I wanted to go to Tibet for so long…… and finally, I (with friends from work) was able to spend a week in Tibet.
So clean and so “organized” compare to the rest of China with an amazing temples/monasteries architecture and history. For sure, one of my best trip ever.
We were lucky, only one afternoon with shower, the rest of the week was sunny.
If you plan to go to Tibet, contact me, I can give you more tips…
* You need 2 visas to go to Tibet: ! Chinese visa and 1 Tibetan visa
* If you have heart or altitude sickness, Tibet is not for you. Lhasa, the capital is at 3,700 m (12,000 ft) and that will be the lowest altitude of your trip….
* The contact with the locals is very difficult, due to language barrier and Chinese’s government restriction.
* You must book your trip from a travel agency, and your guide will be “your guard” during your trip. The foreigners don’t have freedom to change their route, or deviate from the itinerary.
Tibet is completely under “Chinese government rules”….. and that is sad….
* If you have heart or altitude sickness, Tibet is not for you. Lhasa, the capital is at 3,700 m (12,000 ft) and that will be the lowest altitude of your trip….
* The contact with the locals is very difficult, due to language barrier and Chinese’s government restriction.
* You must book your trip from a travel agency, and your guide will be “your guard” during your trip. The foreigners don’t have freedom to change their route, or deviate from the itinerary.
Tibet is completely under “Chinese government rules”….. and that is sad….
22 Hrs of train….
There are 2 ways to go to Tibet, by train (22hr) or by plane. Based on all the videos I saw on YouTube, for me, the train was the right choice, because the Tibetan Plateaus landscape is absolutely wonderful.
I spent a lot of time at the window, looking at the changing landscape between Xining and Lhasa.
They are 3 types of train tickets:
* Regular seat (for 22 hr train ride…. maybe not the best)
* 2nd class sleeper, 6 people stay in a train compartment, and sleep on a “blue gym mattress”
* 1 st class sleeper, 4 people can stay in a train compartment and have a real mattress. This is what we had, see photo.
Obviously, there is a bar/restaurant location in each train car, to eat/drink/socialized….
Just before officially entering Tibet, the train makes a long stop to switch locomotive, from electric to diesel. The diesel locomotives were specially built for for route bease on the
My conclusion: I prefer to spend 22 hr in this train than 10 hr in a plane…
Just before officially entering Tibet, the train makes a long stop to switch from electric to diesel locomotives. The diesel locomotives were specially built for this route due to the high elevation.
I spent a lot of time at the window, looking at the changing landscape between Xining and Lhasa.
They are 3 types of train tickets:
* Regular seat (for 22 hr train ride…. maybe not the best)
* 2nd class sleeper, 6 people stay in a train compartment, and sleep on a “blue gym mattress”
* 1 st class sleeper, 4 people can stay in a train compartment and have a real mattress. This is what we had, see photo.
Obviously, there is a bar/restaurant location in each train car, to eat/drink/socialized….
Just before officially entering Tibet, the train makes a long stop to switch locomotive, from electric to diesel. The diesel locomotives were specially built for for route bease on the
My conclusion: I prefer to spend 22 hr in this train than 10 hr in a plane…
Just before officially entering Tibet, the train makes a long stop to switch from electric to diesel locomotives. The diesel locomotives were specially built for this route due to the high elevation.
When the train passes 5,000m, you don’t see it, because it is in the middle of the night, but, you feel it….. this is when the automatic oxygen spray, in the train car start…. headache quaranty!!!
The most beautiful landscape is, unfortunately in the middle of the night when the train goes to the highest
The most beautiful landscape is, unfortunately in the middle of the night when the train goes to the highest
La Potala Palace
Absolutely AMAZING!!!!
La Potala Palace was built for the Tibetan government, basically for the Daily Lama’s. It’s built at the top of a hill, and at the base, the wall are 6m (18ft) wide…..
An amazing view from the top, after climbing the 432 steps…, but they are not too high, as you can see on the photos, so it is not too difficult…..
For me, the best was to see it at night…..
La Potala Palace was built for the Tibetan government, basically for the Daily Lama’s. It’s built at the top of a hill, and at the base, the wall are 6m (18ft) wide…..
An amazing view from the top, after climbing the 432 steps…, but they are not too high, as you can see on the photos, so it is not too difficult…..
For me, the best was to see it at night…..
Unfortunately, photos/videos are not allowed inside the Potala, or any religious buildings…
Lhasa Bakhor street
Barkhor street in Lhasa. What can I say about it?????
The oldest and more important street in Lhasa, where Buddhist pilgrims come. It is a 1 km square street, where cars are not allowed.
Understandable, pilgrims pray while walking in that street. Most of the buildings, as you can see on the photos have fake flowers at their balconies, and it looks very nice and colorfull.
One important thing, you MUST walk clockwise in that street, if not, you walk again Buddha’s wills. You don’t want to do that in Lhasa, world Buddhism capital….
The oldest and more important street in Lhasa, where Buddhist pilgrims come. It is a 1 km square street, where cars are not allowed.
Understandable, pilgrims pray while walking in that street. Most of the buildings, as you can see on the photos have fake flowers at their balconies, and it looks very nice and colorfull.
One important thing, you MUST walk clockwise in that street, if not, you walk again Buddha’s wills. You don’t want to do that in Lhasa, world Buddhism capital….
Still thinking…..
We went twice on this street, the first and last day of our trip and we enjoyed it very much
We went twice on this street, the first and last day of our trip and we enjoyed it very much
Various photos from the trip
During our Tibetan week, we saw a lot of things/sites, lakes, water falls, the prayer flags, a 3,600+ year old cypress (the first photo)…. It was a great trip with great friends
Even if we saw a lot of things, it was not enough, as Tibet has so much to offer….
People me met…
We were lucky to meet a few locals
If you want to take a photo with someone, first we need authorization, so unfortunately, we were not able to take many photos of locals. On top of that you have the language barrier, just a few Tibetans speak English