Some Travel Tips of My Tibet Journey

[The words before starting my journey]

On August4, 2016, I reserve a travel journal for myself.

Before I set out, I typed these words.

I just heard of the place, but I’ve never been there. They all say the Summer is the best season to visit Tibet. However, as for me, any time is the best chance if I feel it by heart. Suddenly, I extremely want to stay there for a month to feel the mysterious and holy place.

[Tibet]

Most people have a Tibet dream. They dream of coming to the place even though Tibet is a great challenge for themselves.

As for me, It is ever a reachless dream. I never think about traveling to Tibet. Now I’m so excited that I’m here in person.

Tibet, I just know the word from the geography book and the TV.

When I saw a photo of Yamdrok Lake under the starry sky, I’m so fascinated.

About going into Tibet

There are different ways to Tibet, including aircraft, train, highway, bike. Of course, the first three ways are the Optimal choices for most people.

[Aircraft]

Advantages: fast and time-saving

Disadvantages: Altitude difference, expensive

[Highway]

Many people choose to go into Tibet from Dian-Tibet highway or Chuan-Tibet highway, and leave Tibet from Qinghai-Tibet Highway.

Advantages: You can enjoy the different scenery, and the altitude is gradually rising, you won’t have altitude sickness. Time is easy to adjust, the price can be expensive or cheap, and it depends on the chartered or carpool or by self-drive.

Disadvantages: The Dian-Tibet highway and Chuan-Tibet highway are more risky, and Qinghai-Tibet Highway is easy to drive but has the altitude span. The highest point is Tanggula entrance,  which is 5218m above sea level, has the highest elevation of land.

[Train]

Qinghai-Tibet Railway, starting from Xining.

Advantages:  It provides oxygen inside the compartment, and it is cheap, and just in time.

Disadvantages: You can see all the scenery, but you can’t take pictures.

And I chose to take the Qinghai-Tibet line into Tibet, the first is because I like the scenery of this line, the second is to see the winter line, the last is because this route is flat and good to go.

About the loop lines in every place after entering Tibet

the chartered or the carpool or by self-drive.

1. Every inn and youth hostel have the loop line in lasa.
2. It has the loop lines in the Dian-Tibet highway , Chuan-Tibet highway and Qinghai-Tibet Highway.
3. The loop line of Ali has the time limit, and it can’t go in late October every year.

Above all is my whole trip, because of the weather, the entire trip was delayed for a day with heavy snow and traffic jam in the Kunlun Mountains, and my partners also booked the return tickets , so we didn’t go to the Everest base camp.

The west line of Lhasa: Yamdrok Lake—–Karuola Glacier—–Shigatse(3900m)–Everest base camp(5200m).

The line will take about 4 days to travel , You can choose the line if you have enough time.

About Expense

About the cost in Qinghai-Tibet line 

Because in this trip l separated with my partner and I stayed in Lhasa for nearly a week, so the total cost wasn’t counted.

Car sharing: 3000 yuan/9 days

Board and lodging: 1575 yuan

Tickets: 330 yuan

Other cost: 620 yuan

Above all is for Qinghai-Tibet line , the east line of Lhasa and Lingzhi area.

Tips：

1. The more people choose to car sharing on the Qinghai-Tibet line, the more cost-effective the price is; or the sharing self-drive is more cost-effective.
2. Because the off-season, accommodation is standard room, every night is120-150 or so. (do not share with more people, a person living alone is not worth)
3. For meals, the noodleis about 20 yuan, and the hot pot and restaurants should be shared with more people to reduce overhead.
4. Tibetan area tickets are expensive, and are bundled, butpreferential documents are available, I will mention about it in the every scenic spot.

About the preparation for going into Tibet

Do not underestimate the altitude sickness when you are going into Tibet, it even has the life-threatening danger. We met some partners who started from Qinghai when we blocked in the Kunlun Mountains, they thought that it can’t have altitude sickness from the loop line of the Qinghai Lake to Tibet, but in the first day all the people had altitude sickness, and one of them is twitching his eyes. Fortunately, they have a nurse in the car and they were rescued. The drugs and oxygen prepared by the driver were gone, but they entered Tibet without any preparation, so four people had serious altitude sickness. Thus, enough preparation can prevent something unknown to happen, and do not risk your life

Tips:

Because I go to Tibet in October, I will take this month as an example.

1. Essential items

I summarized them from the personal experience and the discussion with my friends who go to Tibet for many times.

1. Glucose powder: put it into the water when you drink the water, because we also inject glucose liquid in the hospital.
2. Glucose injection: not let yourself give yourself injection, but drink! It is better than Gao Yuanan and rhodiola. It is recommended not to buy glass bottles.
3. Headache powder: it works out immediately, don’t think that altitude sickness won’t have a headache.

D.The western ginseng tablet: although it is difficult to eat, but you must eat, it will be much better to ease your sickness.

1. Medical oxygen bag: it can be recycled. It can be filled with oxygen when you arrive at every place. Of course, it’s better to not absorb oxygen, or you will depend on oxygen.
2. Stop exercising for the first half of the month.
3. Never catch a cold!!! (very important, don’t look down)
4. If you still afraid of the altitude sickness, I suggest to eat the red jingtian and gao yuanan a week in advance.
5. In October, the collection line must be installed in winter clothing. It needs to wear a down jacket/stormcoat, warm underwear, and it snows on the kunlun mountain, tanggula mountain.
6. Store enough food and water.
7. Starting from golmu, there is no ATM in this section of the road before Lhasa, and the hotel does not support alipay or WeChat transfer, so we need to prepare cash.

What you need to do and what could happen on the way to Tibet

1. Drink the water with glucose powder.
2. One bottle of glucose injection at least one day.
3. If you have a headache, eat 2 packets of headache powder.
4. 4. Itis cold, and thehotel provides heating, but because of the high altitude, no ventilation will be boring, too much ventilation will catch a cold, so you can take the hotel towels soaked, put it on the bedside table, open the window a little bit.
5. 5.Don’t sleep all the way!!! Especially at high altitudes, it’s hard to say what will happen when you sleep.
6. Forbid to feelexcitedand strenuous exercise, although I have the habit of jumping at high altitude in the small circle and gannan lines, but this time even if I run a bit, I still feel hard, but at least I know whether my body is able to run and jump or not, don’t take photos for showing off and ignore the altitude sickness.
7. Unpredictable weather:trafficjam in heavy snow. I hit it this time. I stopped for a whole day and stopped at an altitude of 4,900 meters and slept in the car for a night.

Attentions when you are in Tibet

1. Don’t take photos of the yaks and lambs by the roadside! When you finished there will be a Tibetan children come out to ask you for money, if you refuseto give them, they will keep plugging you and push you (I was pushed by a 6 year- old child), the more serious thing is that the Tibetan man will cause trouble for you.
2. It is a serious phenomenon that the children in Lhasa came forward to beg for money. A bunch of children surrounded you.

✨ Tips: We don’t care about money, but this is not a good way, it is no good to them if you give them, and the premise is in the case of ensure your own security.

3. Try not to stand in front of the worshippers.
4. For the sake of respecting them, it is better to getthe permission before taking the photoof them. It’s best not to take photos in and out of the temple.
5. The entrance to the Potala Palace still needs to be booked in advance in October, and it is difficult to make an online reservation.
6. The live-action performance of princess wencheng was suspended at the end of October.

Society is progressing, and we are regressed

Perhaps, in the Internet and in a number of strategies, there is a mention of the children in Lhasa, so much so that most tourists come to Lhasa to avoid the children, and I am no exception. But it is impossible to generalize, many Tibetans and children are simple in Tibetan. On the way, the children behind the tricycle and the Tibetan people smiled and greeted to us in the car, smiling and smiling. Spent a week in Lhasa, bask in the sun a week, in this week, I met two Tibetan children to make me memorable, their inner heart is really very simple, so that it let me feel guilt and remorse, so every time I think of the two things, I always feel sad.

[ Drepung monastery——my little guide, tenzengdajie]

He is my little announcer in Drepung monastery, 14 years old, is reading the sixth grade of Tibetan children, is an introverted child, and not so talkative in the beginning. Maybe because I kept asking questions with heavy curiosity, and let him take a picture for me, then we became familiar with each other, had more topics to chat. He just need to send me to the door of the scenic spot, but he took me all the way to the Jokhang temple with scooter, and I just knew he was going to come out to buy materials and zanba near the drepung. He knew I’m not too familiar with bus routes , so he wanted to take me to the Jokhang temple. So I decided to accompany him to go to XinHua bookstore to buy textbooks, then I just knew the Tibetan original textbooks are also pretty nervous, a lot of books are out of stock. When I separated to him, because I bought the teaching material for him, he said I do not need to pay the fee for the guide, but I still gave him, he always smiled and said thank you. Later, I gave him WeChat to send photos to him in the afternoon, and he was so happy to say thank me for taking photos of him. To be honest, at first I am a little scared in my heart, so I said that it is ok for parking in a nearby bus platform, because I was afraid to be asked for more money. Thanks to Dan zengdajie, I feel that the simple and innocent smile on his face is my great joy in Lhasa for the first time.

[the unnamed little Zhuoma with the oil barrels]

In the night before leaving Lhasa, I choose to go for a walk around Jokhang temple, when I sat down in front of the Jokhang temple, a little Zhuoma carrying oil barrels  walked in front of me, smiling at me, I also gave the response, she walked to come over and put the ghee bucket down and asked me: “elder sister, can you send me home?” I ask her where her home, she said let me send her to Maggie Amy, so I looked at my friend and she came over to ask a lot, finally we decided to send her and walk to her home while chatting with her, there are five brother and sister, and she is the third one. Two sisters are in education, but she is out of school, and help sell strings; after chatting, she let us wait for her, she took ghee barrels to tower, poured some into tower for praying a good luck and then continued to go forward, when we were closed to Maggie Amy, she said we don’t have to send her, she was already near home. The next thing make me shocked, that is, a move that let my guilt burst forth from the heart, she put down the oil barrels, happily ran up and hugged me, looked at me with smile and said “thank you sister”. Actually, at that moment my tears appeared in my eyes, on the way we were always keeping a distance with her, also did not help her carry the barrel, even afraid of she will pour something with bad intention, but all of them are off at this moment. I hate I have a strong precaution consciousness and I hate such of me. The next day my friend in Lhasa also came across her selling the bead and sent me the photo.

Suddenly I found myself in such a narrow way that I could not trust a child; In fact, with the progress of society, the trust between people is really gone.

I just hope I can feel it through my own experience, so that you can also put your mind to it. You don’t have to put too much on your guard, don’t look at them with colored glasses. Maybe when you’re doing it well by yourself, and that it won’t have anything bad happened, and believe there are always good things in the world.