Unanswered

Like when entering a chicken farm, Fred and I felt slightly amused when we boarded our Lhasa bound train in Chengdu. All the passengers had a ticket with a designated place and bed and the train was only about to leave in some 45 minutes – still, loud and intense arguments arouse all around us (as if there were fewer places than passengers or a free seating with only one window-seat). Anyhow, we found our coach and our beds, made ourselves comfortable and kept watching the chickens with great amusement.

The World is Flat - tss..!

Oxygen outlet

Noodles? Rice? 

The Qinghai Express left on time, we were about to spend two nights on it, travelling from west-central China towards its western province Tibet (in my Blog I will refer to Tibet as a province of China, more about this topic later in this post). The time on the train was not too hard to kill, some sleep here, some noodles there, a breathtaking look outside the window or a few pages of a book made the time pass easily. Ironically I am currently reading Thomas Friedmans 'The World is Flat' – while climbing up to 5072 meters.

As scheduled, we arrived in Lhasa on the 12. of June (exactly one month left for my Asia-Trip). With only little acclimatization problems, it felt good to finally be in the famous capital and biggest town of Tibet. Although we were recommended to stay in the hotel for the rest of the first day on 3650 meters, we could not stop ourselves and started exploring the town by feet. Our goal was clear; we needed to see the Potala Palace!

We found it – like hundreds of Chinese tourists. For some, I was the greater attraction, like in other countries in Asia, they were very surprised by the tall, white and long-nosed fellow. In extreme cases, they dropped everything and ran straight to me, just to get a picture. Feeling like a star, I fulfilled all the wishes and continued replying 'no' to the question whether I knew Yao Ming – the Chinese basketball superstar.

Hello, my name is George and I DO NOT play basketball!

We spent three days in Lhasa, exploring the surrounding sights, including not only the Potala Palace, but also various monasteries and temples. Our very competent and friendly guide Sonam helped us to understand the meaning and importance of all the places. He also brought us closer to the Tibetan Buddhism, a religion very different to the other types of Buddhism which I encountered so far.

Debating Monks and Lamas

Is the hand a hand - or something else?

As a little desert, we decided to go for a boat trip in Lhasa. The day before we left towards western Tibet we rode a speed boat on 3650 meters – an experience for its own. Then we (group of 8 individuals, as travelling alone is prohibited) drove to Shigatse and kept on exploring monasteries, high mountain passes and unique landscapes on the way. As there were plenty of all the mentioned, I will not even try to upload a justifying amount of pictures, otherwise Nepal might suffer a total breakdown of  all their internet connections.

Then our tour guide Sonam had the brilliant idea to leave one day earlier for the Everest Base Camp (EBC), since weather forecasts promised a higher chance to actually see the mountain one day earlier. So we jumped in our Landcruisers and drove up to 5000 meters, to the ETC (Everest Tourist Camp). The real base camp is not accessible without an 'Expedition Permit' which is issued only in exchange to a vast amount of money. The ETC welcomed us with oxygen supply and a cozy Yak tent. We both had little issues with the altitude and kept wandering around for some shots. As the moon came out, also the clouds disappeared, and we could spot the great Everest for a first time.

Yak tent

If you look like this, take some oxygen...

Yak + Everest + Light Art Tibet

What do you mean - ''the tallest''?

Not all the group members adapted this well to the altitude. Two girls from Malaysia suffered badly; one could not get rid of horrible headaches, the other had to vomit overnight. Also I did not feel too well the day after, as we climbed even higher, towards the real base camp. On 5250 meters I encountered a pulsating pain in the back of my head, it did not get any better for the rest of the day. Only a ginger tea in the lower Tingri helped. The tea helped this much that Fred and I spontaneously decided to climb a nearby mountain for some sunset shots. While climbing from 4500 meters to 4900 meters, we realized what the thin air meant under sportive exertion. First you don't even realize the difference, but once your heart rate is on running mode, your lungs have difficulties to keep up with the pace. Also simple things like having a sip of water from your bottle will lead to a shortage of air right after. Still, we reached the mountain top and took some good shots. Equipped with plentiful prayer flags and a stone pile used for sky burials, the setting was perfect for some intense moments.

You know the song from the 'Becks Experience' commercials?

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust

 Further bumpy hours in our hyper reliable Toyotas (I am not sponsored, its just a fact) brought us to the Nepali boarder in Kodari. The day we left Tibet, we encountered one of the most strict exit controls I have ever seen. As mentioned on several internet pages, my Lonely Planet guide for Tibet was indeed confiscated. The over motivated Chinese official took my entire backpack apart, happily removed the guide book, stuffed all in the bag again, smiled at me and mentioned that I look alike with Gerard Pique. I smiled back and told him the book was a special present for him (As I was leaving Tibet, I did not really need it anymore and was not too upset about the situation).

Leaving Tibet means leaving China - according to the situation as of today. However, I did feel like leaving China already when I boarded the Qinghai Express in Chengdu. The provinces of Sichuan and Tibet are immensely different, be it for its culture, its geography or its people. The Chinese conquered Tibet in 1950 and are investing in the province intensely ever since. They did build a train and an international airport, paved hundreds of kilometers of roads and support local families and farmers with money. They also built many schools for the local children. This may sound very positive, nevertheless, it has its downsides too; the schools teach only in Mandarin (no Tibetan language), the roads lead to the spots which are now exploited by Chinese enterprises, lots of the local culture are getting lost between the intense police and military presence. The Tibetans are not even allowed anymore to hoist their original flag or to have a picture of the Dalai Lama in their houses. Controls and spot checks in homes can lead to 2-3 years in jail, should they find any picture of flag. A real punch in the face of any Tibetan is the huge Chinese flag on top of the Potala Palace... All these measurements lead to the fact that some young Tibetans don't even know anymore who his holiness the Dalai Lama is. 

As we traveled through Tibet, I had the chance to talk to many Tibetans, Chines and tourists. The Tibet question definitely remains unanswered and is not that easy to close. A 'free Tibet' with an individual nation would probably lead to chain reactions in entire China. There are minorities of Uighurs and Muslims in many corner of China - all of them would raise their voices should Tibet be freed. What might be a good solution is the one which is asked for by the current, 14. Dalai Lama (living in exile in India, not even allowed to be buried in Tibet). He is asking for a free Tibet in a cultural sense, that Tibetans would be allowed to climb mountains when ever they want, that they could live out their cultural habits as they did in the past, and that they would be granted a passport just as a normal Chinese citizen. Then, he and also all the Tibetans I spoke to, would not even mind the fact of belonging to China. To all the demonstrators with 'free Tibet' flags I must reply: go and visit this beautiful place, talk to the people and learn. The situation is not as easy as you think. Also a glimpse in history books reveals that even in the past, the situation was never really clear. Also Great Britain and the CIA played some unexpected roles...

Enough about this political situation. We are now in Pokhara, Nepal. Tomorrow we embark for a 8 days trekking to the Annapurna Base Camp and back. We hope that the current weather situation will not destroy our plans...

Until then, try to stand as still and motionless as this Chinese solider - vis a vis the Potala in Lhasa.

GH

'Oh, that tall guy, I would love to get a picture of him - but I  cannot. Might he know Yao Ming?'

Contrasts

Dear readers, it has been an unusual amount of days since my last post. I hope you did not quit the feed meanwhile and started following any other hobby to waste your precious time..? Funny facts: 1) ''The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted'' 2) 1'000 blogs are created every hour 3) Chinese Government does not only strictly control Google, also it blocks pages like Facebook or Blogspot. The latter is the reason why this post was so far only on my Skydrive, waiting to reach you. To somewhat compensate, there will be two posts at once (now please a big 'hurray')! This will keep you posted in the usual bite size. So here is the first one: 'Contrasts' (referring to the vastly different worlds in Myanmar and China).PLUS, I am encountering some issues with the formatting on this Nepali-style computer here, some parts of the blog just won't get posted... hope that you can still enjoy the reading.

The overwhelming Myanmar embraced us with its friendly people and breathtaking scenery for two of the most beautiful weeks of the entire trip so far. Furthermore, Myanmar certainly was an easy start for Fred, who was totally new to Asia. Filled with welcoming places, historical sites and diverse landscapes, time went by even faster than an occasi(a)onal attack of the runs.   Our night bus to Nyaungshwe greeted us with the daily evening prayer, which sprinkled on us through the dusty speakers. In contrast to the well intended words, our following ride was definitely less peaceful; we could hardly sleep a minute, especially after the tail pipe fell off - which resulted in our bus sounding like a monster truck. What should I complain, we are backpacking through Asia, episodes like such are definitely an enrichment to our trip.The four days around lake Inle were a pure delight. We spent our time riding bicycles, ferries and fisher boats, we explored floating gardens, local temples and monasteries. Highlights included a wine tasting in Myanmar's biggest winery (see picture), or me ending up in a show-fight against seven young novice monks. Usually our days ended with one or more glasses of either Beer Myanmar or Beer Mandalay, which are both to be recommended. Going hand in hand with the Burmese beers are the local cigars. These contain Tamarind and Banana-grass, which is making them taste deliciously sweet. Already wearing the Myanmar-style long skirt ''Longshi'' like every man, plus consuming healthy doses of local drugs - our way in to any bar conversation was a breeze. As a sort of cultural highlight, we were invited to attend a baptism ceremony of a local girl; music and dancing, until our ears and feet were numb. 

The four days around lake Inle were a pure delight. We spent our time riding bicycles, ferries and fisher boats, we explored floating gardens, local temples and monasteries. Highlights included a wine tasting in Myanmar's biggest winery (see picture), or me ending up in a show-fight against seven young novice monks. Usually our days ended with one or more glasses of either Beer Myanmar or Beer Mandalay, which are both to be recommended. Going hand in hand with the Burmese beers are the local cigars. These contain Tamarind and Banana-grass, which is making them taste deliciously sweet. Already wearing the Myanmar-style long skirt ''Longshi'' like every man, plus consuming healthy doses of local drugs - our way in to any bar conversation was a breeze. As a sort of cultural highlight, we were invited to attend a baptism ceremony of a local girl; music and dancing, until our ears and feet were numb. 

Could it get any better? Why not, our next stop was Bagan and its ca. 4'000 temples, pagodas and stupas - yet another milestone of my Asia trip.  However, our enthusiasm was slowed down soon after arriving in Bagan. We found out that the long awaited sunrise flight with a balloon over Bagan could not take place, operations were shut down due to the low season... That was bad news of course, but we immediately started looking for alternatives, locations offering similarly jaw-dropping views. We found 2: (1) The Aureum Resort Hotel, a crazy, not-from-this-world, who da f* is Burj Al Arab, Hotel-tower and (2) Tant Kyi Taug Pagoda, which is a beautiful golden pagoda, located opposite the river, vis-à-vis old Bagan, offering an incredible view over the entire plateau. These two spots more than compensated for the balloon flight.  

The current low season also had its benefits, on most of the temples and locations which we visited we were on our own, something unthinkable during the highly frequented months of January and February. Tired of endless hours in night buses built for short Asians, tall Fred and even taller me decided to take a plane for our last domestic leg in Myanmar. Air Mandalay flew us within 20min from Bagan to Mandalay for only a little more money compared to the bus alternative. An elderly fellow passenger with a strong French accent in his English was apparently not too comfortable with the entire flight; fully confused he kept on asking ground personnel after our landing, whether this is  Mandalay now? As if the heavily oversized 'MANDALAY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT' sign was not big enough. We were convinced to be in Mandalay and hence left the plane and hopped in  a cab heading towards central Mandalay. Our time in the former capital was limited, so we focused on the main sights: Royal Palace and Mandalay Hill. 

Only one day after, we left Myanmar with bottles of water and knifes in our bags, by plane towards China, Chengdu. Already the transit stop in Kunming delivered us a massive cultural shock, right into our Swiss rookie faces. Yes we were still in Asia, but we felt like teleported some 50-100 years into the future. Top notch facilities and highest standards of everything awaited us, China has arrived, long ago. All I knew about Chengdu was its 3 letter IATA code (CTU) and that it is famous for Pandas. However, I had not a single clue about the city's beauty and it's high standard. Coming along with a easy-going lifestyle, one could quickly feel home in CTU. In contrast to this stand the facts that barely anyone speaks English (even in such a metropolis) and that lots of online content are still blocked by the Chinese government. I am accessing the blogspot homepage with the kind assistance of a foreign proxy server, provided by our Tibet tour organizer. 

Now, our backpacks are packed yet again, in a few hours an incredible train journey towards Lhasa will start. With oxygen masks provided in the train, we will climb over 5072 meters of altitude, on our way to the Tibetan capital.  The next post will probably follow from Kathmandu, Nepal. Until then, 在這裡，我想在中國寫我的名字，但我不知道怎麼