Results tagged “Tibet”

In the morning, our hitchhiking attempt proves fruitful and we are picked up by a bus heading to the nearby monastery to take the monks to Shangri-La.

The bus stops en-route at a Tibetan shrine and the bus driver and monk hop out to start a fire while we watch.

We enter Gaden Dhondup Ling Monastery and are greeted by one hundred monks chanting and praying, those not in chant are curious to say hello and smile at us.

After we leave the monastery, the fifth car that passes offers us a lift all the way to Deqin, and we are incredibly grateful for it. Along the way, we pass some amazing scenery (while rising from an altitude of 2000m to 4300m) .

We take a photo at the top, 4292m. There are a lot of discarded oxygen canisters here, not everyone can handle the altitude as well.

When we arrive to Deqin, we ask the pair (whose names we don’t know, so we’ll use Jake for the taller one and Baz for the shorter one, the driver) if we can hitch a ride all the way to Lhasa, since it’s a four day journey and the car is incredibly comfortable.

They are more than happy to take us there, so we decide to give Deqin a miss, since we may not have such luck next time.

We stock up on supplies in Deqin and begin the journey to Tibet, admiring the breathtaking scenery along the way.

The road is unsurfaced and full of potholes. The Pajero has no problems with the road and within three hours, with our excitement building by the minute, we hit the highway. As we cross into Tibet, we reach a police checkpoint where the officers ask us for our passports and Tibet permits. Unfortunately, we have no such permits and are unable to buy one from the police.

Police escort us to the local school where we sit in the headmaster’s office (he’s the only one that can speak English with us). The headmaster informs us that we will have to travel back to Shangri-La to obtain the permits and pay for a tour guide and hire a jeep, a prohibitively expensive option. He then informs us that we will be escorted back to Deqin, free of charge and that we cannot stay in a hotel just out of the border. Jake and Baz are incredibly apologetic that we cannot continue with them to Lhasa and Baz gives us some cigarettes to ease the situation. Since we haven’t eaten in more than eight hours, we ask for some food and are cooked a dinner prior to our departure.

We make the drive back in total darkness and are very nervous as the road is in such terrible condition. Along the way, we chain smoke half a pack each, contemplating our options. We had expected to be able to spend some time within Tibet, however are happy to be able to spend time in Deqin.

On the plus side, the police and headmaster were incredibly friendly and apologetic throughout the ordeal and at no point made us feel uncomfortable or threatened.