Tibet 2000: Lhasa

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Gallery 1: Potala Palace

Potala Palace
Potala Palace

(This is the second instalment of this tale. Part One is Tibet 2000: introduction).

We arrived in Tibet full of optimism. There were six of us: myself and John, C, a young Italian/American woman and the F family from Austria: mother, father and 17-year old son. The programme was that we flew up to Lhasa (at an altitude of 3650 m, about 12,000 ft), spent a couple of days sightseeing and then returned overland to the border with Nepal. This would be a 5-day drive, with the possibility of a 5-mile walk at the very end where the road into Nepal was often impassable. It would be downhill and there would be porters to carry our bags so it didn’t sound too bad. The best laid plans…..

Gallery 2: Barkhor Square and the Jokhang

Barkhor Square and Jokhang
Prostrating pilgrims at the Jokhang
Dalai Lama’s quarters at the Jokhang

We were met at the airport by W, our Chinese guide, and driven into Lhasa (one and a half hours away) in a very rickety bus which we were dismayed to learn was our transport for the week – we were expecting the roads in Tibet to be a bit rough and it didn’t seem up to it. Still, the Hotel Lhasa was very plush and we were to have three nights there, so things didn’t look too bad especially as our first evening was a success. C, John and I went out to find a restaurant and, as we had followed our guide’s directions wrongly, we missed the tourist ones and ended up on a street where all the restaurants were aimed at Chinese locals. However, we found one that had its name in English as well as Chinese and we took the fact that it was busy as a good sign. When we went in, we caused total consternation amongst both staff and customers. Such an invasion of foreigners had obviously never happened before. Eventually, a diner with some rudimentary English was found, we were ushered into a separate room and he helped us to order some food. It was excellent, and cost less than a fiver for all three of us. As we ate, we congratulated ourselves on how well we were feeling – slightly headachey perhaps, but no real symptoms of altitude sickness. Little did we know.

Gallery 4: Drepung Monastery

Drepung Monastery
Drepung Monastery
Drepung Monastery
Drepung Monastery
Drepung Monastery

The year before, John and I visited Quito* (9,000 ft) and felt a little dizzy the first night, but otherwise were fine. The extra 3,000 ft made a huge difference. At two o’clock that morning, we both woke up with the most incredible headaches. I have never felt anything like it. John said it resembled a very bad hangover, but either he has experienced hangovers of a spectacular quality I have never attained, or he was not suffering anything like as much as I was. I thought my head would explode. I thought it would fall off. When I got up the next morning, I could only move in slow motion. All week, this headache stayed with me, usually at a fairly low level, but it could be aggravated by various things such as the sun or the motion of the vehicle and it was always more painful at night so I slept quite badly. To make matters worse, another symptom of altitude sickness is loss of appetite and I suffered from this too. Most people will find that hard to believe of me, but it’s true. Typically, I acclimatised on the day before we left Tibet when I began to feel quite human again.

Gallery 4: Sera Monastery

Sera Monastery
Sera Monastery thangka wall
Sera Monastery monks debating
Sera Monastery
Sera Monastery

We were joined for our two days’ sightseeing by V, a large Russian, who entertained us all at top volume to his views on the Russian military and the shortcomings of Tibetan food (it wasn’t Western enough) in perfect, if pedantic, English. We could tell W didn’t like him, especially when he called him Comrade. We were supposed to meet up again a couple of days down the road, but this never happened. Our last, incongruous, sight of him was when he was despatched in a tiny rickshaw back to his hotel on the second day. We did ask about him later in the week, but apparently he had disappeared and we never heard what happened to him. We saw the Potala Palace, former home of the Dalai Lama, and three monasteries. All contained gloomy rooms, glorious golden Buddhas and many red-robed monks. However, my strongest memory is of the smell of yak butter candles which permeated everywhere and didn’t help with my queasiness.

Find out what happens when we set out on the road in Thursday’s instalment.

*See Q is for Quito from 2014’s A to Z Challenge.

China, Tibet

68 Comments »

  1. I remember this one. Those altitude sickness headaches are the worse I’ve felt, also.
    walking actually helped me a bit – if I sat down, I would feel like I would faint. Now, I’ve seen people carry around oxygen canisters, which would be wonderful 🙂

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  2. Well, if this is the beginning of the holiday, I nearly fear the rest.
    The story of that Russian guy is quite strange…

    But the pics are just incredible. I hope your remember them fondly in spite of the queasiness.

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  3. Pingback: Tibet 2000: escape from Gyantse – The Glasgow Gallivanter
  5. Pingback: Tibet 2000: in Gyantse – The Glasgow Gallivanter

  6. So sorry you suffered from altitude sickness Anabel – would have certainly taken the edge of your enjoyment of the holiday 😦 We’ve been up to 3000 metres in Switzerland and I felt fine though Monsieur LC didn’t – he doesn’t do well on heights at all. I’m very much enjoying your Tibetan series and just off to read the next instalment! 🙂

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  8. I’ve had similar effects climbing in the Alps above 12’000 feet. It certainly put me off anything higher than Mont Blanc. Surprised you stuck it out as I couldn’t wait to get down and amazed you felt like taking the quality photos you have here. Must be male hangover training kicking in:o) Off to part three…

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  9. Pingback: Tibet 2000: the road to Gyantse – The Glasgow Gallivanter

  11. You know, no one I’ve ever come across has mentioned the altitude sickness before. That must have been awful…. but at least you found a restaurant even without your guide! In Korea, we were practically ushered into places without the staff bothering to ask our consent, haha.

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  12. So sorry about the altitude sickness! And I wonder whatever happened to the man from Russia. I have to say, you’ve sparked my curiosity, and I’m eager to read the next installment!

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  13. I am imagining this bus as very similar to some of the ones I had the ‘pleasure’ of taking while I studied abroad in China around this time.

    I’m already a bit apprehensive to hear about the mountain roads and that thing.

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  14. Horrid horrid – you were lucky to acclimatise even if it was on last day as usually the only solution is to return to sea level.
    Have you read ‘Hotel on the Roof of the World’ brilliant memoirs on running a hotel in Lhasa which captures perfectly the Chinese/Russian/Tibetan relationships!

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  16. Machu Picchu is way lower than Cuzco which is a bit lower than Lhasa. La Paz is higher (as is Lake Titicaca), and my problem there was nose bleeds. Cuzco needs taking steadily, but you’ll be fine doing the bus/train to MP from there. Drink coca tea 😉

    You sound like you had the worst of all companions joining you on this trip… looking forward to the next instalment. 🙂

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  18. It’s a shame when something you loved to see is also with the memories of how ill you were. I have never experienced altitude sickness but it sounds horrible. Is there anything one can chew on to help this out. I saw something one can chew on when one is in South America but can’t remember the name of it. I wonder what happened to that Russian but thankfully he did disappear. No matter what, this is a once in a lifetime trip to see and experience this.

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  20. Oh this sounds awful… and I guess it just gets worse! I have never experienced altitude sickness, thank god. I don’t know if I’ve not been high enough (altitude-wise, not drugs 🙂 ), or if I am, thankfully, not susceptible. Sorry about your experience, but I’m looking forward to your next installment!

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  21. This is fascinating – can’t wait for the next installments. While I haven’t been at super high altitudes, I definitely can feel it when I’m at a higher altitude then I’m used to. I like the idea of having your appetite suppressed, but not along with all of the other symptoms 🙂

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  23. Certainly a bad start. But some good experiences too? Definitely wise to avoid altitude if it affects you so badly. Never been higher than Snowdon myself so lucky not to have experienced it. Wouldn’t be surprised if I reacted the same way as you. though.

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  24. Great story. I have a friend who has been to Tibet a few times and this reminds me of her stories though she was there with a Tibetan Monk to help build a school which is slightly different than your visit…but it was still very similar experiences. (Suzanne)

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  25. I have – luckily – never experienced altitude sickness, I think. It sounds awful. I once climbed a pretty high volcano in Indonesia and felt very light-headed and a bit nauseous. I think that is as close as I have gotten to this sickness. I am familiar with strong headaches and they are very debilitating. I hope you did get some enjoyment out of this adventure! I will have to wait and see…

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  26. I liked this most reluctantly 🙂 Does the headache respond to medication, Anabel? I can’t imagine a more ruinous thing on holiday (though I suspect you have another trick or two up your sleeve 🙂 )

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  28. oh altitude sickness; it crippled me in Peru for a while the worst thing not so much the headache as the teeth ache… I could barely open my mouth for 3 days

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  29. The trip sounds awful, but the photos are stunning. Sounds like you had your share (and that of three other people) of altitude sickness. I can empathize. I really do try to properly hydrate before and during trips into the high country, but have gotten the headache and nausea typical of altitude sickness anyway. I’ve always done well driving through Rocky Mountain National Park which tops out at 12,183 feet above sea level. Trips to Breckenridge and up Pike’s Peak have been more problematic. Maybe I just hadn’t drunk enough water. I am getting better though.

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    • We followed all the advice and still got the headache! It can be quite random – a few years later we went up Kinabalu and John felt worse than I did, yet here it was the other way round. We’ll see how we fare in Colorado!

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  30. Oh lord, this is so shaping up to be the best kind of dinner party story. The kind that are totally riveting, but you know it’s taken time for the sharp edges to be worn off the memory.

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  31. Great story, however it would be much better without this horrible headache…
    It’s a pity your guide was Chinese, not Tibetan, but we don’t always have a choice here…
    Observing debating monks was probably the most unique experience from Lhasa. 🙂

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