Day 13: Kathmandu to Lhasa
Today we got an early start to ensure we had enough time to make our Air China flight to Lhasa. Diamond picked us up at dawn…hopefully enough time considering how excessively inefficient the KTM airport can be.
Due to the political instability here there are military guards everywhere at the airport. Guys with guns check your passport and boarding pass or reservation before even allowing you into the building. Better safe than sorry I suppose.
After the necessary 5 security checkpoints we were off to board the plane, sort of. A group of people in the boarding line in front of us was loaded onto a shuttle bus to make the 40 foot journey across the tarmac to the plane. After the first group the guy loading the buses must have realized how retarded it was to shuttle bus people 40 feet and just let us walk it. When we neared the plane, yet another security checkpoint awaited us.
The Lhasa airport is a stark contrast to Kathmandu. Exceptionally clean and efficient, and generally pretty empty. Kathmandu and Chengdu are the only connection points in and out of Lhasa so there is never much of a line for security or check-in. Perhaps in this instance the Chinese influence in Tibet has paid off.
Our guide and his driver were waiting for us just outside the final customs checkpoint. Dead quiet outside…a nice change from the hustlers outside the terminal in New Dehli and Kathmandu. The first thing you notice when outside in Lhasa is how bright the sun is. Even if its cold, the sun shines bright. We piled our stuff into the old Land Cruiser and set off for the hour long drive into Lhasa.
I was a bit surprised that Lhasa overall was much cleaner and less polluted than Kathmandu. The entire city, from the people to the drivers, and even the animals walking around seemed a lot more chill.
Our driver took us to the House of Shambhala, which is located right in the middle of Old Lhasa, just a block or two from the Jokhang Temple. It’s a funky little place with only about 10 rooms situated around a small central common area. Apparently an American ex-pat owns it but its operated and managed by local Tibetans.
After settling in we went out to explore. Soon we found the Jokhang area with its large open square complete with Chinese military security cameras and endless market stalls with trinkets galore. Whatever you wanted, you could find it here. T-shirts, blenders, shoes, Chinese medicine, yak cheese, scarves, Chinese pop music cds, etc.
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