Tibet Day 2: Tsetang
With the kitchen barely awake, we ordered our first "Tibetan" breakfast at the Tashi Restaurant in Tsetang. With yogurt sour enough to curl your toes, 3/4" thick pancakes, a wondrous blend of Nescafe, and eggs, we were ready to tackle our first sight.
Gaden had recommended that while Yumbulagang (also known as Yumbu Lhakang = castle on the top of a female deer-like hill) wasn't on our itinerary, it was a real must. There was some mumbling about needing to be permits, a friend needing to be the office, one permit received, and well, perhaps we needed to make this the first stop. Maybe not an auspicious opening to the capricious nature of the controls on travel in Tibet, but he was right - Yumbulagang was a phenomenal stop.
Perched atop a hill with views across the river valley, this legendary first building was spectacular. According to
tibettravel.info, Yumbulagang , “palace of mother and son” in Tibetan dialect, is the first palace and one of the earliest buildings in Tibet, having a history of more than 2,000 years. It’s said that it was built for Nyatri Tsanpo, the first Tibetan King by Bon believers in the 2nd century BC. Then it became the summer palace of Songtsan Gampo and Princess Wencheng. The 5thDalai Lama changed it as the monastery of Old-Yellow Hat Sect (Kadamspa).
Getting to the palace presented the first challenge for our oxygen starved lungs, and the first experience of the large thigh muscles screaming for oxygen on stair climbs. The vendors were just setting up for the day, but Ian was still able to pick up his prayer flags to leave a bit of his soul on the peak behind the palace.
Before entering the palace, offerings of heather and juniper incense were burnt; presumably joining the raveling flags in sending prayers to the gods. Here's Karl sending out his thoughts to the world.
Looking down from the palace, the fields were under heavy cultivation. The forests long gone, with the Chinese putting money into limited reforestation in some areas to stabilize the land.
By the time we made it back down the hill (much simpler than going up), we were ready to tackle the monasteries of the Tibet. Next stop: Trandruk Monastery (aka Traduk Temple).
Trandruk is one of Tibet's oldest monasteries built in the 7th century during the reign of Songstan Gampo. It’s said that renowned figures in the history of Tibetan Buddhism, such as Padmasambhava and Milariba, had practised Buddhism nearby after it was built and the remaining relics are sacred land for the devotees. Trandruk later converted to the Gelugpa sect of Buddhism and experienced large-scale reconstruction.
Tran means roc and druk means dragon in Tibetan. The monastery got is name from the legend that it could only be built after Songtsan Gampo had turned into a roc and conquered an evil dragon.
Monasteries live off the 
offerings left of the Buddhas, gods, lamas and guardians. This monastery was most intriguing with the temple festival masks garnished with offerings poking out of every opening.
Lunch back at the Tashi Restaurant then onwards in our journey to Samye.
See the beginning of the trip at: Planning for Tibet, and Arriving in Tibet and Off to TsetangLink forward to Tibet Day 2: Journey to SamyeLabels: Traduk Temple, Trandruk, Tsetang, Yumbu Lhakang, Yumbulagang, Zetang
Arriving in Tibet and off to Tsetang
The only "direct" flight from Shanghai to Lhasa changes planes in Xian. At transit in Xian, our boarding passes were collected. Tim had the foresight to grab the baggage claim tickets from boarding passes before they were replaced with new ones - 5 seats together and 1 in another row!
Chaos then ensues when it is time to board the onward bound flight as it becomes necessary to try to find the old boarding passes to be returned. This, of course, so that errant baggage tags could be retrieved. The endless inefficiencies of China systems!
We did however manage to claim a full row, trading off the one seat we needed.
And so, another few hours later, we arrive at Gongkar airport - SE of Lhasa to be met by our erstwhile guide, Gaden, and driver for the trip. Bedecked with our white silk scarves, we head off to our first destination Tsetang, elevation 3,550m. Described by Lonely Planet as an "uninteresting modern town", we couldn't disagree. Nonetheless, moving ever so slowly up the stairs to our rooms at the Snow Pigeon, the rooms were relatively typical of a Chinese business class hotel - a bit noisy and smoky but perfectly adequate.
Gaden agreed to meet us at 7 and take us to dinner at the first of seemingly endless Tashi Restaurants. Walking (slowly) there and puffing by the time we reached the second floor restaurant, we had our first tibetan/nepalese dinner, complete with the obligatory taste of yak butter tea. Service was slow (the place was packed; presumably with every western tour group in town), but the food was good. Even to the confusing dish that was deemed to be chili chicken, but was the chili potatoes ordered by another group.
With a menu boasting of yogurt, pancakes and American breakfasts, and a hotel looking like it would serve something a bit too much like a classic Chinese hotel breakfast buffet, we asked put down money for breakfast so that the Tashi restaurant would open for us.
No smile given to a Tibetan goes unreturned. On our way to Tsetang, we stopped in a small town to pick up water. Judy and I attracted quite a bit of study from an old woman who wandered by. As we studied her, she studied us. When I gave her a big smile, a huge one-tooth smile and a thumbs-up came in return. Then again, if you are Gaden, no smile to an attractive young woman will go unreturned!
And off to our first night of sleeping at altitude. Aside from the hard beds, noise and smoky rooms, I was an immediate believer in the efficacy of the Diamox. Slept reasonably well, felt like I could breathe and didn't have a massive headache.
Just a side note, for those people who would like the assurance of having an personal oxygen canister with them, they are readily available at the airport and in Lhasa (and presumably other major tour destinations). There were NONE obviously for sale in Tsetang. So if you take this route and want some insurance, pick it up before leaving Gongkar. See Planning for Tibet for more thoughts on arranging travel and dealing with altitude.
Link to Day 2: Tsetang
Labels: Gongkar airport, Tashi Restaurant, Tsetang
Planning for Tibet
In the run-up to our trip to Tibet, the biggest concern was about health and handling the altitude. I had heard all of the "bad trip" stories, from the people who end up canceling after a day or so, and flying home, those who spent a large part of their trip inhaling from oxygen containers, and one woman who spent most of the first night, and subsequent days battling the nausea induced by the altitude.
The new answer is to take the train from Beijing to Lhasa. It's a marvel of technology, crossing passes over 5000m in altitude, with pressurized cabins. And it is the first question everyone asks, "Did you take the train?" The travel time of 50 plus hours along with the pressurization allow a more gradual acclimatization then flying nearly directly from sea level in Shanghai to 3400 meters outside of Lhasa.
My answer is that while I'm sure that changing scenery on the train is incredible, I don't like being "stuck" on any form of transportation for over 2 days. Combine that with the rapid deterioration of public restrooms in many parts of the world, and particularly in China, the limited, and not gourmet, offerings of food on the train, and a basic time constraint, we flew.
The human body is not well adapted to transitioning rapidly from the oxygen and air pressure of sea level to > 3000 meters altitude. And so, after listening to all of the stories, I headed off to Worldlink to acquire Diamox. The doctor had traveled to Tibet and was knowledgeable about the drug. The bottom line is that the standard dose is one tablet 250 mg twice per day beginning on the day of departure. As it takes some time to work, it should be taken in advance. Or as the doctor suggested, you can wait and see how you feel. Perhaps taking one per day, or even, if needed, taking 4 to get the drug working. With the one week trip, she strongly advised continuing until two days after return - by no means stop at departure, or stopping while at altitude.
Buying the china-made drug here, I didn't get any of the warning information, which included a concern if you feel a "humming" in your body. Now according to the travel information people my brother-in-law talked with, that is a normal side effect, and certainly one all of us taking the Diamox experienced. Within the first hour of taking the first dose, you have a strange sensation of a physical buzz or hum throughout your whole body. While the level of the buzzing subsided some over the week of taking the Diamox, it was always a bit in the background. It was particularly noticeable when smaller muscles were put to work, most commonly when we were eating, when the whole area around the mouth would tingle. Or the morning we wanted a ways to breakfast, and found our lower legs and feet buzzing through the meal. Rather an interesting feeling. Now, I'm not giving medical advice or suggesting this isn't a side effect that should be concerning for some people; so do check that out for yourselves. As for me, Diamox allowed me to fly right to altitude, feel reasonably comfortable breathing (as long as I moved at a leisurely pace), and avoid headaches (except when I drank the Lhasa Beer).
And so, with drugs in hand and arrangements deftly made through
Tibetan Expeditions, six of us flew out of Shanghai on Sunday, Sept 30. Keep in mind that planes are pressurized to about 9000', on our descent into Lhasa we "climbed" an additional 2500'.
Link to Arriving in Tibet and Off to Tsetang
Labels: Diamox, Tibet, Tibetan Expeditions
Perched atop a hill with views across the river valley, this legendary first building was spectacular. According to tibettravel.info, Yumbulagang , “palace of mother and son” in Tibetan dialect, is the first palace and one of the earliest buildings in Tibet, having a history of more than 2,000 years. It’s said that it was built for Nyatri Tsanpo, the first Tibetan King by Bon believers in the 2nd century BC. Then it became the summer palace of Songtsan Gampo and Princess Wencheng. The 5thDalai Lama changed it as the monastery of Old-Yellow Hat Sect (Kadamspa).
Getting to the palace presented the first challenge for our oxygen starved lungs, and the first experience of the large thigh muscles screaming for oxygen on stair climbs. The vendors were just setting up for the day, but Ian was still able to pick up his prayer flags to leave a bit of his soul on the peak behind the palace.
Before entering the palace, offerings of heather and juniper incense were burnt; presumably joining the raveling flags in sending prayers to the gods. Here's Karl sending out his thoughts to the world.
Trandruk is one of Tibet's oldest monasteries built in the 7th century during the reign of Songstan Gampo. It’s said that renowned figures in the history of Tibetan Buddhism, such as Padmasambhava and Milariba, had practised Buddhism nearby after it was built and the remaining relics are sacred land for the devotees. Trandruk later converted to the Gelugpa sect of Buddhism and experienced large-scale reconstruction.
offerings left of the Buddhas, gods, lamas and guardians. This monastery was most intriguing with the temple festival masks garnished with offerings poking out of every opening.
