating drums, the Potala is presented more like a museum of Tibetan administrative history.

We visited Barkhor Square at sundown.˙ Recently tiled by the Chinese and lined with souvenir stalls, the ancient circumambulation route still maintains an historic feel with buddhist pilgrims prostrating before the entrance as well as all the way around the circuit.˙ Walking along we still drew stares and "hello's" from the locals.˙˙ Surrounded by crowds of Tibetans in this area, in stark contrast to the Chinese parts of town, we were palpably aware of the Chinese impact on Tibet; particularly after such a rich, rural Tibetan experience in Surmang.˙ More than two-thirds of Lhasa's population is now Chinese, the positions of power are held by the Chinese, and job opportunities favor the Chinese as well.˙ The modern Chinese architecture stands utilitarian and bland next to the colorful, painted windows of the Tibetan structures.˙ Sadly, Tibetan foods including "mo-mo's," a Tibetan-style dumpling, lacked the flavor and variety available in Chinese cuisine.

Finally we set off for Kathmandu.˙ In 7 days, the Friendship Highway, cryptically named by the Chinese, would take us past jeweled lakes, high into the Tibetan plateau, over three 5,000+ meter passes, toward towering snow-capped peaks, including an overnight stop at Everest Base Camp. We would pass through the towns and monasteries of Gyantse, Shigatse, Sakye, RhongPhu, and Old Dingre, up to Tibet's Everest Base Camp and ultimately across the border to Nepal.˙ October 2nd arrived and an hour after the expected pickup, we learned that our guide did not show up.˙ We attempted to contact the tour agency only to find that there was...no agent.˙ Phone calls were in vain.˙ An hour later, an agent, two hours later, a new guide (the first one being a complete no show).˙ Finally, by noon we were on the road, stocked with instant noodles, loads of candy (the tibetans love candy) and, oddly enough, plenty of Oreos!˙

The drive revealed stark, treeless, rock-strewn landscapes, with rolling grass-covered hills suddenly interrupted by a towering peak covered in snow.˙ Tiny remote villages with less than 100 residents would creep up on the horizon.˙ Sometimes kids would run toward the highway and wave and we could see that they were notably underdressed for the severity of the high-altitude conditions.˙ We stopped along the way at village tea-houses for noodle lunches and were met with warm hospitality; curious locals would surround us and ask for pens or toys or candy.˙ Two monasteries, Sakye and Shigatse, had festival dances going on at the time of our visit.˙ Gulukpa sect monks in formal yellow hats danced in colorful costumes, blew 7-foot trumpets, and presented a meter-high tsampa statue to the crowd. It was later burned in the street and people leapt over the flames as they dwindled, harvesting charred chunks of tsampa as good luck, we were told, for the next life.˙˙

Our visit to Everest Base Camp, Tibet was a highlight.˙ We arrived at the Rhongphu Monastery (5,000m) and set out with small day backpacks to hike the final 8 km up to the 5,200 meter basecamp.˙ Everest's striking north face towered on the horizon for the 2-hour high-altitude hike.˙ Accomodation at base camp consisted of box-like "tea-tents" run by Tibetan villagers.˙ The structures consisted of thick plastic stapled over a 2X4 frame; the furnishings were simple foam mattresses, towers of blankets and, in the central room, a yak-dung fired stove. At $3 per bed, we nestled in, met some cool fellow travelers, ordered up some potatoes and noodles, and hunkered down for a really cold night.˙ Breathing was accelerated and sleep was fitful, but we were so excited to know we were at the base of Everest.˙

Our final two days took us to Old Dingri, for the final rip-off by the hotel proprietress who informed us, after allowing us to unload all of our gear from the truck, that the hot water for which we'd paid above-market prices was, today, not really hot.˙ Room discounts heatedly negotiated and dinner procured elsewhere, we slept and finally made for the Nepali border.˙

The final days drive, generally of over 4,800 meters was incredible, with a vista of towering snowy peaks 75km in the distance rising above an undulating, reddish, almost featureless terrain.˙ Clouds would periodically veil the mountain views.˙ As we approached the border, the change of scenery was dramatic and immediate.˙ We descended into a green, treed, river-fed valley.˙ The final negotiation was a 10 kuai ride down the winding road to cross the bridge out of China.˙ At last, NEPAL!˙ Awaiting our ride to Kathmandu, we enjoyed a dal bhat lunch (a dish with which we would become intimately familiar), encountered a new people, speaking a new language....it was easy to change gears as we looked forward to a trip into the Himalayas.