APRIL 17, 2015 news.com.au
HALFWAY up the serpentine staircase
ascending to Tibet’s Potala Palace, I’m white in the face and
gasping for air.
Typically fit and healthy, I collapse to sit on the
ground and try to regain composure. Unease turns to panic as I
realise how difficult it is to breathe, the air thin and my chest
tight. It’s a shortness of breath like no other I’ve
experienced.
But as far as symptoms of altitude sickness go, I’m
one of the lucky ones. At a lofty 3650 metres, Lhasa, the world’s
highest city is not for the faint-hearted.
As irony would have it, handfuls of tourists make
their way to Tibet’s capital city each year, only to find
themselves on the next plane out. Known as ‘the roof of the world’,
the average elevation in Tibet is around 4500m.
It’s a far cry from Australia, the lowest continent
on the globe with a rather humble average elevation of 330m.
Altitude sickness, at its most severe, can be life-threatening and
with symptoms including dizziness, shortness of breath, nausea,
vomiting, tiredness, loss of appetite and confusion, it makes for
an unpleasant holiday souvenir if you succumb to it.
As far as destinations go, Lhasa is one of the
biggest gambles you can take in your travels, with no way to
predict whether you’ll fall victim to altitude sickness until you
get there. Likewise, the only cure is to descend to a lower
altitude immediately.
Under the strict direction of our Nepali tour guide,
Sanjay, we’ve been ingesting preventive medication Diamox since we
departed Kathmandu for Lhasa a few days ago.
As it turns out, tiredness, dizziness and shortness
of breath are about as bad as it gets for our small group of
six.
Others are not so fortunate, however. A lone female
traveller in the foyer of the Yak Hotel guesthouse in Lhasa’s Old
Town is clearly distressed and making arrangements to depart
following her first evening, which appears to have been spent over
the toilet.
Her tour guide has abandoned her and, adamant about
her beliefs on alternative medicine, she is refusing conventional
medical treatment for more natural Tibetan remedies, despite the
advice of locals.
Sadly, her trip will end here.
For those of us who make it past the first 24 hours,
however, there is a bewildering sense of relief and accomplishment,
knowing the first acclimatisation has been a success and we’ve
overcome this first hurdle. But there’s still no time to
waste.
Here are the city’s highlights for those who make it
this far.
Stairway to heaven
The former winter palace of the Dalai Lama and once
the seat of the Tibetan government, Potala Palace is a now a small
monastery and the UNESCO World Heritage site is home to precious
relics and stupas (tombs) of past Dalai Lamas.
On a clear day, the view of the Himalayas from on
top is magical. Brace yourself, at 3750m the journey to this
imposing fortress, which is situated on top of the Red Hill, is not
for the weary of mind or body.
It’s the closest thing you’ll find to a stairway to
heaven, if only for the reason it feels like you just might die on
the way up. But push on, the views are worth it.
Old town
The city’s public plaza, Barkhor Square, was built
in 1985 and is home to Jokhang Temple. Built in 642, it’s
considered to be one of the holiest places of Buddhist worship in
Tibet.
The country has been under Chinese control since the
Cultural Revolution in 1959 and in the wake of a handful of violent
protests, this area is under the excessive gaze of Chinese
police.
Discreetly spot them scouring the joint from
surveillance tents on rooftops and then watch the pilgrims who have
travelled from far and wide to prostrate in a counterclockwise
direction around the square.
Also worth a visit is the small Muslim quarter,
where you’ll find a mosque and street butchers, as well as
Dropenling Handicraft Center for puppets, ornaments and painted
chests handmade by local artisans.
Kitchen rules
It’s partially true that once you’ve seen one monastery, you’ve
seen them all. Even so, there’s still reason to visit Drepung on
the outskirts of Lhasa, which is now home to 700 monks, only a
small percentage compared to the 10,000 it once accommodated. Check
out the medieval-style kitchen quarters and the prayer hall, where
for a small fee, you are permitted to take photos of some of the
relics and friendly monks tending to butter lamps.
Great debate
Between 3pm and 5pm on weekdays, monks at this
monastery participate in philosophical debates in a pristine,
white-pebbled courtyard and tourists are permitted to find a spot
and watch. Make sure you get there early for a decent vantage
point. Using a number of animated gestures and slaps for emphasis,
the monks go back and forth with one another in what turns out to
be a truly entertaining battle of spiritual prowess.
Exile’s abode
Norbulingka, the Dalai Lama’s summer palace, is not
quite as boastful as Potala Palace, but it’s set in the lush
grounds of a well-tended park. It bears a great deal of
significance, however, as it was from this humble abode that the
14th and current Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 to avoid capture
by the Chinese.
Here, the public are privy to his meditation room,
basic bedroom complete with single bed, bathroom and conference
room. The surrounding gardens, forests and flower beds are also
worth a wander.
Dine here
There are plenty of restaurants in Barkhor Square
offering Nepali curries, Tibetan soups and yak meat dishes. But if
by this time you’ve consumed your body weight in marsala tea and
yak momos (dumplings), then it’s likely you’ll be looking for a
little variety. Austrian-run Dunya Restaurant and pub is a cosy
oasis in the middle of the old town that serves up local dishes and
some of the city’s best Western and South East Asian dishes
including French onion soup and nasi goreng. The local Lhasa Beer
is the perfect nightcap, also.