"Tibet travels" a Lhasa Travel Page by MaximusTravel

Tibet is a beautiful country which lives up to its nickname of being the roof of the world. The vastness of its mountain ranges, and the simple Buddhist lifestyle have worked together to make a rugged beautiful people. Tibet is about as remote as it gets even for people in China and Asia – very few travel to this isolated part of the world. As a result Tibet’s culture is still very much its own, though it is clear they are embracing more western and Asian cultures rapidly. Walking through Lhasa’s streets you’ll pass Tibetans in exotic traditional clothing as well as business suits. Nearly everyone has a cell phone – Monks especially!

No one can dismiss the incredible similarities to the American Indian culture and features. The buildings are very similar to Navajo adobes in New Mexico. Their beautiful faces are very similar with high cheek bones and almond shaped eyes. One can only imagine had the United States allowed the Indian cultures to exist more freely and independently that they too would have developed into a similar strong culture with its own since of direction and independence. With Tibet’s first railroad finishing in 2006, one can only wonder if it will have the same effect on the Tibetans as it did to the American Indian in the 1800s – Let us hope not.

I’m not going to rehash the same old stuff you can find in a travel guide. I’m also not going to get into the complex political environment – there is not enough space to cover this topic. Shopping and eating are well covered in most guides – My only recommendation is to spend some time exploring the carts and wares put out by the local Tibetans – these are always good and every price is negotiable. I did find that prices in general are higher than other parts of China.

For those of you who prefer nicer hotels and have moved away from the backpacker experience here’s some advice for you. If your traveling on a shoestring budget or enjoy sleeping on the ground then this advice is probably not for you – I just turned 40 and I don’t think of those things as being fun any more.

Lhasa Hotel – The hotels in Lhasa are still fairly primitive by most standards – how anyone could call it 4 stars is completely out of the question. Hotels like Lhasa and the Tibet hotel both have an exterior that gives the perception that it is a 4 star hotel, however when you get inside it is a completely different story. Our travel agency was to have us in the Tibet Hotel and actually placed us in the Lhasa for one night due to government officials kicking everyone out of the Tibet Hotel. The Lhasa first put us in a room that had stains and mildew actually growing on the walls. We have traveled to some obscure places but this one won the award on disgusting – especially when your paying 125 to 200 USD a night! We complained they moved us to a better room however the bed is was rock hard. I will say the restaurants and food was good compared to Tibet Hotel. Good selection and prices were very reasonable.

Tibet Hotel – This is supposed to be the very best hotel in Tibet – 4 stars – I can’t see this getting better than 2. Very interesting exterior – as a building became outdated instead of fix it they abandon it. We were in their VIP room and it too had a bed that was ROCK HARD. The view of the mountains from our room was quite nice. The room was nice enough, however it like much of the rest of the hotel was in deep need of improvements/upgrades. The breakfast area was scary; various food items which looked like they reheated them from the previous day. Coffee is instant, no cereal for starters. The food was far better at the Lhasa Hotel. The hotel caters to high end western groups but is evidently struggling to keep up. They had closed the three restaurants and had put up a buffet for groups and paying customers alike in an old part of a ballroom. We wouldn’t consider staying here again.

Advice: Bring your own inflatable sleeping pad you find in Outdoors store. This will make a world of difference in your sleeping. No matter the hotel, none have western beds and all are hard as a rock.

Advice: Altitude & Sleep – This was the topic of every traveler we met. It is very hard not to get some amount of insomnia here. Add to that a hard mattress and the incredibly dry air and you will find yourself getting tired easily and having a tough time enjoying the beauty of Tibet. Try going two or three nights of sporadic sleep and see how fun you are.. Bring your own air mattress and take aspirins before you go to sleep.

If you struggle for more than a day getting acclimated to the altitude I suggest you get Oxygen in your room – Most good hotels have them built into the rooms. It does help you sleep and in the end if you sleep well you will get more out of your days.

Clothes – If you wear an XL in the USA your pretty much out of luck here – The largest sizes here are 48 which is just at or slightly below an XL and since everything shrinks (absolutely they will.) This is the first country I didn’t buy a t-shirt. GREAT BUYS on treking gear – North Face jackets and backpacks all at a fraction of the price – 20 USD for a 300 USD bag. You can get XL and XXL sizes here.

OTC Medications – You can find just about anything you can get in the states here – Sinus or cold medications especially. One major exception – Tampons: Chinese and Tibetan cultures do not subscribe to them so you will not find them anywhere.

Shoes – Tibet and China have some incredibly cool shoe styles at incredible prices (15 to 20 USD for an equivalent 100-200 USD shoe.) Downside: No shoes larger than size 10 Mens. My wife has a shoe problem and she found numerous designs which were not available in the US which she picked up for next to nothing and made very (very) well.

Tibet Kitchen – good food at a good price. Has some very good Indian and Nepal food as well. Yak Curry was very good with Naan.