Back from Tibet -- Ying's Forum

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Date Posted: Sun 07/10/01 20:00:32
Author: Simba (Chan Sing Yin)
Author Host/IP: tsunami.hinocatv.ne.jp / 210.175.87.130
Subject: Back from Tibet

Well, I was in Tibet for about 10 days. Tibet is a very interesting country. In many ways it is still the old hermit kingdom - once you are out of Lhasa and those bigger 'truck towns', where the Chinese troops staged. The Chinese troops are probably the most obvious landmarks in those small towns.

I was there for a wildlife survey and hope the results would be useful for conservation in Tibet.

The first question most people asked me when I arrived in Lhasa was, 'Are you OK?' Almost all newcomers to Lhasa suffered from altitude sickness. Mine was pretty mild. After suffered from a mild headache in the first night of arrival (but no chance to say, 'Not tonight dear, I have a headache...'), I was OK in Lhasa. However, when I ascended from Lhasa (about 3,800 m above sea level) to Nam Tso in 'northern Tibet' (so-called northern Tibet, still central Tibet to me. 5,200 m asl). I felt quite uncomfortable for the whole day. But there were some good highland birds and animals (a small animal named pika - looks like a hamster but is in fact a relative to rabbits), I felt much better once I was in the field.

Tibetan food has a bad reputation - being untasty and dirty. That's why there's a lot of Chinese food stalls even at the remotest corner of Tibet. Those were usually run by Sichuan owners so the Chinese food is rather spicy. When you are in Tibet you cannot escape from yak butter tea, which looks like soapy water more and tastes like adding cheese to hot water. It was not bad to me, although most Chinese I met cursed the yak butter tea (They shouldn't. If not for the trade of tea Tibet would not be getting that close to China). Many Chinese told me they were horrified to see Tibetans putting yak dung to the tea to adhere tea leaves. I know that - but that's OK to me.

On the whole, Tibetans are very friendly and nice. That makes me sad. What the Chinese did in Tibet is almost exactly like what the Japanese did in Manchuria seventy years ago. The only exception is probably that the Chinese can occupy Tibet forever. That's not very pleasant to me.

We have to think ourselves as human first.

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Pictures -- Lai Po Kay, Fri 12/10/01 20:53:24