Tibet. August 2016
Postcard from Tibet
“Looking out over the expanse ahead I saw not an empty wasteland but something simpler: a blank page on which I would go on.”
Tibet has always been a very mysterious place. Like most people, I didn't really know anything about the place other than a Potala Palace. Probably because of its history, it seems almost taboo to discuss anything about Tibet. Much to my surprise, I found a ton of information on visiting this mystical place when researching online. Tibet is actually a popular travel destination, and tourism is really regulated. Most tours follow a pretty similar itinerary, so it was really down to identify which area I would want to spend the most time in during our short one week stay. Giving ourselves at least a day or two in Lhasa to adjust to the high altitude (at a whooping 12,000 ft), we decided to pick the 4 day tour to the Mount Everest Base Camp, which is actually closer to 17,000ft, or 5200m, above sea level).
Yep, to the highest mountain on Earth.
The first part of our trip was spent in Lhasa, wandering around the city on our own. Lhasa city is intertwined with the old and the new, where newer and more modern buildings stood tall around historical sites. We followed the pilgrims on their Kora and walked in a clockwise direction, spinning the prayer wheels as we go.
A lot of the time spent preparing for this trip was actually on worrying about the high altitude. My family also got increasingly worried and even gave us herbal medicine to take a few days before the trip. While everyone focused on how thin the air would be and how much less oxygen you would get from every breath you take (11% to be exact), I wondered how much closer I would be to the skies, and if I would get a view of the clouds as if they are at eye level.
Turns out majority of the roadtrip would be spent up with the clouds, climbing mountains over mountains along winding roads, for a glimpse of the tallest mountain of Earth. The whole day on our way towards the Himalayas were pretty cloudy, but clouds cleared up for a brief 30 minutes as we reached our viewpoint in the late afternoon. Clouds still hugging at the waist line, we caught a view of Mount Everest at Rongbuk Monastry, near the north base of Mount Everest.
Mount Everest at Rongbuk Monastery, August 2016
The night at the base camp felt very long. I recall trying to calm my mind and put myself to sleep but the quiet night in the tent was overcome by the sound of my own heartbeat. The thin and dry air at the base camp made hard to breathe, and every inhale felt short, like I was sprinting. It was easier than ever to be aware that I am a living being, taking up space in the 10 person tent in the cold, dark night.
Towards the end of our trip our guide had mentioned there is a festival at Norbulingka, the palace at the western edge of Lhasa city. We decided the visit on a whim before our flight back to Changdu and then Hong Kong. We were joined by pilgrims and locals, on this day of celebration. It was great end to our trip, and like pilgrims on their Kora, I'll be continuing on this journey for enlightenment, en route to more.
