Thorn Tree travel forum

1

Tourism in Tibet is in the hands of Tibetans.

However since the Tibetans don't make a fuss like some foreigners like to do about where their money is going, they buy from grocery stores run by Chinese, eat in Chinese restaurants, buy fresh produce and other daily necessities brought into Tibet on trucks driven by Chinese, so some of foreign tourists' money will end up in Chinese hands. If you don't want the Chinese to benefit from your trip, then don't go to Tibet at all, stay away from China and boycott Chinese products in your home country.

Han Girl

2

Han Girl, have you been to Tibet? The Tibet Tourism Bureau is all Chinese run. There may be a few Tibetans in the offices, but all of the higher up people are Chinese. In the Tibet Tourism Bureau offices in Chengdu, Golmud, Xining and several other places there aren't any Tibetans. So I don't know how you can say that "Tourism in Tibet is in the hands of Tibetans". It clearly is not.

Tibetans in Lhasa buy food from Chinese run grocery stores because there aren't any run by Tibetans (there are some small markets run by Tibetans, but no actual grocery stores).

While some of the truck drivers driving into the TAR are Chinese, most are actually Tibetan. You can tell by the prayer flags and khata that are draped across the front of the trucks they are driving. And even if you have done a survey of all the trucks entering into the TAR and have found that the truck drivers are Chinese, what do you expect the Tibetan people to buy?? They buy these things coming into Tibet because there is no other choice.

You think Tibetans don't make a fuss about this? Wow. Everything about that sentence is false. You don't see protests as often in public now as you did before. Do you know why? Do you know what happened in Lhasa from 1989 to 1990?? The Tibetan people protested and the PLA came in with guns and opened fire. Tibetans were killed. Martial Law was declared. Do you ever wonder why there are cameras all over the Barkhor area?? Tibetan people may not openly complain about things as much anymore, but I guarantee you they will if you sit down with a small group of them. Have you ever sat down with a group of Tibetans and talked to them about these issues? I doubt you have.

Your lack of understanding the Tibetan people, their culture and their history is obvious. This isn't the first post you have made like this before. I would like to encourage you to sit down and talk to some Tibetans about their feelings about China. Read some history books about Tibet written from Tibetans (as opposed to the history books of Tibet you have read that were written by Chinese).

You are entitled to your own opinion. But make sure you have your facts straight before you form your opinion. If you are ever in Tibet, please let me know. I would like to take you out to some nomadic areas of Tibet so that you can ask the Tibetan people yourself on the Chinese occupation of Tibet.

Need more travel information for Tibet? Check these out…

The Land of Snows

Life on the Tibetan Plateau

3

My apologies to anyone I may have offended in the last post. As many of you know I try to not make "China bashing" statements concerning Tibet on this forum. China is one of my favorite countries on earth, but like most countries China has made mistakes in the past.

I always try and get the real facts about Tibet. They are hard to find. The Chinese "facts" are on one end of the spectrum, while the Tibetan "facts" are on the other. The Chinese claim that Tibet was peacefully liberated. The Tibetans claim the Chinese don't allow them to speak Tibetan in their homes. Both of these "facts" are not true. In my five+ years of living in Tibet, I have found that a lot of these so-called "facts" about Tibet that the Chinese and Tibetans say are anything but facts. They are fiction.

The things I write on the Thorn Tree and on my website are coming from hundreds if not thousands of hours of sitting down and talking to Tibetan people and from my own observations. I spend so much time researching the very things that #1 is talking about. So it really bothers me to see people who have not researched these things for one minute, but yet have "facts" concerning it. I try and stay away from political debates about Tibet on this forum because most people have little or no understanding of Tibet. Recently there was a discussion of the "Ethics of Traveling to Tibet" that I wanted nothing to do with. It is pointless to discuss things with people who know nothing about the subject. But I couldn't let the remarks of Han Girl go without saying something today. Again, my apologies if I have upset anyone (including Han Girl).

Need more travel information for Tibet? Check these out…

The Land of Snows

Life on the Tibetan Plateau

4

When I went two years ago, our guide and driver were Tibetan , I had just about every meal in small Tibetan restaurants except the breakfasts , and often found it hard to spend less than an hour on meals. So yes , there are a lot of Tibetans profiting on tourism , and you can interact - if you make an effort to learn more than a handful of Tibetan words you´ll be surprised by the result. On the other hand , all the serious money obviously wind up in the moneyed Chinese class - Lhatse was the only place we stayed that I thought of as a Tibetan guesthouse, all the other were obviously Chinese run hotels - even though the Lhasa hotel was built in Tibetan style.

So was it worth it ? I had my doubts before setting out , and there were painful moments in Lhasa , but now I just wonder why it took me so long, and when I´ll get back, and get around more. I´m saying this from the perspective of several long trips to Ladakh and Nepal , so now you know my answer to the Nepal roundabout option. Since you seem to be planning a Nepal+Tibet combo , you´ll have a huge advantage if you do a high altitude trek close before setting out for Lhasa.

Books : The Dragon in the Land of Snow by Tsering Shakya details Tibet´s modern history from 1947 to the Lhasa uprisings in -89.

Another book that seems to have some of the perspectives Losang calls for is Lhasa - Streets With Memories by Robert Barnett - I found it a fascinating way of describing Tibet´s history where the first book left off, in a completely new way. I´d love to hear your reaction to it , Losang.

high road to ..

5

Losang, I will be in Tibet for my second trip, this September/October. I'd love to catch up with you and will try to arrange it closer to the date.
I intend to stay at that top class Tibetan run lodge you mentioned in this forum a few months ago (in Barkhor) as I am taking my wife this time.

To Karz, it is well worth the visit. The Tibetan people that I met are the most genuine people I have ever seen outside of Australia. They will stop and offer a tourist help anywhere anytime.

Even on a driving tour you will experience Tibetan people in this light throughout the villages. We did the "gunbarrel 4X4 run" from Lhasa to Zhongma and the people we met even on that rushed trip are still fresh in my mind after 2 years.

Sitting in a village halfway between Lhasa and Shigatse in a "restaurant" with a big bowl of yak and potato stew, with a bottomless cup of yak butter tea. Unforgettable. To this day I crave for a bowl of yak and potato stew.

My Tibet / Nepal Photos - September/October 2004

6

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the advice. The more I think about it the more I want to visit Tibet. I guess the 8 overland tour will be a good introduction to Tibet until I can go back- hopefully in the near future.
Cheers