Across Tibet's Untamed West - Anhui, China Articles
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Across Tibet's Untamed West
Submitted By AlexAt 4000-5000m above sea level, the Tibetan plateau is deserving of its title: ‘Roof of the World’
Anhui, China Articles
By: Lisa & Andre Ismael
No one on earth is as close to the heavens as the people of Tibet. Averaging between 4000m and 5000m above sea level, the Tibetan plateau is deserving of its title as ‘Roof of the World’. Mysterious in ways that few other places are, travel is tough but rewarding, providing travelers with the unique scenery, people and culture of a gigantic and isolated land not yet tamed by man. I came to know more about Tibet during my travels in India in 1993, supping on Tibetan noodle soup and ploughing through a photographic book of a land and culture completely foreign to me. Since that day I had dreamed of travelling to the enchanting land of Tibet. Four years later my dream was realized.
Renown for their religious piety and lengthy pilgrimages, André and I set out to learn more about these courageous and somewhat mystic individuals. A people most of us have come to know because of their exiled spiritual and political leader, the Dalai Lama. The journey began in Yecheung, in the Xinjiang region of China, where we were faced with the problem of finding a truck driver who was willing to take foreigners illegally across some of the most dangerous and isolated roads in the world. Crossing high mountain passes and traversing desolate lands, the journey required full preparation for high altitudes and harsh weather conditions, foreigners had even died on the road.
After a week of waiting we finally secured a ride to Ali, the first leg of our journey to central Tibet. The road had been blocked for 18 days by an enormous landslide and was at last clear. Unfortunately the authorities spotted us leaving Yecheung and confiscated the keys to the truck. Our nervous but quick thinking driver, Lee, insisted we were travelling north not south and unbelievably they handed back the keys.
Everything we needed was carried onboard the truck, including fuel, oil, spare parts and food enough for the 1360km journey to Ali, which would take 4 days without obstacles. After 3 days with Lee we had covered 320km, the journey plagued by an overheating engine, a blocked fuel line, a faulty compressor and numerous flat tires. We learnt how versatile truck drivers who traverse the Tibetan plateau can be, watching pieces of wire and cardboard finish off on road repairs, though not always successfully. 
Although it was summer, the nights were bitterly cold and most mornings we woke on our beds of slate stone (the cargo Lee was carrying), with a layer of ice trimming our sleeping bags. At altitudes over 5000m, when the sun disappeared so did any warmth, it was freezing.
Although Lee was a nice guy, on the 4th morning we'd had enough and decided to change trucks. Traffic wasn’t heavy on the highway, but we managed to get a lift with some Uigar truckies from Yecheung. The boys had taken one day to travel the distance we had come in four. With four of us squashed in the cab we continued on only to find that flat tires and troublesome compressors were a common problem. It seemed that all the truckies preferred to fix problems as they occurred rather than to maintain their trucks.
People were few and far between. There were no trees and vegetation was sparse. Occasionally we'd pass a group of Tibetan nomads tending their yaks and sheep and warming their tents with yak dung fires. A few lonely tents had also been set up on route as make-shift restaurants and rest stops for our truckie mates. The only settlements we passed were Chinese military base camps around the area of Aksai Chin, whose ownership is still disputed by India, Pakistan and China. While we hid silently in the truck, our hosts would haggle over road and cargo taxes at these Chinese military check points. Travelling almost 18 hours per day, we averaged a speed of 20 km/hr, a journey not for the impatient, finally arriving in Ali at midnight on the 6th night. There was only one hotel in town that would take foreigners.
Ali (Shiquanhe) was built by the Chinese to administer that vast region of Western Tibet. It is the only shopping centre for miles. The city is dry and dusty, one side distinctly Chinese and the other Tibetan. Many of the Chinese that have settled there, have been sponsored by the Chinese government to start small businesses and a new life. The men in green (Public Security Bureau) were quick to find us, we hadn’t even left our hotel room before they were knocking at our door. There was little fuss and a $US 50 fine enabled us to become legal aliens.
After a welcome hot shower at the public baths (the only place in town with hot water on tap) and a two day wait we secured a lift with a convey of four trucks and began a detour to Mount Kailash.
With the prestige of being Asia’s most sacred mountain, Mount Kailash (6714m) is an important religious site and pilgrimage destination for both Buddhists and Hindus alike. It is the place of origin of their most venerable gods and the sacred river Ganges.The journey was flatter, but still at high altitudes over a dry and dusty land. There was no road only a well worn truck trail but at least the nights were warmer and we could sleep out under the light of the stars and a full moon without collecting ice. The journey was made light hearted by a disco dancing truck driver and a watermelon feast to celebrate the full moon. Passing a couple of truckloads of Tibetan pilgrims dressed in their finest costume, we wondered if anyone still made the long pilgrimage from Lhasa by foot.
After 21/2 days we got our first views of the majestic lone peak of Mt Kailash as we arrived in Darchen, the starting point of the pilgrimage. We met a old wizened Indian Sadhu, a true ascetic, who had walked bare foot over the Himalayas to complete his third circuit of the sacred Kailash. Not being ascetics ourselves, we set off on the 53 km path (khora) that circumambulates the entire mountain armed with tent, sleeping bags, warm clothes and food. Most Tibetan pilgrims complete the circuit in a frenzy, swinging prayer wheels and uttering mantras, taking only one day (12-14hrs). Walking at a more leisurely pace, the khora usually takes a minimum of three days. During their lifetimes, many Tibetan pilgrims attempt more than one round, most doing three. The more devout circle 13 times and the even more pious aim for 108 circuits. One circuit is said to wipe out a lifetime of sins, 108 ensures enlightenment and entry into nirvana.
During our four day trek we face all the elements: burning sun, harsh wind, rain and snow. Meeting each challenge of the gods we were passed by the faithful who carried almost nothing.
Along the path there are many monuments and nature-formed icons which have been bestowed with potent spirituality as a result of frequent contact with saints and holy men. Six monasteries are scattered around the circuit each with its own mystical history. The two major cemeteries are especially eerie places, littered with offerings of hair, fingernails, teeth, clothes and bones. These are the sacred burial grounds of past enlightened beings and are now a place to meditate and absorb the special powers left behind. They are also used for the ceremonious sky burials, the most common of the five burial types (earth, water, fire, sky and embalming) practiced in Tibet. Traditionally the corpse is laid out in the open, carefully skinned and dissected and the bones crushed and mixed with tsampa (barley flour) all to be eaten by flocks of ravens, hawks and vultures. 
As we’re standing at Drachom Ngagye Durtro cemetery ominous clouds roll over and the wind picks up. Looking around us we see typical offerings and a few circling black ravens. Near to where we are standing the remains of two fingers reveal a recent sky burial sending shivers down our spines. We move on.
On the third evening we see the peak of the mighty Mt. Kailash, which since the first night has been covered in cloud. The night brings snow and we wake the next day to see a caravan of yaks and Tibetan pilgrims passing by on the snow dusted trail. Brimming with joy they wave and yell "Tarshee Delay" the traditional Tibetan greeting.
The climb ahead to Drolma pass (5636m) is steep and passes a number of spiritually significant sites, which with small rituals, help to cleanse sins and improve prospects for the next life. The crossing of Drolma represents the transition from this life to the next. Here all the pilgrim is reborn and all sins are forgiven by the Goddess of Mercy. This is a place of rejoicing. Yak butter is dabbed on rock surfaces, prayer flags are lifted, offerings are left, prostrations and wishes are made. Here the pilgrims eat their best meal of the journey to ensure bountiful food in times to come. It seems that everyone is ‘on top of the world’ as they feast on dry yak cheese, tsampa mixed with butter and sugar, We share in the festivities watching different groups come and go. You can’t help reflecting on your own life and having a few words with whomever your God may be.
Further down the track we meet two women and a nun nursing a pilgrim. No one is sure exactly what is wrong, hypothermia, exhaustion or altitude sickness, but she’s shivering and unable to walk. We brew a hot cup of protein packed chocolate on the portable stove, wrap warm clothes around her and give her half a Diamox tablet in case it’s altitude sickness as she says she has a headache. The almost placebo dose seems to work wonders and with the help of her friends she makes it down the steep slope, to the river and along to a rest stop where the women refuel with yak butter tea and tsampa.
On our final days of the trek we’re accompanied by a beautiful white dog who even spends the night with us. It is said that the dogs that roam the khora are the spirits of old monks and ascetics. Our dog leads us into Darchen and disappears, perhaps to start the circuit again.
A little tired and hungry, we arrive back in Darchen and are greeted by some Nepalese pilgrims we met on the circuit. Three of the party of eight didn’t make it around, turning back with signs of altitude sickness.
As the southern route to Lhasa is usually awash with melting snow at this time of year we have to backtrack to Ali, luckily there's is a truck going our way. As we leave Darchen, black clouds open and spit hail stones down on us and the bouncing empty truck becomes a mud bath. At least, amazingly enough, no breakdowns.
Fighting stomach problems we grab our next lift to Gertse along with a hitch hiking monk and three other Tibetans. At night we stop by a river where a fire is lit and tents are put up. Do it yourself butchers hack a sheep carcass to pieces to be boiled for dinner, of course a meal is never complete without yak butter tea and tsampa. The boys make a party of the night bringing out piju (beer) and local the fire water.
The next day we pass a borax lake where the white salt is extracted from its murky waters. Everything is coated in white. Tibet is a gold mine of untapped mineral resources, one of the many reasons for China’s vested interest.
At Gertse we face the problem of sorry no foreigners at the Inn, though with the help of some locals we manage to get a room with no smiles. It takes us three days to get out of this dust bucket town and on the road to Shigatse, 920km away. Finally we get a lift for the right price with a convey of four trucks carting borax to Lhasa. Using the 'Lonely Planet's' language section we manage to communicate with our cheeky driver, Tenzin. He takes a liking to the word ‘shitty’ which he uses constantly while pointing at the would be road.One morning we wake to one of the most beautiful sights that I saw in Tibet. A blanket of white snow covered the surrounding hills and plains, nomad tents smoke in the distance, yaks huddle together for warmth and young girls herd goats. Nomads dressed in traditional Tibetan costume walk across the plain to check out the foreigners.
We travel through snow and mud getting stuck more than once. There are a few more welcome restaurants and truck stops on route, and even sometimes a place to stay. We pass nomads on the move, yaks packed with tents and belongings and sheep and goats herded by children across the huge, wild land. They wave and smile shouting ‘Tarshee delai’ as our paths cross.The scenery begins to change as we approach central Tibet. Nomadic tents give way to sedentary villages. Finally I find out where all the tsampa comes from as we pass by golden fields of barley. Plants begin to grow again at around 3000m and the villages seem more friendly and hospitable than those of Ali and Gertse.
On day 5 we pass the Friendship Highway which leads to Nepal and hit asphalt as we head into Latse. Here we see foreigners in hired jeeps who have just crossed over from Nepal. We walk through the town to avoid trouble for our truckie mates, feasting on the Tibetan village scenery.
On the last pass we face a double banger blow out which delays us another couple of hours. As the lights of Shigatse shine on the horizon we breathe a sigh of relief it’s been a long hard trip, averaging a slow 18 hours a day. We relax too soon as a check point takes us all by surprise. We duck down and Tenzin starts to sweat. The police unfortunately spot us and ask Tenzin to get out of the truck. Tenzin comes back resting his head on the steering wheel. "Sorry Tenzin", we apologize. He turns his head smiles and says "I love you", and we laugh our way into Shigatse.
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