http://www.travelhimalayamagazine.com TRAVEL HIMALAYA SPRING 2019 | 31
TIBET
Lhasa had been destroyed and rebuilt
with sterile architecture, but the fact
that Lhasa had become the capital for
sex workers in China, where women can
be bought and sold and often not paid
anything for their services until the new
‘owner’ has recouped his or her initial
outlay. Soldiers from the ever-present
Chinese Army and truck drivers seem
to be the main clients of these women,
many who were trapped or tricked into
this industry.
Lhasa’s altitude is around 3,500m,
making it one of the highest cities in
the world. If one has taken the classic
route from Kathmandu on the Friend-
ship Highway they will be well and truly
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to Lhasa the effects of altitude will most
probably be felt; most new arrivals feel
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ache, nausea, shortness of breath and
lethargy, to name a few. Best to take it
easy for a day or two, just hang about
your hotel, drink plenty of water and
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Barkhor, the old Lhasa, is still stand-
ing and the Tibetan population is thick
on the ground. The Jokhang Temple, for
most Tibetans, is the most sacred and
important in Tibet. It is located in the
heart of the Barkhor on Barkhor Square.
Hours can be spent watching or stroll-
ing with the Tibetan Pilgrims walking
the kora or prostrating. A kora is a path
taken around a temple or a sacred sight
by Buddhists walking or prostrating in
a clockwise direction chanting mantras
and spinning handheld prayer wheels or
prayer beads. The aim of prostrating is to
give one more suffering. Koras are per-
formed with the belief of having a peace-
ful life and happy afterlife. Some pilgrims
will literally spend years prostrating to
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someone to pull a cart with all of their
needs whilst on the road prostrating, the
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thus making the journey three times as
long. Once talking to a pilgrim on the
side of the road who was pulling his own
cart, I mentioned ‘you go to Lhasa twice’,
his reply, ‘no, I go three times’, of course
he was right, he would prostrate to a
certain point, walk back to his cart, pull
it further down the road, walk back to
where he last prostrated and beginning
the process again. Now that is what I
call dedication. The Tibetan Buddhist
pilgrims are some of the, if not, the most
devoted in the world.
Getting lost in the Barkhor is simply
fascinating. Not only are there the pil-
grims, but there are Tibetans dressed
in their local costumes going about their
daily business, shopping and bargaining,
chatting, laughing and drinking butter
tea. There are a thousand bargains to be
found in the many tourist stalls on Bark-
hor Square from human skulls to amber
necklaces, yak bone prayer beads and
traditional Tibetan clothing. Walking
amongst the old buildings where many
of the Tibetans live and spend much of
their time is a delight, if you are lucky,
you may be befriended by a local and
invited into their home for butter tea,
dried yak meat and hard dried cheese
that could easily crack a tooth!
A day can easily be spent on the
Lhasa koras. There are four major koras
beginning with the Inner Kora which
is inside the Jokhang Temple, the Mid-
dle Kora which is the path outside the
Jokhang, the Outer Kora which is the
Lingkhor Circuit and takes around two
and a half hours or there is the Potala
Kora which takes around forty minutes.
It is so interesting to watch these pil-
grims, many will take no notice of you86%:)08-47
- To board a plane or train to Tibet
you need a Tibet Tourism Bureau
(TTB) permit. - Must book a guide for your entire
trip - Pre-arrange private transport for
trips outside Lhasa. - Travel outside Lhasa requires
additional permits. - Visitors are not allowed to take
public transport outside Lhasa. - The original permit is required if
ƽ]MRKJVSQ[MXLMR'LMRE - When entering Tibet from Nepal
you have to travel on a short-term
group visa.
For more information on over-land-
ing: Ben and his team are available
through [email protected]
or contact a rep from Australia,
New Zealand, Canada, the US and
the UK. Details are also on the
website: http://www.boa-overland.com