Results tagged “China”

Arriving at the Chinese border at Irkeshtan - after being sent away at the Torugart Pass, they wanted me to go back to Kashgar, organise a guide, permit and driver - I walk past a long line of waiting trucks to the Chinese immigration point. After putting my bag through the checkpoint, one of the soldiers asks to see my laptop. I turn it on for him and watch as he fumbles around and opens up a random document. Satisfied he tells me I can put it away. Thankfully he’s not a trained cryptanalyst and doesn’t discover the cache of forbidden materials stored on the laptop.

As I’m putting away the laptop, he notices my Lonely Planet China and Central Asia guidebooks and takes them for closer inspection. Finding the map of China in the guidebook, he tells me it’s illegal, Taiwan is not a country, it’s a province. I’m thinking the guy is not a genius, but a douche, I’m leaving the country within four minutes and he should just mind his own business. He rips out the map and lets me keep the book. I in turn keep my mouth shut.

After finally clearing the Chinese border checkpoint, I’m free to enter Kyrgyzstan, however I cannot walk across the small stretch of no man’s land and I have no means of transport. Normally this would be a problem, however the Chinese soldier in charge of guarding the exit gate salutes me as I walk out, follows me out and flags down a truck.

Ordering the truck driver to take me as a passenger, we make the drive down the stretch of no man’s land, only to reach a Chinese checkpoint. Here the driver gets rid of me, and now I’m stuck in no man’s land with no valid Chinese visa and no onward transport to Kyrgyzstan.

Oh, and there’s a small drama with my passports that’s upsetting the Chinese soldier inspecting it, he decides he doesn’t want me to pass. Never mind him, I clear it all up with his commanding officer who speaks great English by telling him how beautiful the country is and how I can’t wait to visit again. In return, he lets me pass and organises another truck to take me to the Kyrgyz border post.

Landmark marking the China/Kyrgyzstan border.

Arriving at the first Kyrgyz border post I’m greeted by two soldiers sitting in a small shed. On seeing my Russian passport, the commanding officer breaks out in a huge smile, “Ivan Alexandrovich, welcome to Kyrgyzstan”, shaking my hand enthusiastically, “How is it in China?”, “Beautiful, how is it in Kyrgyzstan?”, I reply. “What kind of a question is that?”, he asks, looking at me like I’m an idiot. That ends our conversation.

The truck continues onward to the next checkpoint where we wait for over an hour while other trucks go through immigration/customs. The quick thing to do would be to get out, walk and hitch another lift, but I’m in no real rush.

When it’s our turn to clear customs, one of the soldiers points me to the checkpoint (a little wooden shed) where a solder takes my passport, asking me why it wasn’t stamped earlier. I tell him I didn’t know it had to be, and that I’m sorry. He asks me why the passport is in such poor condition and if it’s a forgery. I explain to him how I came into Laos and was drenched on the final day of Laos New Year.

After some back and forth, I’m finally allowed to pass to the final checkpoint where again, the guard is less than pleasant. However finally, after a several hour ordeal, I’m in Kyrgyzstan.

Leaving Kashgar (temporarily), I head to Karakul Lake, to find they want to sell me a ticket to see the lake. I tell them where to stick their ticket and head on down to the lake anyway.

After a really cold swim in the lake, I take a nap. I awaken to the sight of five stark naked Kyrgyz boys bathing in the water. One of them takes this as the perfect opportunity to offer me a home-stay in his yurt. If he’d at least covered his package while he spoke, I would have thought about it.

I find a guy with a tourist horse and he offers me a great rate, 2 hours, 20 Yuan. Only catch is that he wants me to ride the horse to his village (it’s the end of the day and the horse needs rest). I don’t mind and take off into the mountains, with the poor boy left to chase us. After a few kilometres I stop and wait for the now exhausted boy to catch up. He asks if he can ride on the back of the horse, I tell him he can for 10 Yuan. He doesn’t get the joke.

With him on the back, we start heading back to his village. His friends catch up and they decide to make some more money.

Boy: To the village is two hours, 20 Yuan.

Me: Yes, two hours, 20 Yuan.

Boy: You will come back by motorbike.

Me: Great.

Boy: For 50 Yuan.

Me: Go f*ck yourself buddy, two hours I’m paying 20 Yuan, you can give me a lift back for free or we ride around here and you get off the horse.

Boy: Please motorbike for 20 Yuan.

Me (turning the horse around): Get off the horse, I’m getting my money’s worth.

Boy: No please, I stay on.

The horse at this point is exhausted and is barely moving, despite my `encouragement`.

Me: Your horse is dying, I’m getting off.

I get off the horse.

Boy: No look (hits the horse), see so much energy, let’s go two hours.

The horse will die if I ride it for two hours and he goes to take it home afterwards. I tell him no thanks and since it’s been under an hour, give him 10 Yuan for his pathetic business skills and out of pity.

He gives me a green rock and tells me I can have it as a present. I give him a sarcastic thanks since I can see where this is going. One minute later he points to my iPod and says present. I tell him he can have a smack upside the head instead, bid him farewell and hope the horse doesn’t die on the way home.

World’s worst businessman.

I spend the night in a concrete yurt (Kyrgyz tent) by the lake.

In the morning, I try and hitch a lift back. I offer 30 Yuan, the guy says 70. I tell him I paid 50 to get here. He tells me the local price is 50, but for me 70, I tell him to bugger off and start walking down the highway, the view is nice and the weather amazing. I’m picked up five minutes later by a jeep and meet some really cool people.

Greg is in Kashgar as part of the crew for a TV show that will have a group of British teens retracing the steps of Marco Polo by crossing the Taklamakan Desert, climbing a mountain and partaking in other fun activities. He’s a mountaineer and adventurer and shares some really cool stories.

Ali Tash is one of the translators/guides/geniuses that make things work and as I sit in the jeep he points out some landmarks, a former caravanserai (camp for the camel caravans that used to move along the Silk Road) and also handles a few fires that tend to arise from needing things done yesterday. He runs a tour company Uighur Tour, speaks fluent English, Chinese and Uighur (being Uighur himself) and is an incredibly likeable guy. If you’re looking to do a tour anywhere in Xinjiang (Kashgar, Urumqi, Taklamakan Desert, Muztag Ata etc), I’d recommend him as your first point of contact.

After arriving back at Kashgar, we catch up for dinner, Greg, Polly (also part of the team) and a woman who’s name escapes me (from CCTV and I hear is absolutely amazing getting past Chinese red tape). We chat about travels, mountain climbing and sailing. These guys are seriously adventurous, having climbed Everest and a half dozen other mountains between them. I plan on taking up climbing in Canada and now have the dream of one day buying a small sail boat and sailing the world.

Experiences like this make me recommend hitch hiking as a means of travel, even if it ends up costing the same as buses/trains.

Arriving at Kashgar, I find a hostel, ride a ferris wheel and see the town’s sights.

The ferris wheel makes some funny noises as I go around but doesn’t fall apart on me. The view of Kashgar is nice.

While in Kashgar, I also visit the mosque and bazaar and chat to a guy who’s also travelling, from Kashgar to Pakistan via the Karakorum highway and then on to Afghanistan. Ballsy.

Id-Kah mosque in Kashgar. I found out that there’s an entrance fee on my way out, I happened to come in through the side door. It’s not worth paying the entrance fee.

This place, to the right of the entrance to the mosque (as you’re facing it) has a western toilet. They like tuovists and offer the following advice:

A camel chilling at the livestock bazaar with as many tourists and tour groups as there are locals wheeling and dealing.

Guy with donkey watches two male donkeys get it on.

Boy is not accepting of his donkey’s sexuality and takes to him with a stick, repeatedly until is stopped by onlookers who respect the donkey and his choices.

Uyghur man test drives donkey.

Man is happy with the donkey’s handling and suspension and pays the owner one wad of cash for the donkey. Owner’s friend is good at looking dodgy while his friend counts.

With the angry boy out of the way, the gay donkey gives his lover and best friend a big hug. Awww!

The sheep, they just stand around. This breed is known as the J-Lo.

Qiemo doesn’t have much to offer, though I still end up spending a few days due to sickness. The Chinese guy sharing the room with me sees that I’m not well and goes out and buys some bread and watermelon for us to eat, refusing to accept any money. He also smokes, a lot. Two packs of cigarettes in one night, it takes the following two days to get the smell out of the room, not that I care in my state.

Mosque in Qiemo.

On my way out of Qiemo, I bump into some Polish tourists who tell me of how much they loved Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan and they give me a box of peaches, they were given several kilos when they hitched in from Kashgar.

How do you get rid of a box full of peaches before they go off? Catch a bus and share.

When we get off the bus in Keriya (deciding not to get off in Niya), one guy is so grateful that for the peaches that he asks to join me for lunch. I shout him and he in turn shouts me a shower (few places have showers in the town). He also finds a place to sleep for 5Yuan, less than 1AUD, the cheapest bed that I’ve paid for during my entire trip.

The following day I catch a bus to Hotan, get lost for a few hours and subsequently catch a bus to Karghilik. On the bus I meet a Uyghur English teacher who invites me to stay with him, some 30km further along the bus route. I agree and decide to not get off at Karghilik. This pisses off the driver’s assistant for some reason (I was willing to pay the extra money) and he causes such a fuss that I decide to get off at Karghilik. Thanks buddy. I reward myself with a shave at a barber’s, a most delightful and highly recommended experience.

From Karghilik, the plan is to take a series of back roads in to Tashkurgan to avoid looping around. The lift I organise agrees to do it if I pay for his bike’s petrol. I agree and for some reason he drives me to the police station. After inspecting my details and making a few phone calls, the officer in charge tells me I can’t travel along the back road and I have to double back to the main road and go via Kashgar. I don’t like the PSB.

Charklik/Ruoqiang, Cherchen/Qiemo every town in East Turkestan/Xinjiang has two names, the Uighur name and the Chinese name.

In the morning, we make the trip to Charklik, a trip that a lot of online resources/lonely planet say is not possible by bus and needs to be done by hire jeep.

The road is rough, they’re building the highway at frantic pace and we make slow progress.

For whatever reason, the sections of highway that are complete are blocked by mounds of dirt, our driver, frustrated with the time decides to drive over one of these mounds (as many drivers do), and we speed down the new highway for some distance until we reach a dead end, a mound of dirt our puny bus will not climb.

We have two options, double back and take the rough road around the dead end or, what we choose to do, get off the bus and using the detour sign as a makeshift shovel, remove this “minor” obstacle and continue on the highway.

Five hours later, we arrive in Charklik, the bus to Cherchen leaves the following day. Here a construction worker with a motor tricycle sees me looking for a hotel and drives me to one. They tell me they don’t take foreigners, as do several others. Shortly I see this same man again and try to explain to him that I’m not allowed. He doesn’t understand but takes me to another hotel, and waits for me. When I’m told no, I have him go in and talk to them. After some argument back and forth, he tells me to hop back on the bike and we head down to the only authorised tourist hotel, a very expensive looking place.

The hotel quotes a price more expensive than a week at the cheaper places, I tell them I want a share room, the girl quotes a cheaper price, I smile and tell her she’s cute and I’m a poor student, she makes it cheaper again. I tell her she’s an angel and that I need to eat also, she makes it cheaper again, 50 Yuan. I tell her forty because she’s a nice girl and she agrees. It’s expensive, but much better than the 180 she wanted. This place has all the luxuries, a toilet and a shower, with hot water. I could get used to this. I shower for the first time in a week and sleep on a real mattress.

In the morning I wait at the bus stop.

Yes that does look like a toilet in the middle of nowhere, yes it is the only thing I could see from the “bus stop” except for the desert and this car.

My two days worth of travelling save me 25 Yuan (5AUD) off the ticket and I take a sleeper thinking it’s going to be a long night.

Along the way from who knows where to Huatugou.

Within five hours we’re in Huatugou. Since it’s so early in the day, I try and find a bus to Charklik, which I’m told is at 5:00pm.

The “Charklik/Ruoqiang” bus is far cheaper than it should be, because in fact it isn’t the bus, but merely the bus to the bus. This one takes me half an hour along the way to another derelict town, where another bus is waiting, the Charklik bus.

In this town, sandstorms are common and everything is covered in a thin layer of sand. The town is so small they don’t even have a pool table.

The Charklik bus driver, a Uygur who strikes a stunning resemblance to my uncle, decides he’s not driving today, not enough people or time or whatever else, asks me to hop out and invites me to stay at his place.

One of his friends shows me the Dutar, a two string guitar variant and I rock out on it, until they’ve had enough of my tunes and decide it’s bed time.

In the morning, I regret stopping at the town where I’d spent the night.

The first lift I get takes me to another town, less of a dump, but undergoing major reconstruction.

The ruins of the old town being demolished as they modernise it and cram more people in.

The map I purchased the previous day at Golmud indicates I should take the 215 highway, to where it joins the 315 and when the two branch, I should follow the 315 to Huatugou. Easier said than done.

My lift drops me off at the junction and I start following the 315 highway. Only it’s not a highway, it’s barely even a road. There’s very little traffic here, the road is barely visible under the sand that covers it and the going is slow, but the markers indicate it is the 315 and so I follow it trying to get a lift.

The first lift takes me to a town several kilometres up the road but locating it in the middle of nowhere.

Waiting for a lift in the middle of nowhere.

One hour passes, no traffic, I read my book. Two hours pass, a military convoy passes, they don’t stop to offer a lift. Three hours pass, rain comes and goes, a small wind blows loads of sand covering myself and my bag. I discover the desert’s daytime mosquitoes – jumping/flying insects that look like mosquitoes, make no noise and leave nasty bites. Within half an hour I am itching from head to toe and can barely contain my joy when a truck, driving only slightly faster than walking pace pulls up and offers a lift.

After several hours drive, I’m dropped off at a junction of sorts, marked by a building and a sign and further up the road, a construction site.

I pick up a lift from the construction site and learn of some bad news. Yes, I am on the 315 highway, and yes it does go all the way to Huatugou, however, it’s the old road which explains why it’s in such disrepair and sees so little traffic, at this rate it will take me days to get to Huatugou. I’m driven another 15km, told I can’t spend the night and start walking along the road, in the middle of the worst sandstorm I’ve ever seen.

Spitting sand out as I walk, I eventually pick up a lift in another truck. The driver takes me to his office/living quarters (he’s also part of the construction project rebuilding the old road) and I eat a big dinner/lunch. Afterwards, wondering about where I’ll be sleeping for the night, he tells me to hop in the truck. After another few hours following the old 315 highway, he makes a turn (not indicated on my map) and we drive along another road covered in sand.

Several hours pass on this road, it gets dark and we are stuck in sand several times.

Eventually, at midnight, we arrive at the end of this unmarked road, to a proper highway, the new 315 where the bus to Huatugou will arrive at 8am.

If you’d told me three months ago that I’d be hitchhiking along a mostly unused road, faced with the prospect of spending the night in the desert eaten alive by mosquitoes, I’d have panicked. Now, it barely even registers as something to worry about.

Arriving at 1am in the morning, I go to look for a hotel where I can spend the night. This proves more difficult than it seems. The first place tells me they have shared rooms, for 288 Yuan and they have no water running at the time (clearly either a miscommunication or they think foreigners really are cash cows).

The second place I visit, the woman is asleep at the reception (as in the previous hotel) and wakes up a little cranky (you would too if someone woke you at 1am and didn’t speak your language). She tells me I can have a bed for 40. I tell her 30. She says it’s 40. I disagree and say it’s 30, I know she wants to go back to sleep while I can stay awake for another few hours. Frustrated she caves (though I still pay an exorbitant price for the hovel I stay in).

She takes my passport to copy down the details, however with no command of English, she writes my name as my birth place (Moscow) and copies the wrong information for the passport number, leaving me technically unregistered for yet another night.

The following day is spent walking around Golmud (an incredibly boring city) and eventually I leave. Having missed the bus, I make my way to the town’s outskirts and start hitchhiking a lift.

Against my better judgement, I listen to some random idiot who says that the road I’m hitch-hiking on doesn’t lead to Huatugou, although my map clearly indicates that it does.

The skies gray, the rain falls and hell unleashes its fury in the form of gale force winds blowing sand and dust at me as I wait for a lift.

My day’s hitchhiking gets me less than 50km from the city to a real dump of a town.

The town where I spend the night.

I ask around for a hotel and am pointed in the direction of one. When I arrive, they tell me a room is 80 Yuan. I tell them there’s no way I’m paying this to stay here. They tell me Golmud prices are 100 Yuan. I tell them I paid 30 Yuan, they say something that I interpret to mean I’m a liar. Finally, it clicks with me, I’m sitting negotiating with the hotel owner, two girls are standing, smiling and waiting. They’re both wearing high heels, hot pants and makeup. I have some sort of sixth sense for stumbling upon these places.

Eventually the owner understands that when I say hotel and make the motion for sleep, I’m looking for somewhere to sleep, not someone to sleep with. He tells me he knows a place and drives me to the nearby cheap motel where he tries to get money from me upfront. No dice, I deal directly with the owner, get a reasonable price and in the process manage to piss him off as he expected money for the lift.

While eating dinner, the tea I drink tastes funny, then I realise it’s the water that tastes funny. I stop drinking but I know it’s too late, tomorrow I will regret stopping at this town.

So you don't want to join a tour group. Perhaps you don't have the money for the tour (they can reach several thousand Yuan) or maybe you don't like to travel in groups (right now, it's mandatory to have a tour guide, vehicle and driver for any trip outside of Lhasa) or maybe you just like to live on the edge and want to try your luck at travelling to Tibet without a permit. Here's some points to consider based on my experiences in Tibet from the 4th of June, 2009 coming in from Dege in Sichuan, until leaving on the 16th of June, via train from Lhasa to Golmud.

If you decide to attempt any such journey, please let me know either via the comments or privately via email ivan at adventureivan.com

1. Know what permits you need

Rather than rehash other websites information about permits, I'll point you to the source I used while researching. In short, you need a Tibet Travel Permit for Lhasa (and surrounding areas), Alien Traveller's Permit if you plan on going outside the Lhasa area and a Military Permit for areas close to the border, e.g. Mt. Kailash.

http://kekexili.typepad.com/life_on_the_tibetan_plate/2007/02/travel_in_tibet.html

2. Decide on your entry point

My initial (failed attempt) was hitch hiking from Deqin. We were sitting in the back of a 4WD when we hit the checkpoint and were sent back. More details about trying to get from Deqin to Lhasa, from Yunnan Province to Tibet (Xi Zang).

To locate this checkpoint, follow the dirt road from Deqin towards Tibet, once you hit the smooth paved highway, you're very close. The checkpoint is towards the top of the climb at the start of the town. To get around it, I would wait near the bottom, at the start of this highway until dark, then cross at night, it's possible to hike over the mountain and around it, or to bribe someone to hide you in the back of a truck/jeep/van.

My second (successful) attempt at getting into Tibet without a permit was from the town of Dege in Sichuan Province.

3. Know where the checkpoints are

Along the route I took there was a checkpoint at the Sichuan/Tibet border, which I avoided by following the river north (skipping an unmarked/patrolled bridge) and taking a row boat across at a monastery.

There were checkpoints at just about every town along the way:

•  Jonda (before the town coming from Dege, unmanned)
• Chamdo (several, almost caught at the one before the town, coming from Jonda)
• Jitang (before and after, both unmanned when I was passing through)
• Bangda (after town on the Sichuan highway towards Tibet, unmanned, not sure about before the town along the Sichuan highway as I came in via the northern highway #214)
• Baxo (after town, unmanned)
• Raog (after town, unmanned)
• Tangmai (before town, manned by several police who pointed at the minivan to stop, saw me out of disguise, leaned in the window, pointed at me and after a few minutes, decided to let the van pass without asking for papers)
• Baiyi (before and after town, before was manned but let us pass, after was only to check the driver's license)
• Lhasa (before town, checkpoint only to check seatbelts and licenses)

Between Lhasa and Nepal there are several more checkpoints (including three on the road to Everest Base Camp). There is a PSB checkpoint in Lhaze (passed once before it was in operation and walked around it during the day when it was manned), a military checkpoint just outside Old Tingri, three PSB checkpoints along the road you take to get to base camp and one more PSB checkpoint just near the border with Nepal.

Checkpoints between Lhasa and Nepal including the three to Everest Base Camp are marked on a map for your convenience.

4. Have a disguise prepared

You can't risk being seen as a foreigner in a town where you need a tour guide to be there legally, especially in the towns near the border.

Although I look like a terrorist in this photo, it's a disguise that actually worked for me, many motorbike riders in Tibet wore the same balaclava and riding/driving gloves (available in most towns, purchased in Dege).

The disguise had an early test when I arrived in Jonda and was almost hit by a police van while crossing the street to my hotel.

5. Have a cover story

If you are caught, make up a good story. If you're caught coming in, say you didn't know that you needed a permit for Tibet. It's worked for myself and several other travellers I've come across along the way.

If you're caught beyond the borders/Lhasa, try saying that you booked with a tour guide who wanted more money or wouldn't take you to where you'd agreed. You came in from Chengdu by train where you organised the tour. Don't mention any company names, you forgot which one it was.

6. If at first you don't succeed, try try again

My initial attempt from Deqin (Yunnan) was thwarted, but I was successful the second time from Dege (Sichuan).

If you're caught, I wouldn't risk the same entry point again, but wouldn't rule out Tibet altogether. Although they did take a photocopy of our passports coming from Deqin, I don't think they recorded the information anywhere, I caught (literally) the photocopy that they'd made when they were throwing it away.

7. Will you get a fake permit?

If you want, you can create a fake permit, either to thwart police or as part of your back story for the unfortunate situation should you be caught.

I unsuccessfully took this approach in the town of Dege. It's also possible to create your own templates on the computer using a sample permit and sample group list.

8. Accommodation

Accommodation can range in difficulty to find, Shigatse was the worst I found as every place wanted registration forms filled out, something you can't do if you're in the place without a permit. Lie your way through the forms, promise to do them in the morning, or stay in places that don't use them.

9. Know what you're risking

I've heard varying stories of the penalties for being caught. 500 Yuan fine (from several travellers and online reports), a beating (mentioned in the lonely planet), prison time (mentioned by one tour guide I met along the way), being permanently blacklisted from China (mentioned by another tour guide I met).

If you are caught, I would like to hear from you.

10. Supplies

Pick up some Tibetan maps at a bookstore in one of the big cities if you get the chance (Xi Zang Di Tu), otherwise you can browse through some of the uploaded files and put one or more of the maps onto your camera. Take a blank photo, connect the camera to a computer, open the picture in MSPaint and copy and paste one of the maps over the photo. Save the image and it should be viewable on your camera.

Food is generally not a problem, you're never far from civilisation (unless you're travelling out in the west), but you should still have some basics a couple of litres of water, iodine tablets, some dried food and some fruit for the journey.

11. Getting out

Getting out can be easy or hard depending on your chosen route. If you want to go via train, it's incredibly easy, you can go to the train station and purchase a ticket, they don't check your permits.

If you want to go out by road, it's the same as coming in, be careful around checkpoints, cross them at night/dawn if you have to and things should be ok.

I wake up far earlier than I'd wanted to and take a combination of buses to the train station to buy a ticket to Golmud.

Lhasa Train Station.

I'm told off by the military for taking a shortcut through the car park and instead have to go around it, past the two police checking ID (they wave me through) to get inside.

I find a line to queue up in (not the best service line, or the communist party members line) and after half an hour's wait, I'm second in line. At this point, the woman at the counter decides she's had enough working for the morning and closes the counter, hooray for Chinese customer service.

I eventually buy a sleeper ticket for the fifteen hour trip and figure it'll be a great chance to catch up on lost sleep.

The view from the window.

Instead of sleeping, I spend the trip gazing out the window and writing up my Tibetan travels.

I arrive in Golmud safely and have successfully spent twelve days in Tibet, illegally and without a permit and made it out without being fined, arrested or blacklisted from the country. On a return trip to Tibet, I'll make sure to make the trip from Lhasa to Kashgar via Ali and Mt. Kailash.

While in Shigatse, I try and find a tour group that I can join to get past the checkpoints to Everest Base Camp. I’m unsuccessful the first night and contemplate staying another day to wait for a group.

I eventually decide against it since all the tour involves is driving to the base camp (which is expensive), spending the night there, then moving on.

Instead I opt for the cheap option which only involves one checkpoint. Heading to Lhaze, from Lhaze past the checkpoint, up a mountain where there’s a lookout spot.

I’ve been in Tibet solo the entire time and consider it cheating to join a group so I leave for Lhaze the following day.

Walking out of town, I’m joined by a monk (Gunga) who tells me that his master lama is going to India to see the Dalai Lama. I’m very happy for him and turns out we’re hitching together.

He tells me to sit down, we’re at a petrol station on the outskirts of town leading towards Lhaze, and that he’ll take care of it. He’s not as keen at stopping cars as I am and avoids all of the ones filled with Han Chinese and all trucks and is happy to talk to pass time.

I decide to help him out, get up and flag down the first vehicle that passes, a truck, much to Gunga’s dismay. He’s saying no, no while I’m saying Lhaze to the driver. Eventually Gunga talks to the man in Tibetan, smiles and says ok. We both hop in and he’s driven to his monastery while I’m driven to Lhaze.

Some of the colours between Shigatse and Lhaze.

The driver drops me off at a truck motel in Lhaze. I ask them about staying there, they turn me away, pointing to the tourist hotel.

I walk into the tourist hotel and am quoted 30 Yuan for a bed, not having any other options in town, or any negotiating leeway, I accept telling them I have no permit. I ask the owner how far until the police checkpoint, she says it’s two minutes. While eating dinner at their restaurant, they hand me the PSB registration form. I calmly tell them I’ll take care of it upstairs.

Before falling asleep, I run a reconnaissance mission to spot the PSB checkpoint but am unable to find it. I throw away the registration form and fall asleep knowing I need to be awake early in the morning to get past the PSB.

After the final checkpoint of my trip in Tibet, I start flagging down lifts from just outside the truck weigh station and end up getting one to Lhasa for 60 Yuan, they eventually believe my sob story about being a poor student.

The trip is mostly uneventful, I do however manage to get a photo at the 5000km marker of the 318 highway.

There are a total of four jeeps travelling in the convoy, all had tour groups that have gone on to Nepal (which is only several hundred km from where I turned back). The guys must be great friends because they stop to chat every fifteen-twenty minutes.

Somewhere just outside of Shigatse, before Lhasa.

I decide against stopping in Shigatse again, in hopes of making it to Nam Tso the following day.

I'm dropped off outside my hotel just before midnight and find out from other travellers that Nam Tso (Nam Lake) is 200km from Lhasa and has an 80 Yuan entrance fee. Not interested in spending so long on the road to see the lake and keen to get out of Tibet, I decide to catch a train to Golmud (Geermu) the following day.

I leave the hotel before sunrise to ensure I cross the police checkpoint in complete darkness. After an hour's walking, I still haven't reached it and I'm nervous as the sun is coming up, this is the last checkpoint I plan on facing and would really hate getting caught now.

I see a convoy of trucks driving and I eagerly follow their movements, if they stop, that's the location of the checkpoint (on the odd chance that it's already in operation).

Trucks stopped at checkpoint.

I quickly run off the road and crouch as I make my way around the checkpoint. One kilometre from what I thought was the checkpoint, I come across the real checkpoint, which is not yet in operation, so I simply walk through it. On the way back I find that the checkpoint I'd walked around was a truck weigh station.

Those of you without permits in Tibet who are going to see Mt. Everest from Larze, the checkpoint is between markers 5067 and 5068 on highway 318. To find it, follow the road out of Larze until it rejoins with the 318 highway, follow it through the truck weigh station, when you see several buildings together, you've found the checkpoint. To walk around it during the day, when you reach the truck weigh station, there'll be some Tibetan houses on the right, walk around the back of them and step over the barbed wire fences, keep walking so you arrive behind the buildings nearest the road, one of these is the police station with the checkpoint.

After walking through the checkpoint, I followed the road to Tingri and Nepal, the other highway leads to Ali, Mt Kailash and Kashgar. After a breakfast of dried noodles I pickup up a truck to take me to the top of the mountain (Gyallso La).

At the top of the mountain a sign indicating you've reached Tingri County and the Qomolangma National Park, from where this photo was taken.

Several kilometres from the peak, we descend past a sign indicating Everest Base Camp, in actuality a good spot to see Mt. Everest. I take a photo from here and continue to Lower Tingri as the directions I have mistakenly indicate another spot from which you can take a good photo (without having to leave Old Tingri and go through the military checkpoint).

I have lunch in the town and approach some Tibetans asking about Ngadum village, the place I was told had a great view of Qomolangma. One Tibetan tells me he knows of the place and that he can take me there. I ask him for directions and tell him I'll walk. He says that it's many hours walking through the mountains to get there but he can go quickly by motorbike. He offers to take me for 100 Yuan. Thinking I can get to a great spot in a village in the mountains, I agree on 50 Yuan for the trip.

I hop on the back of the bike, only to be taken back to the place where I'd just taken the photo. I tell him this isn't what we'd agreed on, show him the photo I'd taken earlier and ask him to take me up the mountain that he'd talked about. Turns out, this is it.

This guy took me five km and wanted 50 Yuan for it. I tell him to that I've already been here and that I'm not paying him for taking me back here. He's irate and starts talking in a mix of Tibetan and English. Having spent three months in Asia, the thought of raising my voice doesn't occur to me and I calmly speak with him in very basic English "You say many hour walking in mountain. Where is mountain? This is road, I take bus here 5 Yuan, I ride in jeep (point to passing jeep), no money. You lie to me. I not pay for this." Somewhere during that conversation I adopt a mix of a South African and Jamaican accent unintentionally and almost burst out laughing. The man is pissed off, and we go back and forth for half an hour.

During this ordeal, several jeeps of Chinese tourists pull up and take photos.

I take this opportunity to ask one of them to take a photo of me with Everest in the background.

One of the jeeps that pulls up is a tour guide with several rich tourists. One of the tourists uses the Tibetan's motorcycle as a tripod for taking photos, walks back to the jeep and pulls out an envelope. The man returns and hands every Tibetan standing around a crisp 1 Yuan note, including the guy who's arguing with me, at this point I burst out laughing and try to snap a photo of him with the 1 Yuan note but I miss the moment.

At this point, I've had enough of the situation and start walking away only to have him block the path and demand 50 Yuan. I ignore him and stay at that spot trying to flag down a lift. The first jeep that stops has Tibetans in it. The man I'm arguing with says something to them and they tell me a ridiculous price for a lift to the checkpoint. Getting away from the Tibetan will be more difficult than I thought.

The next vehicle to stop is a van. The Tibetan passenger inside asks me, in perfect English, if I have a permit. Can you guess what his job is? I tell him know and he says they'll take me to the checkpoint for 20 Yuan, cheap enough to get rid of the angry Tibetan. I'm sitting with my bag in the van while the Tibetan is swearing at me and grabs at my bag, saying no money no go. I have two options here, the first is to kick his ass (the one I'd prefer), pay him some money to piss off (the one I choose). I give him 10 Yuan to go away, which he graciously accepts, only to spit on me as I'm closing the door. I'm halfway out of my seat and out the door before a wave of calm comes over me and I decide to take this one on the chin and leave.

On the way down the mountain, one of the brakes on the van overheat and we wait an hour while the driver replaces the worn pad. I get out outside the checkpoint and walk around it as described earlier.

For those interested in going from Larze to Everest Base Camp without a permit, there are five checkpoints. The first one is just out of Larze. The second is a military checkpoint just out of Old Tingri and they're supposedly incredibly thorough about checking passports, permits and the originals at the TTB. There are three additional PSB checkpoints along the road from Tingri to Everest Base Camp. If you do make it, do let me know and send photos if you have any.

Remember the following street name:

If you don’t have a permit to be in Tibet, and you decide to go Shigatse, this is the only street where you’ll find accommodation where you don’t have to fill out the PSB registration form. Don’t take my advice and the following could happen to you.

I come into Shigatse and find a hotel where I’m offered a shared room for 40 Yuan. Too pricey for me, I leave and go looking for another hotel. For the next hour I walk the streets of Shigatse looking for a hotel. One place I arrive at wants 25 Yuan and as I go to pay, they give me a PSB form to fill out. One of the men is wearing a police jacket, though I doubt he is police and next door is a police station which does worry me. I fill out fake information and hand over 20 Yuan, telling them that’s all I pay. They refuse the price and I quickly grab my bag and leave the hotel.

Several more hotels are either too expensive or ask for the PSB form. One place that I visit, happens to be in a certain guidebook. I tell the other girl in the room I’ll be sharing of my situation so she can translate for the owner. The owner says I cannot stay and must go to the police and turn myself in, or he will call them himself. She tells him I’ll go and tells me to get out of there this minute. I walk outside and he follows me, I ask him which way it is and he points. I start walking hoping he won’t follow, he turns back to the hotel and after he’s out of sight, I turn and go in the opposite direction at a brisk pace.

I return to the hotel that wanted 40 Yuan only to be told they want the form also, otherwise I can’t stay.

Several more hotels turn me away, one of the guys tells me to camp outside the city. Thanks.

My prayer’s are answered three hours into the hunt for a hotel. As I’m walking down one of the many streets of Shigatse a woman having somehow sensed my need peeks her head out of the door and says the magic word Binguan (hotel). This saviour must operate some sort of underground hotel aimed at foreigners without permits. I tell her yes and go inside, thinking the prices shouldn’t be too bad.

Inside the hotel is a kitchen and a couch and single bed in a small room, seems like more of an apartment than a hotel. She invites me to check out the bed which is good since many places have terrible mattresses. She sits on the bed and gestures for me to do likewise. I’d had my suspicions and she’s just confirmed them. She pulls out a condom and makes a move for my dick. I avert her cobra strike with cat like agility which confuses her. She pulls out a piece of paper and writes 300. I make the gesture for sleep (head resting on pillow). She writes 200. I get up to leave, she writes 100. I say no, she writes 50. I get my bag, she writes 20.

Having walked around for three hours trying to find a bed, I’m happy to sleep in the bed of a prostitute for 20 Yuan as long as she doesn’t try any funny business. I tell her ok, take my bag and put it in the room. She follows me into the room. I wish I spoke enough Chinese to tell her I just wanted to pay for the bed and not her services. I grab her by the hand and drag her out of the room. She thinks I’m dragging her to the couch so she goes and sits on it. I step back inside the room and barricade the door. For a couple of minutes there is silence, then there’s a banging on the door.

The prostitute is saying something in Chinese, I’m saying 20 Yuan. She doesn’t make the connection and keeps banging on the door. I decide the situation is hopeless, grab my bag and open the door to walk out. She says no money and once again makes a grab for my man power. I push her onto the bed, close the door and run out of there.

As I continue my search for hotels up the street, I realise every house on my side of the street is a bordello and decide against trying to negotiate a deal for a bed for the night. I eventually find an abandoned building that’s being torn down, find a way in by climbing into the window and decide that this is my fallback option. There is broken glass on the floor and it’s a concrete base which will make for an incredibly uncomfortable sleep.

Given that there is still an hour’s daylight left, I keep walking. I come across a truck stop motel and ask for a bed. The guy asks me to accompany him to the police ( at least I think that’s what he says). I decide against it and keep walking.

The next truck stop motel has no problems taking me, mentions the permit, smiles and shows me the room. Cheap, filthy and no questions. Perfect.

The view near my motel.

I celebrate finally finding some accommodation with a feast of yak steak. It’s good, but small.

Shigatse’s answer to Lhasa’s Potala Palace.

Gyantse’s two main sights are the fortress and the monastery. There’s a great view of the city if you try and sneak in by climbing up to the prayer flags, though it doesn’t get you into the fortress.

Gyantse’s fortress. I climb the steps and take some photos just outside where you buy tickets and am greeted by this sign.

I’ve been taking devious routes ever since I decided to enter Tibet but am caught by ticket sellers looking for a devious way in. These guys should be in charge of ensuring foreigners can’t get in without permits.

On the way from the fortress to the monastery, I meet a Tibetan woman who’s caring for a baby who’s parents were both killed. She has a son. Her son has a toy. His toy is a syringe. The son is a curious fellow and rips my shirt trying to get a better look at my hairy chest. He calls me yak. I like him, and his boogers. I give him a piggyback to the monastery where I hope to use him as a free pass in. It doesn’t work.

The monastery/stupa looks pretty cool and gives good views of the surrounding city.

Don’t mess with the Stupa.

The fortress, from the top of the stupa.

I have lunch at a place that happens to be in the guidebook. The food is ok but the prices are higher than the altitude.

After lunch I try to hitch a lift to Shigatse and agree on a price of 10 Yuan. For this price I share the front seat with another Tibetan and in the five seat car there are nine passengers and half a yak carcass.

The car stops in a town halfway to Shigatse and another driver gets my bag out of the trunk before I reach it and puts it in his minivan. I tell him I agreed on 10 Yuan to Shigatse from Gyantse, he says ok and gives the driver of the first car 10 Yuan, I can see the problems that this will cause.

When we arrive in Shigatse, sure enough, the man wants 20 Yuan, I tell him I agreed on 10 Yuan for the trip and that I hadn’t asked him to pay the other driver. This upsets the man but he accepts the price, I give him 15 out of pity.

I start walking out of the city, heading to Yumdrok Lake which I’ve heard is incredibly beautiful. After hours walking through the city and its outskirts, I finally reach the highway towards Yumdrok Lake and catch a bus most of the way. The only thing between me and the lake is a 1200m climb up a mountain.

I sit and wait trying to hitch a lift, which isn’t too hard given that it’s a very popular destination with Chinese and foreign tourists. Foreign tourists have paid a lot of money for their tours so they won’t be picking up hitchhikers without permits in the near future.

Yumdrok Yum Tso (Yumdrok Lake) is one of the most beautiful places in Tibet and apparently has an entrance fee of 40 Yuan, although we don’t go down to the water’s edge, our driver is feeling unwell and is probably suffering from altitude sickness.

The route from the lake to Gyantse has many snow-capped mountains, unfortunately, they don’t want to stop to admire their beauty.

When I arrive in Gyantse, I stay in a place that doesn’t mention anything about the registration forms, they know that as a solo traveller I’m here illegally. I meet a man who knows much about Tibet. He tells me that the penalty for being caught without a Tibet Travel Permit is being blacklisted from China and unable to ever get a visa for the country again. That seems a little heavy handed. I get rid of my fake permit since I imagine there might be a prison sentence involved if I’m caught with it.

Lhasa (or Lasa as many signs in China indicate) is laid back as far as cities go. Its Han influence is so strong that their is a distinct Tibetan district where most Tibetans live and operate shops. There are many soldiers standing guard around the city, as few as two, as many seven, all heavily armed and yet relaxed.

The most prevalent sight in Lhasa, Chinese soldiers keeping the streets “safe”.

Potala Palace, Lhasa’s most famous landmark and former location of Tibet’s government is beautiful. When I arrive, I perform a Kora around the palace as a thankyou for a safe journey.

Lhasa’s other big sight is the Jokhang temple, around which pilgrims walk around at all times of day. I’ve performed numerous laps around here, once with a monk from Dege as we searched for Iodine tablets for purifying water.

I spend one full day sleeping and sharing tales with many of the English speaking Chinese I meet. I find the Muslim district within the Tibetan district and head inside the mosque to look around, only to be kicked out by a caretaker.

I leave towards Everest within two days, the presence of so many soldiers and tourists doesn’t make the place all that exciting. I manage to visit three Dico’s stores for junk food in my short time there.

I also make a fake permit for myself using a copy I make of another tourist’s. Additionally, I receive a copy of another permit via email.

Having woken up at four in the morning to make my getaway, I start walking out of Baiyi towards Lhasa. Along the way, I pass a row of several bordellos, each with a couch, a closed room and a girl sitting inside looking bored. As I walk past, they each walk out and in turn say I love you and motion for me to come in. Mama raised me better than that so I wave and continue the walk.

After a couple of hours walk, past more savage dogs, I’m well outside the town and sit on the side of the road eating a peanut breakfast while I wait for a lift. The first non-taxi I see stops for me and after some negotiation on price, agrees to take me to Lhasa.

Ten minutes into the drive, there’s a police checkpoint and it’s manned. I panic a little, but before I can begin to worry, the driver has shown his license to the officer and we’re allowed to pass.

The scenery along the way is amazing.

I’m at a loss for words trying to describe the beauty that is Tibet.

One more police checkpoint and over a bridge with soldiers stationed at both ends and I’m finally within Lhasa. I know it’s safe to be in Lhasa without disguise since tourists can walk around without guides here. After days of eating Tsomba, biscuits and nuts, all I want is a big fat greasy burger.

I walk around for a while unsuccessful and am about to give up when an English speaking Tibetan approaches me. I tell him I’m looking for a McDonald’s, only to find there isn’t one. There is however a Dico’s and the guy escorts me to a bus stop, tells the girl to let me off at the right stop and bids me farewell.

Mmm, the sweet taste of success.

I meet some expats living in Lhasa and they tell me I’m the first white person they’d heard of coming in without a permit this year, though I highly doubt I am. I ask them for the locations of guesthouses, hostels or motels that don’t require PSB registration forms. They tell me of all the places they know, however they don’t know of any that don’t require registration.

The first guesthouse I go to, I tell them that I have a small problem, when I explain it to them, they tell me it’s a big problem and send me away. The second place is amazed to hear of my experience and tells me I can stay for one night then I will have to go. I have a shower and a shave and fall asleep exhausted.

Mission Milestone: Cross into Tibet and Infiltrate Lhasa – Accomplished.

When I hop off the minibus in Baiyi (300+ kilometres from Lhasa), a bus pulls up and the driver asks me if I want to go to Lhasa. Local buses in Tibet outside of those within cities are not licensed to carry foreigners so I’m unable to travel by them, minivans are exempt from this rule. Additionally, I’m unable to show a permit and will be refused a ticket even if the bus is licensed.

However, none of this applies if I’m dealing directly with a driver, so with that in mind, I hop onto the bus, excited about being in Lhasa by nightfall. Big mistake.

The bus drives from the carpark where I was picked up to the terminal and the driver climbs out and speaks with the police. Meanwhile, I’m trying to hide my face so they don’t notice me. It doesn’t help, the driver climbs back onto the bus and tells me to get out.

Realising I’m screwed, I rehearse the story I’d been thinking of, my tour group is in Lhasa and I’d paid to go to Nyingchi (next to Baiyi) only to find out my driver wouldn’t take me so I went anyway and am returning back to Lhasa. I get off the bus, confirm with the driver that I’m not allowed to take the bus, realise that the police have yet to make a move and decide to make a hasty departure. I walk out of the bus stop, past the minivan driver from Bome and decide to look for a truck-stop hotel away from the bus stop in case the police come looking.

I take a bed in a room on the first floor of the hotel and start reading my guidebook to see what I should do in Lhasa (still optimistic about arriving there). I fail to realise that my room is missing a curtain and that people walking past can peer in to the room.

I realise after some time that every few minutes one of the staff at the motel are peeking in through the window at me. I ignore it and have a snack while waiting for night to set in so I can go out and get some dinner.

There’s a knock on my door at 8pm. I open the door to find two of the women that work at the motel along with a woman who I’d seen at the bus stop as I was making my hasty getaway.

The woman from the bus station says a few words and points at the direction of the bus station. I don’t understand a word she says so I ask if there is a problem, she says there is and indicates that I should stay in my room. The woman walks away and I’m about to close the door when one of the two women from the motel start talking. I don’t understand the words she’s saying but she mimes a salute and writing something on a piece of a paper saying something like “ching ting”. My interpretation is that the police have enquired about whether I have a permit and are coming to inspect it. I ask her if there’s a problem, she looks at the other one and says no problem, I can tell there is a problem.

After the women leave I pack my bag and hide it under my bed, which I clean to make it look as though no one has occupied the room. I sneak downstairs to make sure the coast is clear before I make a run for it with my bag. I look out to the left and see three police men standing there, talking with one of the women from the hotel.

Knowing I don’t have time to grab the bag, I walk out (in disguise) and turn to the right so they don’t notice me. I figure the best option I have is to hope that they see that I’m gone by not coming back for several hours. I go out and eat dinner, grab a drink and walk around the back streets for some time while it gets dark.

It’s incredibly cold and windy outside and it starts to rain, I realise it’s not a good idea to spend the night outside, I can’t find another cheap hotel nearby (the expensive ones require you to fill out the PSB registration form) so I return to the hotel at night. The police are gone and I can’t see the staff. I sneak back into my room and lie in my bed hoping they didn’t notice.

Every couple of minutes I see a silhouette of a person peeking in through the window, it’s dark so I rely on the hope that I can’t be seen from the window. After four or five peeks, there’s a knock on my door.

I open the door to find one of the women that works at the motel. She comes in turns on the light and the TV and motions for me to sit on the bed and wait. I make the motion for sleep in hopes of getting rid of her and buying some time. She obliges to my request and leaves, I peek out of the window in the corridor and see several policemen outside. I’m screwed.

I open the window at the far end of the corridor and step one foot on the gutter which buckles under the weight. The exit out the window is out of the question. I make a dash to the second floor to find another empty unlocked room to hide in but am unsuccessful. On the third floor I see the other woman from the hotel and quickly head back down before she sees me.

I barricade myself in my room, turn off the TV and light and lie in bed contemplating my options. I have none but to play stupid and hope the police buy it like they did when I was caught in Deqin.

Another knock at my door, I pause thinking they might think I’m asleep and leave. Ha! They knock louder and with increasing frequency, I see a male face peer into the window and point at me and the door. I reluctantly get up and open the door, ready to rehearse the story I’ve practiced. The male (not in police uniform) looks at me, at the window, back at me and holds gaze for a long time. I don’t flinch, I’m too tired to play his bullshit mind games so I keep a blank expression the whole time.

Eventually the man leaves and walks downstairs. I turn off the light and grab my bag.  As I’m sneaking downstairs, I hear two sets of footsteps coming up and catch a glimpse of the man. If I’m caught with my bag, they’ll know I was trying to make a break for it so I get back in my room, close and lock the door, throw the bag where it was and leap into bed just as there is a knock on the door.

I get out of bed, open the door to find the man standing there again, along with one of the women from the motel. He indicates that he’s coming inside. I step back to let him in, he turns on the light, looks at the window and leaves. The woman stays in the room and waits. The man comes back one minute later with a new curtain, deciding that this is the best possible time to repair the curtain in my room. Ignoring my gestures that I’m trying to sleep, the pair have a loud conversation as he fixes the curtain with no haste.

As soon as they’re finished, I kick them out of the room, the look on the woman’s face is of sheer disgust. How dare I have the nerve to kick them out while they fix the curtain in my room. I barricade the door to ensure that it will take a lot of effort and noise to get into the room and proceed to get four hours of sleep. I have a feeling the police are making a stop in the morning and I don’t want to be around if this is the case.

I wake up at four in the morning and with my bag in hand unlock the front door and make a getaway without the staff noticing.

I step out onto the balcony in the morning to find that the hotel is next door to a military barracks. Mayo Wenti (no problem). I head out to the countryside behind my hotel and take some photos.

The lake is incredibly beautiful and I take a note that this area also requires further exploration.

The parking lot was full of 4wd’s in the morning and as I’m eating breakfast I think about how nice it would be to traverse Tibet at my own pace, without fear of police in a 4wd.

I pack my bag, step back to reality and put on my disguise to continue the trip, aiming for the town of Baiyi, which is one day’s drive from Lhasa.

The Infamous Tibet Disguise.

I cross the unmanned police checkpoint a third time, this time on foot and flag down a lift five minutes later. A 4wd, one of a convoy five pulls over and gives me a lift to Bome.

Along the way, we take photos like lazy Chinese tourists; if you can see it from the car, you’re permitted to open your window and take photos from there. If the sight is especially amazing, you are allowed to open your door and take a photo from there, however at least one foot must be inside the car at all times. Photo stops will last no more than 30 seconds and you’re required to take at least three almost identical photos every time you stop.

The view from the road between Raog and Baiyi is my favourite within all of Tibet as you start out following the lake in Raog, until it turns into a river. The road leaves and rejoins the river at various points until you reach a forest. Snow-capped mountains complete the picture which makes for one amazing drive.

In Bome we stop for lunch in the restaurant of the most expensive restaurant of the most expensive hotel in town. Food is ordered and we begin to eat as the other cars arrive. In true Chinese fashion, they order far more food than is necessary and the members of my car have finished eating and left the table while the final few dishes are being brought out.

One of the members of my car turns to me during lunch and says “Please excuse me, but from here you will go by bus. So sorry.” Free lift and lunch, apology accepted. The man asks a guy on a motorbike near the car which way the bus stop is and he agrees to drive me there. I hop on, knowing full well I won’t be allowed on the bus so I’ll just walk from the bus stop. Just as we’re about to pull into the bus station, a minibus driver shouts out Baiyi, my destination for the day and I hop in.

Baiyi has to be the most Chinese city in Tibet and I’d hazard a guess that it’s 80%+ Han Chinese.