28 | TRAVEL HIMALAYA SPRING 2019

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Tibet

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hen describing Tibet, images that

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breathtaking scenery, spectacular

vistas, huge tracts of emptiness and

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and nuns; the clatter, booming and banging of sym-

bols, horns and drums from the monasteries and of

course the laughter of children playing in the streets.

Wandering nomads with their ponies, yaks, sheep,

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prostrating for years at a time. The Tibetans are

generous, cheerful, serene and extremely devout.

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and the earthiness of burning yak dung; the slightest

whiff of one of these smells anywhere around the

world, immediately takes me back to Tibet.

Known as Xizang (pronounced ‘See-zjang’), Tibet

Autonomous Region, (TAR) and often referred to as

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a province plagued with controversy and constantly

in the eyes of the international media.

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history and an uncertain future.

There is also much contrast. Contrast between

the old and the new, between the Tibetans and the

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just to name a few.

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never been to China I could tell from the white tiled

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many of those buildings that this was China. I’d

seen enough photos and heard enough stories about

the Chinese style of building for me to recognise the

typical Chinese architecture. Needless to say, I was

disappointed. It was Tibet I had come to experience,

not Han China. Where was the Tibet I had been

dreaming about for all of those years?

When the rail was completed between Lhasa and

Beijing, more Han Chinese began to move into TAR,

the Chinese Central Government gave them incen-

tives to relocate their families and businesses to the

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country, the Han Chinese were moving in, mainly

from the Sichuan Province, in fact Lhasa is known

as ‘Little Sichuan’ to many of the Han immigrants.

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the Han Chinese as progress. I guess if it wasn’t for

progress, we would still be walking around wearing

loincloths with clubs in hand, dragging ‘our’ women

by their hair, (Not for one minute am I referring to

Tibetans as Neandatholic, this description is being

used as a general example for mankind).

Conquering and taking over seems to be a natural

human progression. It has been the lore of the land

since day dot and will most probably continue in

some way or form forever. Look at the Romans, the

Turks, Mongols, British, Dutch, Portuguese and The

Persians and in more recent times the Australians

and Americans and the list doesn’t end there either.

They all went in and conquered different regions

and countries, countries which mostly thrived and

prospered under their governance. Even the Mongols

conquered and governed China out of Beijing for a

hundred or so years!

Free Tibet... will this ever be possible? There

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equality. Lives have been lost, families split and

public self-burnings. Wouldn’t all of this negative

energy be better spent in a positive way for Tibet

and her people? Look towards the future, learn to

adapt, live together in peace and harmony and also

share the political roles and cultural activities with

the ever-shrinking Tibetan population.

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something I love doing in cities around the world;

I went and got lost. That was after the initial cul-

ture shock of not only discovering so much of Old