[youngjediboy]

Tibet's been one of the places I've always wanted to travel to. And with that I'm thinking of doing a short tour in early April during the Easter/Spring break from school. It's only a little over a week, but I contacted one of the tour places to see if it's possible. If it is... would anyone be interested in going?

Also, if anyone has travelled to Tibet before, could you tell us about your experiences? Who did you book your tour with, how was the trip, costs, etc?



I googled around and found a few sites, but most seem to be geared towards Americans... and thus probably have marked up prices. However, one of my teachers recommended this site: http://khampacaravan.com/ which she booked through on a Tibet trip last year and she only had good things to say about it.

Everything's in English, and I guess they're also geared towards English speakers, but she's a HK native and even she used them so that's gotta be a good sign. She said this is a better alternative than taking the train, especially if you want to sight see and explore. And I'm sure it's way cheaper than flying directly.



If early April doesn't work out, I'll try to book again for a longer trip in the summer. Anyone also interested in going? I'm guessing with smaller/personalized tours like this the bigger the group the more we'll save.

[texasaxel]

I want to go to Tibet about 2 weeks between mid-June and late-July - can anyone recommend a tour operator with focus on small to medium-sized groups, international tourists (e.g. English instead of Chinese-speaking guide)? I am looking at Intrepid since I have previously travelled with them in China but would like to take a look at some alternatives because their Tibet tours seem fairly rushed. Also, I would like to travel at least one-way by train but have been unsuccessful so far. If that fails, I'd like to travel from Hong Kong by air either to Nepal or Lhasa rather than overland from Chengdu to maximize time in Tibet.

[mckpoon]

i'm arranging to go ASAP, hopefully departing this weekend.

i'm taking the train from guangzhou to lhasa - i believe this method avoids the TTP [tibet permit] business. possibly returning by air from kathmandu.

this should be about 15 days, more or less. i've learned that i should leave room for surprises.


this is probably REALLY short notice, but i move quickly when i've made up my mind =]

[sewage]

Originally Posted by texasaxel

I want to go to Tibet about 2 weeks between mid-June and late-July - can anyone recommend a tour operator with focus on small to medium-sized groups, international tourists (e.g. English instead of Chinese-speaking guide)? I am looking at Intrepid since I have previously travelled with them in China but would like to take a look at some alternatives because their Tibet tours seem fairly rushed. Also, I would like to travel at least one-way by train but have been unsuccessful so far. If that fails, I'd like to travel from Hong Kong by air either to Nepal or Lhasa rather than overland from Chengdu to maximize time in Tibet.

The area west of Chengdu is really nice as you can see plenty of Tibetan culture as well. If you go directly to Lhasa, or even take the train in, you'll be limited as to what you can see. As for an English speaking guide, if you go directly to Lhasa, you'll find plenty of English speaking tour operators working there without any problems.

[texasaxel]

Thanks for the advice. My tour is booked for the second half of June, taking the train from Xining to Lhasa, renting a 4WD with driver for 10 days, and flying back via Guangzhou.

[Khema]

Originally Posted by mckpoon

i'm arranging to go ASAP, hopefully departing this weekend.

i'm taking the train from guangzhou to lhasa - i believe this method avoids the TTP [tibet permit] business. possibly returning by air from kathmandu.

this should be about 15 days, more or less. i've learned that i should leave room for surprises.

mckpoon, how did your trip go? did you manage to board the train to Lhasa without the tibet permit?

[mckpoon]

there was not a single check for the permit from gz to lhasa!

although i had a bit of trouble in shigatse, as i'm obviously not a Chinese national--the TTP would've been a great assistance when attempting to get into closed areas (to get the alien travel permit). although you could risk it and hitchhike your way around, as i did.

but if you have some time, call up the Tibetan Travel Bureau to have it arranged:
ph. 28383391
fax. 34750280
Times Tower
37/F, 393 Jaffe Rd
although the operation has moved to gz, if you call up the number, the fellow says he can take care of it.

once you reach lhasa, there's usually other travellers looking for someone to share a 4WD or biking companion, but outside of that it gets to be pretty difficult unless you are near well-travelled towns at the base of Mt. Kailash or Jomolongma.

i think being alone and a harmless female, i got alot luckier than if i were to be in a group, or if i was a single male in the villages.

so it was a great trip, and happy to be back!

[Khema]

thanks mckpoon,

one more question - how did you buy the traink ticket Guangzhou to Lhasa? at Guangzhou train station? are you Caucasian looking?

[mckpoon]

Originally Posted by Khema

thanks mckpoon,
one more question - how did you buy the traink ticket Guangzhou to Lhasa? at Guangzhou train station? are you Caucasian looking?

i just went to the ticket counter!
i am chinese-canadian, so no to the second question.
i also can't speak mandarin, and can't read chinese, so that'll give you some background.

since you asked that, i'm going to assume you are:
i suggest you prepare the TTB permit, as i have spoken to others and they think i was lucky that i got away with so much. but that's what i think.

the lhasa train departs from the guangzhou station, NOT guangzhou dong (from HK). a train leaves everyday at about noonish, and is about 880RMB for a hard sleeper (6 to a cabin, no doors) and 2400RMB for a soft sleeper (4 to a cabin, with doors). it supposedly takes 56hrs, but we arrived early (!!!?!).

i went hard, because i am poor and unconcerned. i felt that it was relatively safe, clean and efficient, relative to how Chinese trains *can* be.

if i spoke *no* chinese, i would get someone to write down "1 ticket to lhasa on a soft/hard sleeper on the top/middle/bottom bunk." and then hope for the best.


tip:
the top bunk (hard sleeper) feels safest, but the head room is very limiting.
the bottom bunk (hard sleeper) is most convenient, but other people WILL sit on your seat during waking hours.
they spell lhasa "lasa". don't be scared.


feel free to ask if you need to know anything more!
=]

good luck!

[jayinhongkong]

Damn, you're quite the adventurous type mckpoon!