Shangri La at the end of the line
Matthew Woodward has travelled more than halfway across the globe by train to get to Lhasa. Was it worth it?
My time in Lhasa is fast drawing to a close. It’s been a wonderful and unique experience to be amongst all the pilgrims. The winter is a good time to visit Tibet. Okay it’s cold – just a couple of degrees in the daytime and freezing at night, but the climate is dry and the days are generally clear and sunny. Best of all though, there are hardly any (non-Chinese) foreigners here.
My stay has reminded me of the epic British film, The Man Who Would Be King. It’s all a Kipling fiction, of course, but there have been several moments during my stay when I have really had the sense of being in a mythical place. This is not actually that surprising, as parts of the monasteries and palaces here date back to before the 7th Century. In many places Lhasa feels completely untouched by the progress of time.
I have had a brilliant guide here in Tibet. His name is Tenzing. I had to get an official guide to secure a permit to travel, but I think it has really improved the quality of my time here. There is so much to take in and Tenzing really is ‘Mr Tibet’. He makes a real effort to show me everything, even if it means getting accidentally locked in a room in the Sera monastery. Our ‘escape’ had a slight Indiana Jones feel about it.
Lhasa is one of those places where the sense of place and history is such that it really touches you. Its history needs careful explanation, and Tenzing has been great at this.
