The Trip of a Lifetime:
Recollections of an unusual experience
For the third time, CCC has organized an amazing trip to China. The previous trips took us down the Silk Road (絲綢之路) and to the beautiful Yunnan (雲南) province and Huangshan (黃山). They were interesting and exciting trips, to be sure. But none could compare with this trip to the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (青藏高原). Members of the team came from Toronto, Vancouver, San Francisco and Hong Kong.
The group consisted of 20 members. They are all individuals with plenty of world traveling experience; even so, the trip was surprisingly tough for everyone. It was especially hard for those who were used to traveling first class. The most difficult part of the trip was to adjust to the high altitude, the unfamiliar transportation tools, the bumpy rural highway and the large crowds.
Although we were very happy to get home, upon reflection, it was indeed a trip of a lifetime. Even though none of us would want to return until some drastic changes take place to improve the traveling condition, there are memories to be cherished.
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Jiuzhaigou Valley (九寨溝): The sayings go like this: “You don't need to visit any other mountains after returning from Mt. Huangshan; you don't need to visit any other waters after returning from Jiuzhai.”
The valley is 460 kilometres from Chengdu (成都), capital city of the province of Sichuan. The highway winds around the mountain and alongside the River Meng (岷江), a large tributary of Yantze River (楊子江). The river is famous as the source of over 10 hydro power generating stations that supplies all the electricity needs of the province. It took 12 hours to get from Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou. It was a rough bus tour. There is always the danger of falling into the river from the narrow mountain road. Two accidents occurred shortly after we finished our trip, injuring over 40. In fact, recently, one of the tour buses with tourists from Hong Kong fell into the river, causing many deaths and injuries.
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Jiuzhaigou is famous for its lakes, springs, streams, rivers and waterfalls. The ever-changing multi-coloured water is due to its strong reflection from the high mineral contents, the carbonates. Its main scenic area is more than 80 km long, composed of three gullies in the form of the letter Y. The highest point that the tourists can reach is 3,100 metres above sea level.
The scenery was good, but unfortunately we were not in the mood to appreciate it. I think the same went for the other 30,000 visitors jammed into the area as well. Summer holiday is the worse time to visit Jiuzhai because the large crowds. We had trouble getting into the “environmentally friendly” tour bus. The local visitors do not have the habit of lining up for the bus, so we ended up fighting at each scenic point. The fatigue after the long bus ride, the low atmospheric oxygen content, the ever-noisier crowds and the constant fighting and waiting for transportation seemed to override any enjoyment we may have had. Some of us started to notice the first taste of AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness). One of the younger travelers experienced symptoms of headache, nausea and vomiting. I had an episode of severe dizziness due to hypovolemia and hypoxemia that was relieved after being supplied with oxygen. Other team members started to realize AMS is a real thing. From this time, everyone started to take the prescribed Diamox and the majority of us bought cans of oxygen in case of emergency. Jiuzhai was considered to be one of the world's greatest natural wonder. The experience was a major disappointment for us. We expressed our displeasure to the local China Travel Agency. Since then, there has been curtailment of the number of visitors to 10,000 allowed to travel into Jiuzhai at any given time.
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Huanglong (黃龍): It is travertine or concretionary limestone deposit 3.6 kilometres in length and over 170 metres in width. It winds its way like a golden dragon in the boundless forest among rocks in icy peaks. Travertine waterfalls, lakes, shoals and over 3,400 dainty and exquisite colorful pools overlapping like fish scales. It is praised as a wonder of the world and a fairyland on earth. Most of us took advantage of the oxygen balloon. Using the oxygen once in a while helped climbing along a four-kilometre trail from 3,100 metres to 4,100 metres above sea level. Most of us only went a short distance. A couple of us were lucky enough to reach the midway at the “Striving for Beauty Pools” where we saw a group of colorful pools with different style and size. In the sunlight, the water is blue like pieces of jades and jadeites. The surfaces of the pools ripple, showing extraordinary splendor. It is indeed a site to see.
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Tibet (西藏): It is also known as the roof top of the world. The flight from Chengdu to Gonggar Airport (貢嘎機場) of Lhasa (拉薩) is about two and half hours. We were greeted at the airport by the local guide and a small bus. The size of the bus created tremendous unrest throughout the group. The seats of the bus were too narrow to allow two average-sized persons to sit together. There was immediate protest from the group. Most felt that the bus was too small. There was also no confidence placed in the local-made car. Some demanded to change to a Toyota bus or two better buses to accommodate the group. We were then told by the tour guide that this is the only kind of transportation that can take us through some of the narrow winding roads through rural Tibet. Some of us didn't believe him. We didn't really wish to separate the group into two. We had to stick together. After some serious negotiation, we weren't much ahead. Reluctantly, we got into our seats one-by-one and followed the driver and the local guide to take us into the journey of the unknown.
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It took us almost eight hours of bumpy riding to reach the city of Tse Dang (澤當), a city in the area called Shan Nan (山南) or YarLung (雅礱) valley. It is a historical site, which holds the four wonders of Tibet: the earliest village, the earliest king, the earliest palace and the earliest Buddha's Scripture. This is, in fact, the cradle of Tibetan history, agriculture and cultures with plenty of relics. It sits to the north of Himalayas, south of Gangdis Mountain with Yarlu Tsang Po river (雅魯藏布江) running in between. We were shipped to our hotel where we had lunch and were told to rest for a couple of hours before taking our first sightseeing trip.
Yambulakang (雍布拉康): Before we had the chance to see this historical site, we drove on some severely under-serviced highways and through villages with very primitive facilities. The houses in these villages were made with mixed mud, straws, stones and cow manure. But the people are usually very friendly. They all gave us big smiles as we were passing through. Now a temple, Yambulakang Palace was built by the first Tibetan King over 2,000 years ago. The murals and frescos inside depict the first King, the first Palace and the first piece of farmland. It also has the statue of king Song Zan Gan Bu (松贊干佈). Song Zan was the king that united all tribes of Tibet. He also invented the first Tibetan writing. He married Princess Wen Cheng (文成公主) from the Tang Empire and Princess Khribtsun from Nepal. His status in Tibet is like Qin Shi Huang Di (秦始皇帝) of Chinese Qin dynasty.
From the temple we had a great bird's-eye view of the valley where Tibet civilization started. It is easy to imagine how this fertile valley used to be the centre of the Tibet Empire.
The Samye Monastery (桑耶寺): The first monastery in Tibet. It was built by Buddhist monks, Padmasambhava (蓮花生) from India in AD 779 at the request of the second religious king, Trisong Detsuen (赤松德贊). The monastery structure comprises architectural designs from China, Tibet and India. Just like other temples, the Samye Monastery contains murals, frescos and cultural relics of that period.
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It was nice to see something original. The trouble was getting there. First of all, we had to take a boat to cross the YarLu Tsang Po (雅魯藏布) river. We, playing the roles of typical western travelers, were expecting 18- or 20-footers. To our surprise and consternation, it was a wooden boat with no roof. It reminded us of a refugee boat floating on the open seas. We were in a bit of shock, but boarded anyway. There were no seats, so we sat on the partition in the middle of the boat. We covered the wet dirty partition with some scrap cardboard scraped up from the bottom of the boat. As the boat started to sail with a motor engine at the back, we wondered if this was for real. The ride itself was surprisingly calm. We arrived to the other side of the river in about 45 minutes, where more surprises were in store. The transportation to the Monastery was a cargo truck – the kind you imagine gets used for transporting captured soldiers or prisoners during wartime. In the village, it was probably used for transporting cattle. We were stationed in the rear of the truck, with both arms grasping at the metal bar that ran across the top of the truck. We began to have sympathy for the soldiers and the prisoners as the truck jumped up and down through the bumpy, rocky road.
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The “open concept washrooms” provided additional excitement. There were no washroom facilities throughout rural Tibet. The good thing is we all adapted the situation very quickly. The ladies gathered around, to hide behind the human wall or the opened umbrella. Gentlemen dispersed to find their own, personal spots. Anywhere is safe, unless you're facing a crowd. At the beginning everyone was a bit shy and embarrassed. But after a while, we all had a big laugh about it. After all, it is the fastest, easiest and cleanest way to go.
Bkra-sis-Ihum-po (扎什倫布寺) or Zhashenlunbao Monastery: It is situated in Shigatse (日喀則) the second largest city in Tibet, about 3,700 metres above sea level. Buddhism was introduced into Tibet in the 7th century from the Chinese Tang Empire, India and Nepal. Through four centuries of expansion, the religion in the area developed into a unique system known as Tibetan Buddhism. Tsong-kha-pa (宗喀巴) founded the sect Dge-Lugs-pa (格魯泒) in the 15th century. After some long and complicated struggles, the Dge-Lug-pa eventually became the dominant sect in Tibet. It stabilized the Tibetan system of theocracy and organized the regional Tibetan government. The “Four Major Monasteries” became the highly developed typical Tibetan Buddhist monastic system. Bkra-sos-Ihum-po is one of the largest monasteries of the four. It was founded by Gedun Drupa (the first Dalai-Lama) (根敦珠巴) in 1447.
There are three large Panchen (班禪) stupa-tomb halls in Bkra-sis-Ihum-po monastery. The earliest stupa-tomb was completed in 1666. It was then the biggest stupa contains the remains of Panchen IV. The stupas-tombs of Panchen V–IX were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. The construction of one stupa, which contains the remains of all five Panchen was completed in 1988. This common stupa-tomb is an example of ancient Tibetan religious architecture bearing signs of Tang and Qing influence. The third stupa-tomb built by the Chinese government was completed in 1993 following the death of Panchen X. Imposing and richly decorated, each stupa is protected by gold and silver plates inlaid with jewels, including precious stones.
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Yamdrok Yamtso Lake (羊卓雍錯湖): This was one of the most atrocious excursions of all. We squeezed into a miniature tour bus, which took us to the Gong Buri mountain. The road was winding and uneven, with potholes all over. It took an hour to reach the top of the mountain where we were greeted with a panoramic view of the famous Yamdrok Yamtso Lake. It was indeed something to behold. We were treated to the sight of an almost endless bed of turquoise water at the bottom in between mountains. As soon as we arrived to the top we were greeted with a thunderstorm. We realized the terrible magnificence of nature as the heavy shower moved towards us from the other side of the lake. Within five minutes, the wind started to blow violently and a ping-pong ball–sized hail dropped down. We all rushed into the bus and started to drive down the same under serviced mountain road. It was the most risky driving we've ever seen. The rain had soaked the roads, and we saw mudslides on the mountain behind us. The bus turned with unusual speed on the slippery road, with half of a rear tire hanging over the cliff of the mountain, which is several thousand metres deep. As the bus rushed down the mountain, we had an unspoken moment of silent prayer. Since our group consists of people of different religions, it seemed as though we were praying to all gods at once. We were so anxious to see the flat land, that we clung onto the thought of it as if it were the Promised Land. As the Ching-Gao (青顆) field appeared in the distance, we gave a collective sigh of relief.
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In retrospect, I think that it was too much of a risk to take just to see a lake.
Lhasa (拉薩): Which means “grounds of the gods” is located in southeastern Tibet, at an altitude of 3,800 metres. It is the largest city in Tibet. The Potala Palace, Burkhor market (八角街) and the Jokhang Temple (大昭寺) are some of the famous historical sites in the city.
The Potala (布達拉宮): With a worldwide reputation for its grandiosity, the Potala castle stands on the Red Hill overlooking the Tibetan City of Lhasa. Situated more than 3,700 m above sea level, the Potala occupies an area of more than 360,000 m². The 13-storey main portion of the castle rises 117 m. The whole complex, consisting of halls, stupa-tomb halls, shrines, prayer rooms, monks' dormitories and courtyards, is recognized as the world's highest and largest castle palace.
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As the winter residence of the successive Dalai Lamas (達賴喇嘛), the Potala formerly served as the center of local Tibetan theocratic rule, hosting most of the major religious and political ceremonies since the reign of Dalai Lama V. The earliest incarnation of the Potala started in AD 631 under Tibetan King Srang-brtsan-sgam-po (檯贊干布). Subsequent additions to the monastery through many successful Lamas including Dalai Lama V's stupa-tomb in 1693 followed by the 5 golden roofs and a number of accessory structures. The Potala attained its present form and scale in 1936 when Dalai Lama XIII's stupa-tomb was completed. Unlike others in Tibet, the Potala escaped destruction by the Cultural Revolution by a special order of former Premier Chou En-Lai. It has retained its original form and shape in its entirety.
The main portion of the Potala consists of the White Palace and the Red Palace. The 7-storey White Palace, used as the Dalai Lama's winter residence, also housed the former local Tibetan government. The Red Palace consists mainly of the supreme Lama's stupa-tombs and the shrines. Of the 8 stupa-tomb halls, the most magnificent is that for Dalai Lama V. Inside the Dharma-raja's Cave (法王洞) are valuable collections of statues of King Strang-brtsan-sgam-po, his consorts, Princess Wencheng (文成公主), and Princess Khri-btsun.
In Summary: The trip to Tibet is not for the faint of heart. As the manager of China Travel Agency said to us afterwards, traveling to Tibet is not like going to other tourist area; you should consider the trip an adventure for exploring, not an ordinary sight seeing trip. You have to be psychologically prepared for the worst. Transportation and sanitary conditions are much worse then one could imagine. Be aware that AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) is a real thing. It doesn't matter how physically fit you are. You must take precautions. The living condition is generally poor. It will need injection of large amount of capital to improve it. The people, particularly the children, are generally friendly. But if you return the favor, they are not shy to ask for money.
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All in all, even though many of us complained throughout the trip for the traveling condition, on arriving home, to think back, it was still a wonderful experience. I just don't know if I could handle doing it again.
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