Travel Stories - China

Early in the morning we agreed at our hostel; two younger ladies, a couple and me - all Dutch – are trying to rent a jeep. During our 5-day-compulsory bus tour from Kathmandu, Nepal to Lhasa in Tibet, we agreed that on arrival in the capital of this prefect we wanted to try to travel a bit further together. Our visa is valid for another day or ten and we decide to rent a car for three days. This seems to be by far the most efficient way to visit a piece of Tibet where otherwise you can not come so quickly with limited resources. We did not have much time to compare prices but we know a little what is being asked here and what to look out for. On a small piece of paper we have scratched up these important things for us – things we have to think of, ask or watch out for.  

We arrive at the parking lot where cars are for rent and mix us among the local men who are naturally very curious about what we want. After some talk and negotiation we find for us the suitable man who will drive us a few days in a jeep just big enough for 6 people including the driver. It’s not very profesional but we have drawn up a kind of contract and ask for his signature. Somewhat distrustfully the young man puts his signature underneath it. We throw our bags on the roof and tie in the whole lot and are ready to go. 

At the first petrol station we pay the rest of the amount of what we have agreed to our driver. He’s complaining that he doesn’t have money to pay for the petrol. It is my turn to sit in the trunk or better to lie down. The roads in Lhasa are still fine but the further we get outside the city limits how worse the road gets. It is just over 100 kilometers, but in Tibet it means hours of driving on dusty roads with bumps and big holes. We see in front of us a light brown dead landscape with high peaks on both sides and sometimes even some snow on the mountain-peaks. Here and there we see some yaks wandering around. Occasionally a farmyard. In a large piece of snow along the road we step out to take pictures. Then our driver, who speaks very poor English, points to the lake in the distance. The "Nam Tso" lake, one of the more sacred for Tibetans. The premises call this salt lake the "Heavenly" lake and is a famous place of pilgrimage. Pilgrims walk round the clock in the lake in a kora ritual. It is also a popular place for migratory birds. 

We can now also see the small islands in the turquoise colored lake which beautifully contrasts with the brown mountains in the distance, the sky blue sky and the few clouds. It is not for nothing that this is a National park. We stop near a small peninsula where we see the monastery "Tashi Dor" built around and in a cave. There are two gigantic vertical rocks adorned with millions of scarves and strings of colored paper. They ook like the karstmountain in Thailand – the Bond-mountain. It is small inside in the monastery-cave and there are a number of different rooms with the now known Tibetan cups, flags and altars. It smells of incense and musty from the rocks and I think of a second-hand shop with so many clothes that you can not choose. This seems to be of the Tibetan Buddhist nyingma order whatever that may mean. After I have bought a cup here we have lunch at "Namtso Qu" where we find out why we are so out of breath. It lies at more than 4500 meters altitude! After dinner we drive back to the road where we see some dark brown nomad huts on the shores of the lake. The driver takes us there and when we get out of the car dozens of children come running towards us. This must be very poor people because the children are all walking around in rags and they are dirty. Goats walk in and out of the huts. We can take a look in these very Spartan huts where we see a lot of junk laying around. We wave goodbye and go back to the jeep. It’s hard to see this life and also tempting to give something. 

It is not that far to the monastery of "Yangpachen" where we scramble out the jeep. Here we are going to try to sleep tonight which is not so strange in Tibet. We park the jeep on the grounds of the monastery and knock on a real red gate. There are dozens of golden round bubbles hanging on the wall but no people. First we address a young monk who we try to make clear that our intention is to stay here today. An older monk is brought to the gate and despite his big smile it soon becomes clear that he wants money for our stay. In itself that is not a problem, in a hotel we also have to pay - the only question is how much. We talk and try to persuade him that we want to pay but not too much. We do not get much further despite all the courtesies that we exchange. We decide to first look at the monastery and then try another time. It is after closing time and the atmosphere in the now darkening monastery is mystical. We can pour butter into the candle stands, throw white Tibetan shawls around the Buddha's statues and we make a donation. This monastery was founded in the year 1504 and, like many other monasteries, was totally destroyed during the Culture Revolution in 1966. Fortunately there is nothing to be noticed about that now anymore. The chief monk remains at his decision and we conclude that this is simply money beating; sleeping in a monastery must be a gesture that we would rather pay for but it is not a hotel. We decide to go and thank the monks who now regret that we are not staying. 

Because of all that flattery it has become late and we still have to eat. In the nearby "Yangpachen" we eat something in a local restaurant and ask if we can stay here somewhere. But first we refuel our jeep in a pre-war manner with a pipe that is put in an old barrel. It is already dark when we arrive at the popular "hot water source" hotel near the city. We try to reduce costs by staying in a room all together. It is still a hassle because there are beds from other rooms to be achieved but eventually succeed.