The flight from Beijing to Tibet could not have been more stark. We left a bustling, sprawling city of 20 million people – a city constantly shrouded in smog and haze – and landed in a city nestled amid stunning mountain ranges and surrounded by farmers who appear to be wearing the same clothes and performing the exact same tasks their ancestors did hundreds of years ago. It is easy to see why people leave Tibet with a real feeling of a spiritual connection.
Before I talk more about Lhasa, I just wanted to note how amazing the plane ride was. As we entered Tibet, you could see the mountains jutting out of the Earth. Everything was so crystal clear. I tried to take pictures, but there is no way my photos do it justice.
As we continued along I happened to look out the window at one point and see some strange looking clouds in the distance. Rather than being flat clouds, like all the others, they had taken on some irregular shapes. I peered hard, trying to see what was up.
By now I am sure you can guess what was going on. I was not looking at clouds, I was looking at mountains. Yup, those were mountain tops poking through the clouds. I was stunned. I just stared at them as we flew by. I have never seen anything like that.
There is a very good reason Tibet is known as the rooftop of the world.
I had hoped we would be close enough to see the Himalayas, which straddle the Tibet/Nepal border. The Mt. Everest base camp is located in Tibet. Sadly, Everest is about 700 kilometers away, so there is just no way to get close to it. Bummer.
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