Disclaimer: Don’t speak about politics.

Xīzàng/Tibet, once an empire now a rarely explored region of China

Liberated of tiranny in 1951, this mountainous region is filled with history You have to always remember the Chinese Omerta and the glory of its glorious leaders, whose personal suns brighten their days even at night and so lead the people towards halcyon days of the future outshining the remnants of the past. This article is part of a longer one through the Himalaya This was a guided tour, but I leave it open for those that can travel freely

____

Itinerary done quick

(Insert preferred flag here) Tibet

Day 1 Lhasa

I arrived in Lhasa by plane from nearly nearby Shangri-La, another tibetan city, but in Yunnan. It’s 3 days away by car, so the choice of flying was obvious. Trains may exist as well, but that really depends on your starting city, from Yunnan, you have to flight, despite the geographic proximity (1500 km lol).

I was sick when I arrived, so I didn’t visit the Norbulingka palace as intended, if you’re healthy, do me a favor and visit it and tell in the comments how it was! Apparently it can be visited independently.

Day 2 Drepung Sera

Drepung and Sera monasteries.

The spiritual heart of Lhasa and, by extension, of Tibet. Did I draw you in? Good.

That’s an interesting day, seeing the monks debating, seeing the high altitude life, having a bird’s view on Lhasa, its parks, its life, its vibrancy… I was too sick to remember plainly, but that filled a day quickly!

If you have time, do visit the Tibetan culture museum.
It goes in depth on the topic of Tibet’s liberation from the evil powers: England, Russia and “more”. Thanks to China and its peaceful army, they freed the tibetan slaves from the evil alliance of conspirators; Wakanda, Tuvalu and Greenland…

Day 3 Potala palace

Fuuuuuuu-sion! Sorry, those were the potara earrings.

So, the potala palace is the masterpiece of Lhasa and Tibet. I would say hat Tibet is worth visiting just for the palace, it’s truly a world wonder.

The whole morning was dedicated to the Potala palace. I’ve seen every angle, went to the top (I fully recovered from my illness, it was due to bad food.) and enjoyed it so much!

After the Potala palace, I went right under, to Barkhor Street, to see the monastery, the last one of the big 3: Jokhang! There are also a few museum around the area, and a hidden KFC, posing as a traditional building. Or perhaps it was there since the ancient times, who knows.

KFC in Gyantse

Day 4 Gyantse

You got a guide? Yes? You can leave the city. Let’s make our way to the EBC!

But first, we need to stop at every possible viewpoint, because you made it to the Himalaya, bitch!

The lake Yamdrok is pretty, with its azure color, but is a bit touristy. Gyantse is a quick stop, there is one fortification I saw from after. It’s still the title of the section, but that was boring. The Korola glacier was completely filled with trash. I cleaned as much as I could under the laugher of the chinese, throwing gas bottles and plastic everywhere they went knowing I would pick it up. Some guys helped me, french obviously, then we were met by younger chinese people (< 30) that gave more than a hand. I think that, together, we picked up half a dozen kilo. Yay. Yup, that’s all I remember from the melted glacier, take that how you want.

After that, we stopped in Shigatse for the night. Ate some delicious food in a restaurant in the old city, that was great.

Day 5 EBC

After a quick visit of the little palace in Shigatse, very interesting while similar to those of Lhasa, we took the long winding road to the Everest Base Camp. Probably seven hours on a mountain road. Thanks god it was a good one, yet, it was still a drive I’ll remember. Folks, don’t lose you hearing, ever since I lost my sence of balance and I get sick in transports.

Everest Base Camp is big, very big. There are a lot of tents with ten times as many dancing chinese. They party as they made it to the world’s roof, in front of the incredible Everest. I managed to see the peak, some were there for a week, only to catch that specific glimpse. It lasted like 20 minutes during the day, another 20 at night. Look at the cool pictures.

Day 6 Gyirong

Before leaving EBC, we visited one of the world’s highest monastery Rongbuk. It’s not interesting architecturally, but there’s a bit of history (destroyed by Mao Zedong forces, rebuilt by Deng Xiaoping’s policies. Life’s harsh up there)

If you don’t go to Kathmandu, you go back to Lhasa. I went on to Nepal, with a very small group.

We made a stop for lunch in a town in the middle of nowhere, where locals seldom see any foreigners. It was weird to have everyone gawking at our very small group. For some, it was the first time they saw a man with long hair, weird isn’t it? It was so remote, it was like catching a glimpse into the “real tibet”.

We went past the barley fields, crossed the desert and the dunes, crossed a mountain and… met a lush jungle. I shit you not, desert to jungle took like, 10 minutes? By driving of course. It’s just separated by a single range of mountain. The Himalayas are wild man. Gyirong is another case of a town where locals barely see any westerners. Foreigners, yes, nepali are common, but not a group made of: a German, two french of different ethnicities, a latina and an ashkenazi we met along the way.

Day 7 Road to Kathmandu

Last day!

And a fun one, in a way. The border on the chinese side is super modern, right on time, with a military parade and everything. The nepali side is… very different. A small mud house with only one entrance, a guy sitting on a stool, in front of a barrel writting things by hand, the “roads” which are actually just muddy paths. Going from one side to the other makes you go back 30 or 40 years back in time; I’m not even joking.

And, important info, if you think this part of the trip is just one long lonely muddy road, well… That’s wrong! You cross a beautiful national park and our driver made many stops along the way, for some excellent viewpoints. If you’re lucky, perhaps you may gaze on a very rare Red Panda?

Comments?