In all of my 20 years I've never experienced anything like Tibet or her people. The land is the heart of buddhism and the people are the heart of the land. Absolutely, definitely, no-question about it- Tibet is incredible.
The prayer flags, stupas and warmth of the people is what made Tibet so special.
Myself and three friends spent a week with our guide Lhaba and our driver Lingqing exploring some of the key places around Lhasa. Every time we looked in any direction one of us would exclaim This is beautiful... that is gorgeous... look that is amazing. We are in fcking TIBET! It got old, all of those adjectives but never Tibet. That place, I can't even explain how spiritual it is- regardless of your religion you can't deny the peoples heart and spirit. The nomads are some of the most beautiful people I've ever seen. Upon my return I told my dad I was definitely running away with a Tibetan nomad. Plus, they have YAK. Big, ugly cows with dreadlocks. How can a place be bad with a creature like the yak?
Favourite spots:
The people. Ferry to samye on the yellow river. Crystal clear water + Laughing Tibetans = priceless
Lhasa was a great city with a little bit of everything. I fear for what happens when they finish the railroad and a new influx of tourism rampages through the city. I would cry myself to sleep every night if Lhasa turned into another Lijiang or Dali- manufactured culture for the sake of capitalism. The people here were amazing, even the merchants! Obviously you have to check out Potala and all the monestaries in and around the city. Samye- Great monestary, we hiked up a mountain and saw 1 nunnery, 1 monestery (not Samye) and a meditation retreat. It was awesome. Namtoe Lake- Highest lake in the world at 16000 feet. I ended up having to be evacuted off after four hours due to Acute Mountain Sickness so be careful and stay hydrated!
What's really great:
Man and his horse at Namtoe. Great picture right?
Everything, every view, every mountain we hiked, every person we met... we loved our guide Lhaba. Crazy crazy Tibetans. Our driver Lingqing was like a Tibetan John Wayne. And the yak. YAK!
Sights:
Lhaba- our trusty guide and Tibetan Cowboy
The usual if you are in tibet.
Potala Palace
Jiakang monestary
Another one outside the city.
Samye monestary
The nunnery, meditation retreat, and monestary on the mountain.
Namtoe Lake
Markets
Accommodations:
Monks, very young monks.
Lhasa- Mandala Hotel: Great rooms, great service, great food, great music, great locations. We loved this hotel.
Samye- Monestary rooms. Great food at restaurant, but all prices and stuff are a little high since they are in the middle of nowhere. Public bathrooms leave a pretty foul smell. We skipped showers for the two nights we stayed.
Namtoe- We didn't actually get to sleep here but our tent/room was not bad. A little too cold, no heat. Not really enough blankets.
Nightlife:
The Yak
haha Are you kidding me? In Lhasa there was this one place that had a neon sign that said Bar and Club but we didn't trust it.
Although, we chugged Lhasa beer and danced our dehydrated hearts out at our Mandala hotel restuarant.
Hangouts:
Me, Erik and a stray dog we befriended at Samye
Ditto.
Restaurants:
Tibetans, their horse, a truck and a pool table.
the Highlands has amazing food and next door is a merchant with a dog named Dog Dog who is absolutely adorable. He has forever won a place in my heart- oh Dog-Dog.
Mandala Hotel restaurant is really tasty. Good mix of western, indian, nepalese and Tibetan.
Yak burgers. Don't leave Tibet without one.
Other recommendations:
My best and all-time favorite picture. This imaged is embedded in my mind forever.
None really, its not exactly the center of industry and growth.
Just another superlative in your miracle year. i have no command of any language in whiich i could even attempt to express the exhaustion i feel from just trying to imagine the whirlwind progress of your friends catching up behind you as you all flutter up to the roof of the world
Hiya Veronica
This is a better report as compared to the some of your other negative ones. Yes you are right, your last pic says it all - this is a place to visit.
Gloria
15 votes
del.icio.us
Digg this
by 
