Story Archives

Tibet Travel Stories

Tibet: Kham, Tibet - Story by Tom Carter
- 9th Online Issue

The news was shocking.  The ticket agent at the Shangri-la bus terminal in Zhongdian, Yunnan province was happy to tell me over and over, in both Chinese and English, that yes, foreigners can now travel east through the Tibet Autonomous Region to Lhasa … overland and without a permit! I really couldn't believe what I was hearing, but rather than falling down in rapture, I agonized over taking advantage of this new policy or continuing as planned on my already-paid-for, government-authorized, one-week tour across Kham to Lhasa. It would have been silly for me not to choose the latter.

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Ladakh, Tibet: A Traveler's Diary - Story by Elizabeth Elliott
- 6th Online Issue

Good evening and I hope that your sky at dusk may be a beautiful as Ladakh.

I write to you from Leh, capital of the Himalayan province of Ladakh, where I’ve just returned from the Nubra Valley, near Pakistan, part of the famous 'silk route'.

The trip comprised of a quite literally cliffhanging journey, bumping along mountainous roads, including the world's highest drivable pass at 5700m. With our friendly student guides Dolkar and Stanzin, we listened to a soundtrack of the Hindi blockbuster 'Kal Hoo Na Hoo' and sung along to it with much gusto! I am still in a perpetual state of astonishment at the landscape, which, often compared to the surface of the moon, is relentlessly dry and barren. Pockets of green that centre around the river are a miracle of life, and from it there is a whole different world - fields of barley, cows, apricot trees and farmhouses.

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Mount Kailash, Tibet: At Heaven's Gate - Story by Nayna Chakrabarty
- 5th Online Issue

I went to heaven … But I am alive. Does that sound ambiguous?

Mount Kailash located in Tibet is the gateway to paradise. Every year pilgrims travel to attain oneness with God and hope to end their cycle of rebirth. Its religious significance is strongly believed in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and in the Bora faith. The Hindus regard this place as the abode of Lord Shiva, the God of destruction and regeneration while the Tantric Buddhists believe this to be the home of Buddha Demchok. According to the Jains, their founder Rishabhadeva attained enlightenment here and the Bon religion predating Buddhism in Tibet consider this area as the center of all spiritual power.

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