At an altitude of 4730m at the shore of the worlds highest, and for the Tibetans holy, lake Namtso, I am looking out over the Nyenchen Tanglha range with peaks over 7000m which were crossed by Heinrich Harrer and Peter Aufschnaiter on their incredible journey to Lhasa (read the book Seven Years in Tibet, or watch a young Brad Pitt in the movie based thereon). You do not realize the incredible altitude your are at until you notice the bucket of vomit, empty oxygen cannisters and strips of pills in front of your neighbours door in the hotel (or better...barrack).
This is the seventh day in Tibet.
It appears that most of the "worlds friendliest people" are still friendly. Particularly in the villages where your "tashi delek" is responded to with a broad - often one tooth - smile, although they often burst out in laughter behind your back since they still are not used to us white great friendly giants. Unfortunately tourism has also introduced begging and scams.
Looking at the tons of gold in the many monasteries and temples, it is hard to imagine that most Tibetans still live in yak dung houses lit by yak butter lamps on a diet of yakbutter tea and tsampa (roasted barley flour mixed with yakmilk) and an occassional piece of yakmeat. The older population still wears the traditional clothes. The younger ones have discovered Adidas, Nike and "C Star Raw".
According to the Tibetans, the big difference between the poor (Tibetans) and the rich (Chinese) is to blame on the Chinese. And they may well be right. The money that is pumped into the Tibetan economy by "Tibet's liberator" directly ends up in the pocket of the Chinese. Lucrative businesses of the Tibetans are shut down or taken over. Han Chinese are offered tax cuts, luxury housing and good education when moving into Tibet.
The Chinese presence in Tibet is very apparent. Particularly their obnoxious presence on Barkhor Square, the spiritual heart of Lhasa. Pilgrims from all over the Tibetan Autonomous Region and the Tibetan parts of China and prostrating monks, all murmuring mantras, move in clockwise direction (as prescribed by their religion) on this "pilgrim highway" around Jokhang, the most religious structure in Tibet. Groups of 6 to 8 armed Chinese soldiers in bulletproof vests provocatively walk in anti-clockwise formation. Cameras register every movement on the square. To "celebrate" the 60th anniversary of the liberation, the Chinese donated a monstrous statue made of fresh flowers which is placed on a prominent spot on Barkhor square. The Tibetan guide in Potala is very careful when explaining Tibetan history as the palace is full of Chinese spies. He already went to jail for joining the protest in 2008 around the Olympic games of Beijing. The roads in Tibet are full of checkpoints staffed by Chinese soldiers. Drivers have to check in and must reach the next point within a certain time. No monastery can be visited without a specific permit. A Chinese guide intentionally lets her group sit on the reserved seats for the lamas (high ranked monks). The 14th Dalai Lama advocates a peaceful solution. No wonder, our guide says, we do not have an army, we can never win! A solution, violent or peaceful, seems far away.
Prostrating monk on Barkhor
It is very interesting to learn more about Tibetan Buddhism, distinct because they believe in reincarnated masters, such as the Dalai Lama. Galugpa, Dalai Lama, Panchen Lamas, Karmapas...all starts to make sense. You can watch the monks during their morning prayers and quite aggresive debates. Mostly elder Tibetans keeps their prayer wheels moving and carry flasks of yakbutter to keep the yakbutter lamps going. In the 20th century, the Tibetans still believed that a picture of the Dalai Lama around their neck could save them from the bullets fired by the British army. Three thousand Tibetans were killed within minutes, despite its orders to kill everyone, the luitenant in charge ceased fire.
Well, it is getting cold. Time to return to the barack without heaters, running water and any form of toilet...sometimes travel is fun in retrospect only!
(PS: After this message was succesfully posted in Tibet, it somehow disappeared from blogspot. I read about the Chinese government hacking blogs and deleting messages. Seems far fetched, but you never know...)
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Location:Namtso Lake, Tibet
