Everest Base Camp, Rongpu, Tibet

Yet another 24h ride, this time by train, took me to Lhasa, where I started my guided tour through Tibet (unfortunately the only way to visit). 

During the train ride a presentation of Tibet through the speakers was given. One sentence stuck with me: „The chinese liberation of Tibet brought great prosperity to the region“.

It was very unfortunate to see how strong the chinese influence in Tibet was and how much the city looked like any other chinese city: wide boulevards and high rise appartment buildings. Lhasas old town is protected by police controls at every possible entrance and the streets are lined with chinese shops (and KFC and Pizza Hut). On the central square, in front of Jokhang Temple, many tibetans pray by doing prostrations. Chinese snipers watch from the surrounding rooftops making sure no „terrorist attack“ can happen.

After leaving Lhasa we drove through stunning landscapes and visited different monasteries, while three cameras and microphons inside the bus surveilled us. 

The monks in the monestaries have to sign that they deny the Dalai Lama. Carrying his picture is highly illegal. Tibetans don’t have a passport. 

At the end of the week we reached our last stop before going to Nepal: the Everest Base Camp (the tourist one) and Rongpu Monastery. Already on 5200 mas and being so close to Qomolangma (Tibetan for Mount Everest), the worlds highest peak suddenly seemed smaller than expected.