23 August 1999
Got up at the ungodly hour of 04:15 to catch the flight to Tibet. Our ragtag group was made up of 1 Japanese, 1 South African, 2 French, 3 Americans, 1 Swiss and a group of 4 from HK. Landed at Gongga airport around 10:00 where the altitude is a mere 3,500 meters. It took another 2 hour drive to reach Lhasa.
We checked into the Tashitargay Hotel and my Japanese roommate promptly hit the sack. I should have taken things slowly and acclimate to the altitude, but couldn’t resist going out for a walk. Just thinking about it now brings back great memories. I suppose a continuous state of oxygen deprivation would do strange things to the mind.
The next morning we were herded off to Drepung Monastery. Our guide explained that Tibetans burned yak butter (ghee) candles for the dead; in the belief that when one dies and goes to hell, the candles will light the way for them. The Buddha statues were also covered in different colored yarns of silk; white representing clouds, blue sky, green water, red fire and yellow earth. The day had been overcast with intermittent showers; but by 17:00 the skies had cleared, and we had a wonderful view of the Potala Palace from Jokhang Temple.
Met up with my Dutch friends Guido and Eline the next day. They had just arrived the day before and were lumped together with our group. We set out for Potala Palace and spent the whole morning there. The afternoon was spent at Sera Monastery, where monks held philosophical discussions. The monks would put questions to their colleagues and emphasize with a loud clap at the end. According to the guide, mortals are semi-conscious; and the purpose of the clap is to wake up the consciousness. In this case, hearing is believing: the cacophony of clapping and discussions has got to be heard.
26 August 1999
The Everest Base Camp trip started at 07:30. Had lunch at Tashi’s in Shigatse, where we also had to pick up our travel documents. After lunch, it was solid driving till 19:00 when we pulled up at Lhatse.
Driving resumed at 07:30 and lasted till 13:00, when we reached Dingri and purchased our Mt. Everest entry permit. Finally arrived at Rongbuk Monastery at 19:00. At least my Jewish travel companions had some audio tapes with them to break up the monotony. By the way, the Everest entry fee was RMB 65.
The first day at Base Camp started at 08:00 when I woke up to scrounge for hot water. The hike to base camp would only start at 10:45, after much coordination amongst our group. I decided to cheat. I would walk the scenic half of the trek, and the land cruiser would pick me up for the remaining half. The altitude at base camp is some 5,200 meters and the UV up there can get scorching. Be prepared.
On the way back to Lhasa we stopped at Shigatse and found out that the road form Yamzho Yum Lake to Gyantse had been washed out. We decided to try our luck by heading to Gyantse and see if things had been fixed. Unfortunately, we learnt from a CCTV crew that the road was impassable and had to backtrack to Shigatse.
The last night of the trip was spent at the guesthouse opposite Tashilunpo Monastery. After some more driving we reached Yamzho Yum Lake. Our good driver finally drove us back to Lhasa where we concluded the base camp trip. I had checked into a downtown hotel, but a short visit to the men’s room revealed that the cigarettes smoked by the previous user had more than just tobacco. I took it as a sign that I should move on.
Spent the last few days in Lhasa visiting a couple of sights I had missed earlier on. One of them was the Norbulingka, “the jeweled garden“. The garden covers an area of 360,000 square meters and used to be the summer palace of successive Dalai Lama’s according to my ticket. In fact, personal belongings of the current Dalai are on display.
I also rented a bicycle from my hotel’s security guard on the second last day and took a short spin around the city. Went to the Dragon King Pool behind Potala Palace to take some pictures and got back to the hotel to find I had an offer for my tripod. That hunk of metal had been weighing me down for too long and I was only too glad to get rid of it. Sold it for RMB 100.
4 September 1999
Didn’t get any sleep at all because I was finally leaving Tibet. Got up at 04:30 for the 05:30 bus to Gongga airport. Arrived at the airport by 07:30.