First I should thank generous Lesley, with his permission I have this chance to travel. Lesley is a handsome Walsh with dreadlock, this hair style made him very attractive in China, which made him very uncomfortable in crowd. The different attitude to uncommon thing in west and east is one lesson Lesley learned in his journey . Hope him can find his nature and peace in the small village of Laos.

Illusion of Holy Land

Most people, especially non-Chinese have unrealistic imagination of Tibet. I think it may lead by mass media, they described Tibet as a pure holy land, all lost good things out there. I should admit, years before like other undeveloped region, old tradition is strong on this land, people have little idea of commercial society. However right now, things changed a lot on this land. Some blame technology, some blame commercial society, most blame China. My explanation is simple, time changed. Like other place in the world, time also affect this holy land. The youth of Tibetan also want big television, Nike sport gear, beautiful and useless things created by modern world. You got more, you lose more, that’s the balance.

Tibet is not barren land, if you travel along the national road you can find people everywhere. If you want a close look to famous viewpoint, you should pay for it, include Mt. Everest. They built the road and built the gate, then you should pay for the convenience they provided.

I know it’s not easy for non-Chinese go to Tibet, and also not cheap. The easier B-plan is Tibetan area out of Tibet. If you just want enjoy the beautiful nature of Tibet, Tibetan area in Sichuan province is another good choice. You can trek around  snow mountain in mountain area, hired local horse ease your burden. This area is totally same as Tibet and most important things is you can travel in this area without any official restriction.

Tashi 1 Restaurant

The best restaurant I have visited in Lhasa is Tashi 1. It’s price is very reasonable, I mean cheap and tasty food. The recommend dish is Yogurt Cake, Fried Dumplings and Bobi with 4 Fruit. You can find it on Zangyiyuan Road, near Beijing East Road.

Canggu Temple Sweet Tea House

When you walk in old town of Lhasa, you can find many tea house in it, and the best one must be the Canggu Temple Sweet Tea House. As its name said, it located near Canggu Temple. The environment is perfect for drinking tea, and the price is amazing cheap, maybe because its mainly customer is local Tibetan.

I know many non-Chinese tourist in Tibet dare not to try Yak Butter Tea. You can see the funny face when you invite them to drink the tea. Tibetan drink salty yak butter tea in the morning and have sweet butter tea in other time. I prefer the sweet one and it is also easily accepted by non-Chinese. If you want try Tibetan tea, drink sweet tea in Canggu Sweet Tea House is a good choice.

Shambala Palace 

Shambala Palace is a beautiful hostel in old town of Lhasa. Really difficult to find because it’s located in a dead end of alley, you can find the detail on their website. The hostel reconstruction from a old Tibetan building once owned by a Tibetan noble, in my words, you can see Tibetan ghost strolling in it at night. You can see Potala Palace on its roof and all decorations are from local Tibetan.

Because it’s an old building, the sound insulation is not good. Fortunately, everyone in this hotel is keeping quiet, maybe because the ghost is watching us

Stone Pot Chicken

Along G318, Sichuan food is the most common food you can find. If you passed Lulang(鲁朗）, you can not miss the Stone Pot Chicken. Actually, this dish is also not Tibetan food, some restaurant invent it recent years. The stone pot is from Medog(墨脱),  put Tibetan chicken, local mushroom and other vegetable in it. Believe me, it’s most delicious dish you can have along G318.

4028 Campsite

G318 start from Shanghai, end at Friendship Bridge in Tibet, full length is 5476km. 4028 Campsite is beside the 4028km milestone and is the only campsite along G318. It’s a lovely place, you can see snow mountain from it, yak and horse are the visitors. The campsite owner have a Tibetan pig named Hemei, if you touch it, it would sleep down to enjoy your touch. Another pet, a dog named Dianzang, it would use its nose to scratch you to beg food.

This site provide food, shower, toilet, wifi, charge and camp equip rent service. And they accept foreigners.

Songstam Meili

Songstam Lodges have five lodges in Yunnan Tibetan Area, Songstam Meili is the new found one located near Mt. Meili. All Songstam Lodges are five star standard hotel, the decoration is Tibetan style and staff are very nice. In every room of Songstam Meili, you can see Mt. Meili. You can’t find a better place around Mt. Meili, so why not award yourself in the tough journey?

The room rate of Songstam Meili is between  RMB900 to RMB1600, dinner is RMB 150 per person. They also provide trekking service.

American Style British Guy

In the night of Songstam Meili, there are three guests there. Me, my girlfriend and a British Guy. Except the accent, you can’t find any relationship from him with British. Maybe the reason is he leave Britain since 1997. He worked in a American chain restaurant company, most time in Hongkong, sometime fly to Shanghai for business.

He amazed to see Chinese buy luxury with bags. We made our explanation and tell him the gloomy future of China we worried. As a foreigner worked in China, and not taken English teacher as his job, he has a bright future, his Chinese colleague and friend never tell him real China, he can’t see the dark side of China. When we told him check the citizenship of his Chinese wealthy friend’s family member, who recently move his family from Australia back to China, we see the non-British face again. Chinese are clever. That’s my explanation.

It seems like almost every foreigner has one Classic Foreigner Question. Before ask the question, they always said you have the right refuse answering it. This guy has his own. After I answered it honestly, I though China is most difficult enigma on this world for foreigners, even you live there you also can’t understand it. Then a strange proud fill my heart.

Tiger Leaping Gorge Trekking

It let me dying. As a computer geek, OK, a nerd, I am very proud I spent one and half an hour from Mr. Zhang Hostel to Tiger Leaping Gorge and back. You should know the normal Chinese take two hours. We started too early, not saw the grandma drug dealer who sold weeds to foreigners. What a pity.

Lijiang and Dali

They both are old town. I prefer Lijiang, it’s small and artful, though a little artificial. Dali is different, many local people live in it, so it’s more practical. Maybe Dali is suitable for long-tern stay. But I just passed by, so Lijiang is more attractive. By the way, Lijiang is famous by its nickname Capital of One Night Stand.

Finally, we arrived Mohan, the Chinese border town to Laos. Farewell to Lesley, we back to Chengdu.

Below is the report from Mr.Sun who lead this 20100510EK group from Zhangmu to Kashgar. 

May 2010 Himalaya Tibet-Xinjiang Summary
Route: Zhangmu- Everest Base – Shigatse – Lhasa – Shigatse – Saga – Paryang – Mt.Kalaish – Shiquanhe (Ger)- Red willow beach – Yecheng – Kashgar
Time: 10^th May, 2010 -7^th June,2010. Total of 30 days (plus empty back time of tour guides) 

May 20, 2010 Zhangmu
1. Meet Alex and Julian in the Customs(note that due to time difference and the lunch break, Nepal Customs about 3 o’clock in Beijing time that will switch release)
2. For entry clearance, had finished vehicle inspection disinfection procedures.
3. The local immigration office for the temporary travel document (written on the part of the travel sites) 

Accommodation: Caiyuan hotel standard room 380 RMB (3 stars hotel), Manager Nipin 13648926969 0892-8745888 (Generally speaking, Zhangmu port due to its location, accommodation is more expensive, but the guest can also find less expensive hotels, such as the Sherpa,etc.)

Fuel: a gas station

21^st May, 2010 -22^nd May Zhangmu – Tingri White Dam
1. White Dam to Tingri, over Lulu checkpoints get off of all registered, leaving a copy of the government permits for the self-driving tour in China (This permits should be ask as in-country agency to help apply it 2 or 3 months before the vehicle enter China)
2. Tickets (180RMB/PP, 400 RMB/per vehicle only free drivers, not free for guide) to Everest, again passing inspection, off register, leaving the government permits copy. To the base camp on the way there are two check points, check points the way back Lulu registered off again, and leaving the government permits copy.
Accommodation: Everest Hotel Standard Room 280 RMB/Room. Tel: 0892-8262775 (Note: the town has opened a number of new hotels, such as the white Dam, cheap and good)
Fuel: white dam has gas station

May 23, 2010 White Dam in Tingri – Shigatse
En route visits Sakya Monastery, Tashilhunpo. (Sakya Monastery need travel permits and approvals required to check)
Accommodation: Jiumuyamei four-star hotel, standard room 360 RMB/Room (outside) 320 RMB/Room (within) Tel: 0892-8841040 13908928360 Manager: Jan
Fuel: White Dam, Shigatse has gas stations
Voice-over: Tashilhunpo in, ALEX mysterious smile, “I know where is the Panchen Lama’s bedroom, then move the fingers up, self-confidence to say, look, there are air-conditioned rooms”.

May 24, 2010 Shigatse – Lhasa
1. Morning to the Vehicle Administration for temporary driver’s license and driving permit, and complex procedures. Generally have the following elements: desk application form, certificate hall on the 3rd and the 6th and from the hand over the envelope window, leaving the approval and fill in a form filing number, permit medical personnel, to learn traffic laws, vehicle inspection, and traffic compulsory purchase insurance. Fortunately, many people though Monday, well within the buttoned in a morning.
2. Afternoon, head to Lhasa, there has five speed limits registration stations along the way to Lhasa, driving about 5 hours.
Accommodation: Lhasa Hotel 4 Star 360rmb/rooms (of course, varied selection of Lhasa, is the whole night soak in the nightclub you have no control.)
Oil: Gas stations along the route are

May 25 2010 -5 26 Lhasa
Visit Barhkor street, Jokhang Temple, Potala Palace, rest and repair vehicle, food and equipment procurement to Ali, and so on
Accommodation: Lhasa Hotel 4 Star 360 rooms
Oil: There are many gas stations
Voice-over: hotel front desk younger sister, secretly pulled me excited asked: and your fellow foreigner is a Hollywood star? I said, how clever u are, so low-key surprise was that you saw it, I try to help you get his signature? Ear flew screaming repeatedly. Add, they mean the star is JULIAN, indeed a real person like Feng Xiaogang’s “biggest names” which the name Donald? But JULIAN insist that he is more like George Clooney.

May 27, 2010 Lhasa – Saga
About 10 hours driving, poor road conditions Lazi later before entering Saga city checkpoints
Accommodation: Saga Crescent Hotel standard room 360 RMB/Room Mada 0892-8900078 0892-8202888)

Oil: Lahze Saga both has fuel station.

Voice-over: To search for more comfortable accommodation, the elderly decide to discuss long road to Saga, at last, when arrive in the Crescent Hotel, behind a barracks, prohibition of photography, but I suddenly found that the toilet barracks high visibility ~ ~

May 28, 2010 Saga – Paryang
Road rehabilitation, poor traffic
Accommodation: double room 120 Xixiabangma Hotel Tashi 13989027077
Oil: a gas station Saga
Voice-over: Do not be shocked that the atmosphere of the hotel the word, in fact, that is, a relatively large hotel, relatively clean, no shower.

May 29, 2010 Paryang – Mt.Kalaish

Visit the holy lake Manasarovar Lake, Mt.Kalaish
Road rehabilitation, road conditions poor, to Baga asphalt after all.
Mt.Kalaish endorsement travel points, 50 Yuan/person
Accommodation: North Sichuan Hotel (recommended) Double 240 yuan 0897-2607019 13638970235
Oil: no gas stations
Voice-over: In the face of Kailash Mansarovar, cautious ALEX finally agreed to hand the flag NAVO photographed, and a few unsuccessful publicity photos was born.

May 30, 2010 Mt.Kalaish – Shiquanhe (Ger)

Here are checkpoints along the way
Accommodation: Shiquanhe Hotel standard room 220 Yuan Cirenpingcuo 13,989,976,099
Oil: Shiquanhe can refuel
Voice-over: the internet café, proprietress for a harmonious, tightly stood, watching the two foreigners visit the website. Finally, she found, are even more noteworthy is that Internet cafes have been a man shouting into their cell phone, how on Jiangsu TV’s “You Are the One,” as long as half an hour.

May 31, 2010 Shiquanhe – Red willow Beach
Accommodation: DAZHOU Hotel double room 60-100 Yuan 13,369,988,619
Oil: Ritu & Red willow beach (existing in the flow of oil filling stations) has gas stations
Voice-over: In Red willow Beach “hotel” JULIAN found air-dried rat, he danced for joy, excitement, flew into a photo and send it to his daughter from childhood fear of mice.

June 1, 2010 Red willow Beach – Yecheng
There are checkpoints along the way
Accommodation: Dianli hotel standard room 100 Yuan 0998-7289800
Oil: Yecheng a gas station

June 2, 2010 Yecheng – Kashgar
Accommodation: Yambu hotel standard room 240 Yuan 0998-2588888
Oil: a gas station in Kashi

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As most foreigners may aware, the foreigner need to get the Tibet entrance permits to get into Tibet. So first you have to choose a in-country agent to help deal with this thing. Here i would like to update news that the foreigners may not need to apply the Tibet entrance permits if they don’t visit any scenery spot in Tibet. This feedback was from my guide last year in a self-driving tour group. He said there were 3 foreigners drove the bike from Lhasa to Zhangmu and they take trains from Chengdu to Lhasa. I doubt their words, however, the things is very complex at this moment. I’m not sure if the foreigner can get into Tibet without permits. So far as I know, even the chinese, we need to show our ID card with the train tickets together before getting on the train, and also, the train station staff will take the picture of both the ID card as well as the train tickets.

So Let’s back to the railway journey on the train. From Chengdu to Tibet,it can be divided into two parts,Sichuan  to  Shanxi ( none Tibet section) Xining-Lhasa (Tibet area section). I find out some information on the wiki  Qingzang railway. This railway is known as the highest altitude railway on earth.

some pictures on the rail way.

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Last month i went to Tibet with my father and it’s a marvelous experience. I recommoned my father as a driver that can go with me to drive the Prado 4×4 vehicle back to Chengdu from Lhasa.  And we really make it.

First we took train from Chengdu~

to be continue (forgive me~i would really appreciate that i have a chair at this moment)