We traveled over land from Kathmandu to Lhasa, Tibet in the spring of 1999. I feel bad for anybody who has had firm plans or even just aspirations to visit Tibet since the riots of this past March in Lhasa. Even if you're able to visit, I'll bet the magic of the capital of Buddhism is at the least circumscribed by a heavier governmental hand.
When we visited no one ever asked to even see our coveted Tibet Travelers Permits after the Nepali border at Khodari. We had arranged transportation from the border to Lhasa with overnight stops at Nylam, Lhaze and Xigatse, and nothing beyond that. When we rolled into Lhasa our driver asked to what authorized agency he would be delivering us and was surprised to learn there was none. But he just shrugged and dropped us at a hotel we suggested.
I suspect such freedom of movement isn't possible nowadays. And it could be that that will remain the case for a while yet. The Dalai Lama is 73 now and very publicly pondering his mortality. The future of Tibet was the subject of soul-searching at an international meeting of Tibetan exiles in Dharamsala last week. Here is a collection of links to news articles about the meeting and more broadly, the future:
Young Grow Frustrated with Tibet Middle Way
The Folly of Spurning the Dalai Lama
Tibet Movement Takes a Stopgap Remedy for Dissent
Spoiling for a Tibetan Fight
Chinese Stage Show of Force in Tibet
(Photo of a monk at Tashilumpo Monastery, Xigatse, Tibet.)
See more photos from Tibet in EarthPhotos.com's China Gallery.
Comments