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Health & Fitness

The Tibetan Plateau - Rooftop of the World

Part 3 of Bucket List: Himalayas. I finish up in Kathmandu and fly to the ancient city of Lhasa, located on the Tibetan Plateau - the Rooftop of the World.

I found that my alarm wasn't necessary the morning of April 22, as the local roosters and dogs woke me up with a sunrise cacophony of noise that discouraged going back to sleep. 

The water was back on in my one-star hotel room, but only the cold, so I took a fast shower and washed some clothes in the sink. Extra boot laces make for some handy clothes lines for drying. I also took my first daily dose of Diamox, a drug that's been long used to help with high altitude acclimatization. 

After getting dressed and reading a bit, I met the rest of the group in the hotel restaurant for a basic breakfast and our trek briefing. Half the group was going to Cho Oyo (one of only 14 peaks in the world that is 8,000 meters, or 26,247 feet, or higher above sea level) for climbing. My half was going to the north side Mount Everest base camp for trekking up to advanced base camp. 

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Here are the briefing highlights from our guide, Raj:

  • Start taking Diamox today.
  • We might get to stay in the new hotel in the Tibetan town of Tingri, the launching point to Cho and Everest (the old hotel had a bad reputation, but was the only one in town).
  • The Chinese didn't like groups to have satellite phones, but one would be available for use at $4/minute (I paid for 15 minutes).
  • Don't take pictures of strategic points, including soldiers, bridges, army camps, etc. (Tibet was violently occupied by China in 1959 and the Dalai Lama was forced into exile - China continues to occupy Tibet today with a strong military presence and considers Tibet to be one of its regions).
  • Convert some money into Chinese currency (RMB, or yuan) for buying souvenirs and drinking water.
  • Drink at least three liters of water a day, as the dry air easily causes dehydration.
  • Wear a disposable face mask over your nose and mouth to minimize inhaling the dust, especially in Tingri.
  • Baggage will get x-rayed going into Tibet, so don't take in anything related to the Dalai Lama or "Free Tibet" movement.
  • Ensure you let your guide know how you're doing and if you're taking any medications.
  • Stay warm at night and get as much sleep as possible.

While most everyone was taking a multi-day bus ride to the Cho/Everest area, there were four of us who were flying to Lhasa, and then driving about 700 kilometers west across Tibet to meet up with the group. The bus ride took multiple days because of the gain in elevation - gaining too much altitude in one day without allowing the body to adjust can result in altitude sickness (mostly headaches and lethargy), or even more serious conditions.

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After spending a slow day in Kathmandu, I ate dinner with the group and went to bed early.  At about 3:30 a.m., I heard the rest of the group banging around the hotel and loading on to the bus for Tibet - fortunately, my flight wasn't until later, so I got to go back to sleep. 

The Lhasa group consisted of an Italian couple (he planned to climb Cho while his wife was flying back to Italy), a lady from Montana and me (we were both going to Everest for trekking). We left to the airport at 7 a.m. and caught the 10:30 a.m. Air China flight directly to Lhasa. It was cloudy as we flew for two hours over the Himalayas, so we didn't get to see any of the peaks, and there was even less of a view as we landed at the Lhasa Gonggar Airport in a valley about an hour south of Lhasa. After getting through immigration and customs, we gathered our bags and met our guide, Thring (pronounced with a hard T and rolled R). He took us out to the van where we loaded up in a small van and met the driver. It was readily apparent that we were at higher altitude, as I got a bit winded carrying my two heavy duffel bags from the terminal out to the parking lot.

The day was sunny, but cool as we drove along a two-lane highway to Lhasa. We took lots of pictures along the way. As we finally rolled into Lhasa, my first impression was that it was a more modern city than I expected. It has been said that Lhasa has seen more change in 50 years of Chinese occupation than in the previous 500 years. Along the way, I caught my first sight of the Potala Palace and looked forward to seeing it up close the next day. We drove to the eastern side of the city and checked into a very nice hotel. We ate a late dinner of tasty yak steak (tastes like beef, but is leaner), boiled potatoes and the Tibetan version of apple pie before going to bed early.

Our plan was to spend three days in Lhasa seeing the major sights. Then we would drive about 350 kilometers (210 miles) to the small city of Shigatse for one night, and then another 350 kilometers to the tiny town of Tingri, where we'd meet back up with the trekking group. 

Next up: Seeing the history and people of Lhasa, Tibet.

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