Tibet ~ Roof top of the world

In my quest to find myself and to know more about Buddhism, last month I embarked on a 11-day trip to Tibet with a friend and other like-minded people :)

Tibet is the highest country in the world and where Mount Everest is located. Our purpose to Tibet was not to climb Everest but to visit the various Tibetan monasteries and to be blessed by the Living Buddha. We were told that there were two types of lamas in Tibet, the Dalai Lama and Penchan Lama. Apparently, the Dalai Lama lived in the front-side of Tibet and the Penchan Lama lives in the inner-side of Tibet. After the self-exile of the Dalai Lama to Dharamsala, India in the late 1950s, Penchan Lama took over. The lovely palace seen here is Potala Palace, the main residence of the Dalai Lama before his exile.

We entered Tibet via Xi Ning, China (3,000++m above sea level) and took the 24-hr scenic train ride to Lhasa (3,650m high). The scenery throughout the train ride was amazing and breathtakingly serene. I took many pictures of the snow-covered mountains, the mirror-image lakes, the clouds... :) As we reached Lhasa, the biggest worry on everyone's mind was the high altitude sickness. Although most of us were mentally prepared, some succumbed to the sickness and had to put on drip and carried the 'oxygen tank' around with them throughout the trip. There were cases where travellers were hospitalised (2 - 3 days) due to severe breathing difficulty. I am happy to say that I was all right all the way - I didn't feel any dizziness, headaches or fatique, just a little breathlessness here and there. I was really surprised because I am not a sports person and had never been very active.

The highest point we reached was the Tibet Plateau and the Karola Glacier near Kamba- la Pass(about 4,700m high). The view from there was amazing! As usual, I took lots and lots of photos! :)


The visit to the monastries were what I loved most - we visited about five of them. In most monasteries, the monks kept to themselves and we were not allowed to take their photos, except one monastery where we were allowed to with a fee. I paid the fee and took some photos of monks reciting the scriptures. Some of the monasteries were quite run-down and deserted. In Lhasa, we stayed in a hotel which is owned and operated by a company set-up by a group of monks. I guess, this is the only way they could have money to upkeep the monasteries.

Being in Tibet, the highest country in the world, and seeing the vastness of the mountainous country and the amazingly breathtaking and tranquil scenery ~ I can understand why the lamas build the monasteries there. I had enjoyed the trip very much and brought back the popular Tzi beads (aka sky beads) as souvenirs and also a potrait of Buddha painted in natural-dye. Once is not enough for me, I would love to visit Tibet again :)