Am in Tibet - finally!

After a few days in Lhasa, you certainly notice the effect of "Sinocization" that has happened here since the Chinese takeover. Even Tibet has not escaped the clutches of China's worst social vice, the dreaded karaoke. Getting out of the city is what it's all about, so I spent a few days trekking in the mountains with 3 others. Poking your head out of a tent to see the spectacular Himalayan scenery of snow-capped mountains, nomad tents and herds of yaks is enough to get even me out of bed early!

The locals are often curious about foreigners camping in the mountains; during our treks we would get frequent visits from villagers and nomads. One morning I emerged bleary-eyed to find a nomad watching me. By the time we got the tent down we had accumulated a crowd of 11 people and 3 horses watching 2 of us eat porridge and brush our teeth!

While we were at Nam-Tso lake I decided to visit the nearest nomads' tents. I broke the ice by showing them everything I had in my pockets - they were particularly intrigued by my zoom lens and my swiss army knife. Next thing they invited me in for tea, and pretty soon they were plying me with yak's cheese (not amazing), and I was exchanging my cap and sunglasses for the red thing that the men wear on their heads, which caused considerable amusement among my host family. I also tried on the yakskin coat,

The chinese government have certainly tried pretty hard to stamp out tibetan culture. Since the invasion in 1951, they have killed 1.2 million people, and destroyed 99% of the 6000 holy buildings. Ultimately the most effective tactic though, is the flooding of the area with Han chinese, who now form over 50% of the population of Tibet (or just 6% if you believe the Chinese government). They even used monasteries for target practice. Hard to believe that most Chinese genuinely believe that they are helping the tibetans. Lhasa itself, the forbidden city and home to the Dalai Lama, is rapidly being converted inot yet another Chinese city with dull communist architecture a-plenty. They even had the gall to erect a monument last year commemorating the "liberation" of Tibet - right opposite the Potala!!

All monks are now vetted by the government to eliminate pro-independence thinking in the monkhood. Believe it or not, many of the monks are actually spies placed there by the Chinese to keep tabs on the monasteries. A couple of years ago, two American tourists handed out a tape of the Dalai Lama's lates speech on tape to a monk, who later identified them and they were deported!!

Have been here nearly 2 weeks, and tomorrow we leave for the nepali border. This is an 8-day trip in a landcruiser, including 4 days trekking to the base camp of the mountain whose Tibetan name is "Chomolongma".