APRIL 17, 2015
HALFWAY up the serpentine staircase ascending to Tibet’s Potala Palace, I’m white in the face and gasping for air.
Typically fit and healthy, I collapse to sit on the ground and try to regain composure. Unease turns to panic as I realise how difficult it is to breathe, the air thin and my chest tight. It’s a shortness of breath like no other I’ve experienced.
But as far as symptoms of altitude sickness go, I’m one of the lucky ones. At a lofty 3650 metres, Lhasa, the world’s highest city is not for the faint-hearted.
As irony would have it, handfuls of tourists make their way to Tibet’s capital city each year, only to find themselves on the next plane out. Known as ‘the roof of the world’, the average elevation in Tibet is around 4500m.
It’s a far cry from Australia, the lowest continent on the globe with a rather humble average elevation of 330m. Altitude sickness, at its most severe, can be life-threatening and with symptoms including dizziness, shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, tiredness, loss of appetite and confusion, it makes for an unpleasant holiday souvenir if you succumb to it.
As far as destinations go, Lhasa is one of the biggest gambles you can take in your travels, with no way to predict whether you’ll fall victim to altitude sickness until you get there. Likewise, the only cure is to descend to a lower altitude immediately.
Under the strict direction of our Nepali tour guide, Sanjay, we’ve been ingesting preventive medication Diamox since we departed Kathmandu for Lhasa a few days ago.
As it turns out, tiredness, dizziness and shortness of breath are about as bad as it gets for our small group of six.
Others are not so fortunate, however. A lone female traveller in the foyer of the Yak Hotel guesthouse in Lhasa’s Old Town is clearly distressed and making arrangements to depart following her first evening, which appears to have been spent over the toilet.
Her tour guide has abandoned her and, adamant about her beliefs on alternative medicine, she is refusing conventional medical treatment for more natural Tibetan remedies, despite the advice of locals.
Sadly, her trip will end here.
For those of us who make it past the first 24 hours, however, there is a bewildering sense of relief and accomplishment, knowing the first acclimatisation has been a success and we’ve overcome this first hurdle. But there’s still no time to waste.
Here are the city’s highlights for those who make it this far.
Stairway to heaven
The former winter palace of the Dalai Lama and once the seat of the Tibetan government, Potala Palace is a now a small monastery and the UNESCO World Heritage site is home to precious relics and stupas (tombs) of past Dalai Lamas.
On a clear day, the view of the Himalayas from on top is magical. Brace yourself, at 3750m the journey to this imposing fortress, which is situated on top of the Red Hill, is not for the weary of mind or body.
It’s the closest thing you’ll find to a stairway to heaven, if only for the reason it feels like you just might die on the way up. But push on, the views are worth it.
Old town
The city’s public plaza, Barkhor Square, was built in 1985 and is home to Jokhang Temple. Built in 642, it’s considered to be one of the holiest places of Buddhist worship in Tibet.
The country has been under Chinese control since the Cultural Revolution in 1959 and in the wake of a handful of violent protests, this area is under the excessive gaze of Chinese police.
Discreetly spot them scouring the joint from surveillance tents on rooftops and then watch the pilgrims who have travelled from far and wide to prostrate in a counterclockwise direction around the square.
Also worth a visit is the small Muslim quarter, where you’ll find a mosque and street butchers, as well as Dropenling Handicraft Center for puppets, ornaments and painted chests handmade by local artisans.
Kitchen rules
It’s partially true that once you’ve seen one monastery, you’ve seen them all. Even so, there’s still reason to visit Drepung on the outskirts of Lhasa, which is now home to 700 monks, only a small percentage compared to the 10,000 it once accommodated. Check out the medieval-style kitchen quarters and the prayer hall, where for a small fee, you are permitted to take photos of some of the relics and friendly monks tending to butter lamps.
Great debate
Between 3pm and 5pm on weekdays, monks at this monastery participate in philosophical debates in a pristine, white-pebbled courtyard and tourists are permitted to find a spot and watch. Make sure you get there early for a decent vantage point. Using a number of animated gestures and slaps for emphasis, the monks go back and forth with one another in what turns out to be a truly entertaining battle of spiritual prowess.
Exile’s abode
Norbulingka, the Dalai Lama’s summer palace, is not quite as boastful as Potala Palace, but it’s set in the lush grounds of a well-tended park. It bears a great deal of significance, however, as it was from this humble abode that the 14th and current Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 to avoid capture by the Chinese.
Here, the public are privy to his meditation room, basic bedroom complete with single bed, bathroom and conference room. The surrounding gardens, forests and flower beds are also worth a wander.
Dine here
There are plenty of restaurants in Barkhor Square offering Nepali curries, Tibetan soups and yak meat dishes. But if by this time you’ve consumed your body weight in marsala tea and yak momos (dumplings), then it’s likely you’ll be looking for a little variety. Austrian-run Dunya Restaurant and pub is a cosy oasis in the middle of the old town that serves up local dishes and some of the city’s best Western and South East Asian dishes including French onion soup and nasi goreng. The local Lhasa Beer is the perfect nightcap, also.