tibetexperiences

The Landscape : Woooooooooah. Amazing. Barren, dusty plateau, at least 4,000 metres above sea level (cue the altitude sickness), and with fantastic panoramic views of the Himalayas. The sky is very blue due to the altitude, the stars at night are unbelievable, and the turquoise of the occasional huge lake is awesome. The Tibetan plateau is vast, the mountain paths are fun (ah-hem), and we drove for hours sometimes without seeing any sign of life. Nomands with herds of yaks are seen roaming the plains, as well as the odd village fiilled with scruffpots.

The Wildlife : Mountain goats, yaks, horses and BIG scary dogs.

The Chinese :

There are now more Chinese in Tibet than Tibetans.

Prior to the Cultural Revolution, Tibet was home to over 10,000 monastries. Less than 1% remain.

Pictures of the Dalai Lama (head of the Tibetan Government) are banned. Pictures of the now dead Panchen Lama (head of Tibetan Buddhism) dominate monastries. The Tibetan Government in Exile sent a convoy of Tibetans to search for the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama. A 6 year old was found, and subsequently kidnapped by the Chinese. The Chinese have since declared that they have found the REAL reincarnation, and he is currently being 'taught' in Beijing. His picture is displayed heavily, yet it is well known by Tibetans that he will merely be a puppet of the Chinese government.

The Chinese regularly search all monastries and nunneries for pictures of the Dalai Lama. There are spies within each monastery, one of whom I (unknowingly) met. He spoke English to me, asked questions about my Tibetan guide, and asked for a photo to be taken with me. According to my guide, the spies' role was to keep me and other tourists from speaking with the Tibetan monks.

Many monks still remain in prison, and those who have been lucky enough to have been released and managed to escape Tibet have told stories of torture. My guide had himself managed to escape when he was 14. It took 2 weeks to reach the Nepalese border after walking through the cold barren plateau and the Himalayas. He then reached India, and was advised personally by the Dalai Lama to learn English. Learning of an illness in the family, he returned to Tibet after bribing an official at the Chinese embassy in Nepal, and now works as a guide. His job is a dangerous one, particularly as he shows us evidence of the suppression, and he only talks of the Chinese occupation when on the privacy of our tour bus.

The Potala Palace, the official residency of the Dalai Lama, is open to the public, yet wired heavily with CCTV. The Chinese have also bought their sex trade to Tibet, and a red light district surrounds the palace.

Typical Chinese architecture comprises of a white bathroom-tile fronted building, with blue or green glass (strange but true). These modern buildings exist in the smallest of towns, and the wide modern roads occupied with either wealthy Chinese cars, or Tibetans with their cattle and wooden carts. A bizarre sight.

The Tibetan Spirit :

Buddhism plays the biggest part in a Tibetan's life, and the suppression by the Chinese has not made an impact on their devotion to their religion. Tibetan's place a huge importance on making pilgramages to various holy places within the plateau. I visited the monastery where the last Panchen Lama had been taught, and where thousands of Tibetans visit each year. Many of them walk for over 2 years to reach it, and when I was there, I was surrounded by Tibetans who had never before set eyes upon a white person (let alone one who was tall, blonde and with blue eyes).

The Potala Palace is circled each day by hundreds of Tibetans, all in traditional dress, spinning prayer wheels, and chanting Buddhist mantras.

The history of the country is well known to young Tibetan's, and their lack of vindictiveness is humbling. My guide assured me that the Chinese and Tibetan's mix together socially now, and the Tibetan problem is with the Chinese government, and not the people. This is reassuring, yet only intervention from the west will prevent further suppression.