"Tibet" a Tibet Travel Page by mad4travel

Tibet is a world of Monks, Monasteries, Buddhas and Yaks. Unfortunately I got there about 20 years too late as what once was a country with a clear identity is now drowning under a sea of Chinese.

There are two sides to every argument of course. The Chinese have brought electricity, better sanitation, education, improved communication and availability of goods but in the process (and particularly during the cultural revolution) destroyed a lot. You can argue the British did similar in India at the height of their empire but at least they left.

So while the experience of going to Tibet was fantastic you could not help to think about these things as you travelled around. It often felt like China with a bit of Tibet rather than Tibet with a bit of China.

One thing the Chinese can't influence is the landscape. Its beautiful. Stark and desolate, the quality of light and the colours are stunning and even more so as you drive back towards Nepal and hit the Himalayas.

The Himalayas are a very young mountain chain and the rock at the top was not very long ago the seabed. Consequently the rock is very soft and erodes easily leading to landslides and unexpectedly in a cold desert sand dunes.

Tibetan culture is very interesting. They are a religious lot and watching the pilgrims come to worship around Barkor Square in Lhasa was very interesting.

They are fascinated by pale skin and blond hair and may come up and rub your arms in wonderment, its quite sweet really. If you say hello in Tibetan they love it (although most can say hello in English , thats about it)

Many still wear traditional dress and many will invite you into their homes if you wander around their villages.