Nov 6, 2004 - on the way to Lhasa

)and the flight back to Ktm (flight only is 273 US$!) A few days before the start I was informed that all flights by China Southern Airlines from Lhasa - Ktm had been canceled for the winter period. ... The friendship highway is a bumpy dirt road (920 km to Lhasa) and Nyalam a faceless, ugly town without any interest. ... Dep at 8 am, the last long day in the bus on the way to Lhasa (300 km and a pass of over 5000 m) We passed the holy Yamdrok lake (turquoise colour) and arrived at 5 pm in Lhasa. ...

Nov 3, 2004 - Mass debating

And I revisited the monastery I mentioned on my first outing in Lhasa - the Merunyingpa Monastery, just behind the Jokhang, which was thankfully a lot quieter. ... Wednesday: Last day in Lhasa, and I am going to miss it a lot. ... This is because most of the Tibetans I interact with in Lhasa want to speak English. ... I will start as we leave Lhasa, where it will become more necessary perhaps. ... And this is the end of my time in Lhasa, one of my favourite places. ...

Oct 31, 2004 - What have the Romans ever done for us?

A ferequent conversation here in Tibet is the extent to which the Chinese are the bad guys and the Tibetans the good guys. And then I went to just outside Lhasa to visit a couple of very nice Monasteries. ... And while I type this there is a monk in full red robes doing his e-mails on the next PC, that's Lhasa for you. ...

Oct 28, 2004 - On top of the world, looking....

It was frankly quite a hard journey; bus to airport, usual waiting around, two hour flight with people climbng over me to see mountains out of my window, and then two bumpy smoke-filled hours by bus from the airport to Lhasa. ... I am in this really nice Tibetan Guesthouse in the Barkhor area, the old Tibetan part of the City that surrounds the Jokhang, the main Tibetan Buddhist Temple in Lhasa, and therefore the most important temple in Tibetan Buddhism. ... I spent most of the time on the roof instead, which had great views of the Potala Palce and the mountains surrounding Lhasa. ...

Oct 20, 2004 - Trucking thru Tibet

so it was more dried noodles in the room instead of a nice meal! There were 11 other foreigners in Darchen trying to get east to Lhasa (Tibetan capital) and a truck had been arranged to leave at 6am the next day . ... but as we left Saga we were stopped at a military checkpoint and this is where we thought we'd had it as everyone else on the bus had permits for the previous region (Ali), but becasue we didn't, we couldn't say we'd come from that way and had to say myself, Jason and Yoshi had come from Lhasa (the direction we were heading) . ... The Chinese guy who helped at the checkpoint explained he had a friend driving a jeep following the bus as the jeep had broken down and this Chinese guy had to get back home for a work problem so he had caught the bus to make sure he could catch his flight from Lhasa . ... including bottles of brandy and beer all night :-) It was the final leg to Lhasa the following morning and we hoped it would be easier as we were travelling from the 2nd biggest city to the biggest city in Tibet . ... arriving in Lhasa was strange as it was not at all Tibetan as we'd seen and experienced, but completely Chinese with the odd Tibetan building . ...

Sep 3, 2004 - Anniversaire à Lhassa

Nous sommes enfin arrivés à Lhassa.Nous sommes enfin arrivés à Lhassa....

Sep 2, 2004 - Into Tibet

Stayed tuned - it will happen Seen lots, been to lots of places, done lots of stuff, want to come back. Lhasa is magnificent,and I have spent the last two days just absorbing it all before checking out the Potala and Jokhang in more detail. ... There are excited pilgrims everywhere around the Bakhor, which gives the whole area a really good tibetan vibe.Stayed tuned - it will happen Seen lots, been to lots of places, done lots of stuff, want to come back. Lhasa is magnificent,and I have spent the last two days just absorbing it all before checking out the Potala and Jokhang in more detail. ... There are excited pilgrims everywhere around the Bakhor, which gives the whole area a really good tibetan vibe....

Aug 14, 2004 - Tibet

About 250 dollars to China Air, who have a complete monopoly on flights and $50 dollars to the Chinese government, minus the share for the travel agent, for a permit to travel to Lhasa. ... My first day in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, was spent crashing out in my guesthouse as I recovered from the change of altitude. ... Lhasa is about 3500 meters about sea level and the thin oxygen takes a little while to get used and you spend the first few days feeling out of breath and with a minor headache. ... The thing to do in Lhasa is to explore the monasteries and I was luck enough to be in town during a religious festival (the festival apparently had to do with yogurt, although I never saw any of the stuff). ... I should list a few particularly strong memories I have of Tibet and Lhasa. ...

Jul 26, 2004 - Trek from Lhasa to Djore Drak - Part 1

After an aborted trek to Everest base camp we were able to finaly set our on our first and only Tibetan trek; a passage from Lhasa to a small monstery in the U provence called Djore Drak. ... The asent from the outskirts of Lhasa to Shar La, though not far in distance was a punishing 3,000 ft ascent up steep slopes of tundra intermixed with broken talus, negoation of which did much to sap our strength and enthusasim. ... Katrina and I had been at 12,000 plus feet for nearly two weeks including several day hikes to 14,000 ft.After an aborted trek to Everest base camp we were able to finaly set our on our first and only Tibetan trek; a passage from Lhasa to a small monstery in the U provence called Djore Drak. ... The asent from the outskirts of Lhasa to Shar La, though not far in distance was a punishing 3,000 ft ascent up steep slopes of tundra intermixed with broken talus, negoation of which did much to sap our strength and enthusasim. ... Katrina and I had been at 12,000 plus feet for nearly two weeks including several day hikes to 14,000 ft....

Oct 5, 2001 - Ah Tibet, Chinese Vassal

"They do the overland route from Lhasa to Nepal. ... A traveler could obtain a permit only as part of a $320 "tour" with five or more people who would do no touring beyond flying on the same plane to the Tibetan capitol of Lhasa. ... Unless we wanted to try sneaking over the Tibetan border, there was no way to get to Tibet except by plane, though the Chinese government had announced plans to build the highest railway in the world, to Tibet, 597 of its 695 miles from Golmud to Lhasa over 13,000 feet. ... When the airport bus rolled into Lhasa, an hour's run from the airport, I thought I was hallucinating or suffering high altitude sickness; the lowest altitude in Tibet was over 12,000 feet. ... "Lead on," we said, so Katie grabbed us a bus to the outskirts of Lhasa where kung fu debate proceeded for hours on end at the Sera Monastery, tourists thronging the monk-packed courtyard to watch. ...