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Why Travel Tibet?

The idea that one could not only get to the Everest Base Camp by road, but to continue and travel right over the Himalayan mountain range and come down the other side to Nepal seems impossible to mere mortals like myself. Could this be true?

Wouldn't that require an expedition of hundreds of horses, yaks, Sherpas and whatever spread over months? Not so as it turns out. Now it can be achieved with a civilised small group tour and Tibet Vista has this trip all sorted out.

Destiny with Tibet Vista

But fellow future travellers, I warn you here and now, be aware of the fine print on the contract and the Terms and Conditions from Tibet Vista: "..It is a fundamental condition that you acknowledge that the itinerary is an adventure tour and needs some flexibility...." and the "...harsh natural environment..." I also noted: "...a few travellers may suffer from Acute Mountain Sickness...." and "...it will be very cold, please bring suitable attire...".

Wow, this looks serious. I intended to travel in January, the middle of winter. As easy and delightful as the whole Everest trip idea looks and sounds from the colourful web site, it was becoming clear that it was not going to be that easy, maybe I should find something else somewhere else.

But the lure of the adventure nagged at me. There was another reason too.

About ten years ago, Travel Vista helped me travel from Shanghai to Xian, then on the newly opened train line right up to the Tibetan plateau to Lhasa.

This mighty engineering structure, at places built right on top of the permafrost, allowed one to travel in relative comfort from sea level up and over 5000 metres and into Lhasa at 3600metres - on a train can you believe! The train journey was extraordinary, though that's another story.

The reason I mention it here is that because when I booked the train to Lhasa, I also had pre-booked my flight out of Lhasa just a day later. That was a mistake. Lhasa was a gobsmacking, eye-watering sensory overload.

Here was a part of the world that's been locked away for ages and I had seemingly just stumbled into it at the end of a train journey. I wanted to stay but commitments prevented me. I vowed then that one day I would return.

Selfie with Potala Palace

So now, nearly ten years later, was the opportunity to see, learn and meet the people of Lhasa, then travel further into the Tibetan autonomous region, and on to Everest base camp and beyond. I signed the foreboding contract with Tibet Vista and, - and this is key: followed their instructions exactly for the visa application and booked my flights.

It worked, I had my visa and the adventure had begun.

Starting My Lifetime Journey in Tibet

I flew into Tibet a few days early to help with acclimatizing to the altitude and also to the temperature as I have come from Brisbane which was humming at about 30 degrees Celsius while Lhasa was about zero.

If you ever fear that you might forget an article of clothing or wish to purchase something more, fear not as Lhasa has more than a few shops specializing in cold weather gear.

There had been just a few changes in Lhasa since my earlier visit, it was so great to be back. The first two days of the tour is in fact in Lhasa, as there are some places like Potala Palace and the historic Jokhang Temple that you just simply can not miss and having a local guide is a huge advantage.

Karola Glacier in Tibet

I feel I should not give you my description as I believe that "Comparison is the thief of all joy" so I'll let you enjoy your own discoveries.

But I can tell you about the others in my small group. All hearty tough super-fit adventurers right? - nope, not really - instead we had such a contrast of people. Yeah, sure there were a few mid 20 to mid 30 hearty tough super type people, but then Fred walked in, mid-sixties, oh, how on earth is he going to cope?

I thought. and then the young Australian couple with the children, ages 10 and 12 walked in! - oh wow, they think they're going get through this? We may well be dropping these people off at the first town we get to.

But get this, this was Fred's second trip. (same tour) He was here 18 months previously, in summer, and can you believe it, there was cloud cover over Everest every day, so he never saw the mountain.

Now he has come back in winter as the chances of the clear sky are so much greater. But his point was made. You may come all the way to Tibet, drive the hundreds of kilometres up to the base camp, stay a few days and leave never having seen the mountain at all. Oh my god.

On departure day from Lhasa I was half expecting 4 wheel drive vehicles loaded up with provisions and equipped with satellite-guided navigation, but instead a regular looking minibus turned up for our epic trip. I, along with a few others were a little apprehensive about the logistics here.

However, our guide put us at ease, as he had done this many times and his experience far outweighed our fears.

As it turns out the guide was correct and the mini bus was perfect. It was cosy but spacious enough inside to move around, socialise and chat, or have time and space for any individual to look out their window with their own music. And perhaps most important at this time of year, it was warm inside, and as we climbed in altitude the outside temperatures were starting to plummet.

Paying a visit to the Lake Yamdrok

First day's travel took us to Gyantse-Shi, Heritage town and Perklor Monastery. Our guide was always forever attentive of our needs and as a result there were numerous stops along the way to view the tremendous scenery, stretch our legs, visit the bathroom, or eat in the local cafes.

Now we were really getting immersed into Tibet. The landscape, oh my god, but again,... Comparison is the thief of all joy so I'll let you enjoy your own discoveries. Though it was becoming clear that the history and monastery were creating a big impact on us.

Peter and Everest background

We eventually arrived at Everest Base Camp. Thankfully for us all, especially Fred, Everest was clear of clouds during our stay. The kids coped fine with the altitude as did Fred. It should be said here that both Fred and myself were taking the diamox tablets, which I think benefited us greatly in helping us sleep at 5000 metres.

One or two of the others spoke about difficulty in getting to sleep as they were panting for air all the time, which is not unusual at this altitude. I feel its worth saying that the effect of altitude at Everest at 5150 metres was softened because we had already been to that altitude several times already on the way as we crossed over the various passes on en-route.

The stunning lake view of Tibet

The second phase of our journey was full of more spell binding vistas of the Himalayan range. again, I feel I should not give you my description as I believe that Comparison is the thief of all joy so I'll let you enjoy your own discoveries. the last pass was truly astonishing, such a baron harsh, yet strikingly beautiful at the same time, oops, that was a bit of a spoiler... :)

After about a week of temperatures of zero or below, like -20 Celsius, and the dizzy heights of the Tibetan plateau we eventually descended down the valley into Nepal. It is truly amazing how hot 7 Celsius can feel. - Check the 7 Days Lhasa to Kathmandu Overland Small Group Tour

Our fantastic guide

Conclusion

Overall, the experience has been one of my more favourite and memorable trips. We transferred into Nepal without difficulties, another top tip is to bring US$ cash for your Nepalese visa. The Nepalese met us in 4 wheel drive vehicles to take us to Kathmandu, at first I thought this was a bit of an overkill with vehicle choice, but it turns out it was a good call, however, that's another story.

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