Day 18-21 Good Bye China

" A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving."

Lao Tzu

Day 18-21

The two day trip back to Lhasa was gruelling; we stopped briefly for food and the ‘open’ toilets. There were loads more monasteries along the way, however, much as the visits to the religious places were interesting, we enjoyed more the uncontaminated and raw beauties on the way back to Lhasa.

We were coming to the end of our trip, and wanted to go somewhere with Tibet feel before returning to the Western world. We spent our last day in Lhasa staying at the Brahamaputra Grand Hotel which located alongside the riverside Gong Ba Ri Mammon Mountain. It was really luxurious after the demanding trip. The hotel is also a living museum. On each level of the hotel along the corridors to the room are the Tibetan artefacts which are for sale too. The room was large and spacious with a computer and internet connection. Surfing the web costed nothing and it was fast. The beds were comfortable, and the most important thing – the hot shower. Oh, and the excellent foot massage which was provided in the health centre of the Hotel that was very helpful after visiting the EBC!

At 7am in the morning, we were transferred to the airport for flight to Beijing where I parted my friends and waited for my flight to Sydney.

It is truly an experience of a lifetime.

After this journey, I truly realised the joy of travel. Travel is not to visit a few attractions or post in front of the camera. Travel is to use your heart to feel, to observe, to learn and to share.

Day 16,17 Everest Base Camp

Day 16 – 17

Everest Base Camp situated at 5200 metres on the north face and is used by the mountain climbers when climbing via the northeast ridge. There are non climbers who come here to admire the panoramic and breathing taking views of Mt Everest. The area is crawling with tents and sellers. There is even a post office where you can send an overpriced postcard.

Everest Base Camp is an interesting place. As we approached, I saw a collection of tents running parallel on both sides of a dirt road, with names such as ‘The Hilton’, ‘Sheraton’, ‘Snowland Hotel’...

We retired back to our camp after an exhausted day. It was a bloody cold night, we put on all we had and buried ourselves under sleeping bags and shivered ourselves to sleep. The next morning, I woke up and needed to pee, it was still dark and snowing outside, I put on my hiking boots, found a land cruiser and did my morning duty behind. Ha, I wasn’t the only one!!

The actual base camp is a long walk from the tents. As the morning light draws in, we started walking up to Base Camp; the trek took nearly half a day. As we were walking along the rocky path, we’re overtaken by horse drawn carriages which carried passengers under blankets. We should have done that. The hike became harder and harder, the last kilometer was steep and winding. Eventually we got to the base camp, and our permits were checked. With all the hard work, we were only allowed to stay 30-45 minutes. There were one sign saying no one was allowed to go beyond the sign, another one saying could not take pictures of military post. However, our effort was completely worth it. We staggered to the top to be greeted with magnificent views of the summit. Walking back down was great, a real relief, and I could actually enjoy the panoramic views.

The two day stays was a blessing. We had a clear blue sky and uninterrupted views of Mt Qomolangma. The mountains were beautiful and they changed color during the different times of the day. In early morning and late evening, Everest is shining like a diamond in the sunglow. I can only think of one word to describe it - breathtaking. The view is as breathtaking, the altitude is as breathtaking and the temperature change from day to night is as breathtaking!! EBC is definitely the highlight of the trip.

Day 14,15 Shigatse-Tingri-Everest Base Camp

Day 14- 15

It was about one and half hours easy drive to Shigatse, which is the second largest city in Tibet. It is a city full of history and culture. Like many Tibetan regions, it has undergone major modernization over the past few decades. The town is divided into an old authentic Tibetan quarter, and a newer Chinatown. It is very interesting to see the difference between ancient Tibetan culture and the modern one. It is like a smaller version of Lhasa.

The big draw in Shigatse is Tashilunpo Monastery, the largest functioning monastic institution in Tibet. It is also the home of Panchen Lama.

Tashilunpo is a huge monastery with many attractions, we only visited the two main ones, the "Thangka Wall” which displays images of Lord Buddha for three days in the month of May, 14th, 15th and 16th of the Tibetan Lunar calendar, and the giant statue of the Maitreya Buddha which is crafted with gold and copper and encrusted with pearl, diamonds and other precious stones. As we were enjoying the tranquil and peaceful; suddenly...beep beep... a monk receiving sms!!

We then visited the local free market and bought some souvenirs before we continued our journey through the Tibetan plateau.

It was a further 7 hours bumpy road drive. We drove through empty landscapes, small Tibetan settlements, nomadic herdsmen wandering across the wide arid plains, sand dunes, snow-capped mountain peaks and crossed over Gyatsola Pass at 5,220 m. We finally arrived Tingri, the last stop before Everest Base Camp.

Tingri is a small town which lies at an altitude of 4390m, overlooking a sweeping plain and the towering peaks of Mt. Everest and Cho-Oyu. After a short night’s rest at a primitive guesthouse, we were back on the Friendship Highway heading towards Everest Base Camp. It took us 5 hours for just 100 km trip as we had to drive over cracked winding roads, scree and grass. But the views were stupendous. Finally, we reached Everest Base Camp, the first sight of the mighty Everest left us speechless. I’d run out of word to describe it.

Day 13 Lhasa-Yamdrok Tso - Gyantse

Day 13

Early in the morning, we started our adventurous journey across the ‘roof of the world’. We drove down Friendship Highway, however, it certainly didn’t look like a “highway” to me, some part of the road is a sandy road that now and then turns out to be jammed because of erosion. After a few hours’ drive on the winding, bumpy and dusty mountain road, suddenly there lined the colourful dressed yaks and souvenir stalls. We were up at the Kamba-la Pass at 4950m where there was the dazzling views of Yamdrok Tso which lies several hundred metres below. The scenery of the deep turquoise blue water in the lake, the transparency and the reflection of the surrounding snow capped mountains was awesome. We spent some quality time with the Mother Nature.

Yamdrok Tso, which is a coiling scorpion-shaped body of water, is one of the three holy
lakes on the Tibetan Plateau. It is one of the popular pilgrimages in Tibet. Tibetan people believe that the lake is sacred and the water has special powers: it can make old young again, and it can improve intelligence in children. Then we climbed the 2nd high pass, Kharo La(5560m). We had a brief stop to admire the jaw-dropping views of the Nojin Kangstang glacier.

As we approached Gyantse, it began to rain. We had a quick lunch and rest a little.

Gyantse is a small village with beautiful architecture. Gyantse is known because of its Fortress, the Dzong, a very special building, the Kimbum, and a monastery, the Pelkor Chode.

We gazed at a fascinating fortress-monastery perched on a hill at the edge of the city; the Gyantse Dzong is an old military fort which was built in the 14th century. We got off the 4WD and trekked up the snaking path and some very steep steps to reach the top in the rain. The inside of the fortress is mostly ruins, I fell a few times, but the top offers great views over the town and the surrounding Nyang-chu valley. It was definitely worth the effort.

At the foot of Gyantse Dzong is Pelkor Chode (monastery) and a strange building called the Kumbum (kumbum means 100,000 images) which is the biggest and most famous chorten (stupa) in Tibet. Many big stray dogs, lay around in front of the monastery, their coats were wet and covered with dirt. There is a Tibetan saying that stray dogs hang out around monasteries because they were bad monks in previous lives.

We stayed at a little guesthouse for the night. We had “Chewy” Yak steak for dinner which left our jaws aching for the rest of the night.

What a demanding but fascinating day!

Day 12 - Taste Bud Challenge

Day 12

Today we will be roaming round Llasa to challenge our taste buds.
There isn’t a lot written about Tibetan cuisine, and people always say Tibetan can’t cook. The Lonely planet Guide states that, “Tibet is unlikely to become a hot destination for foodies....... Tibetan food is more about survival than pleasure...”

So if they can’t cook, what then do they eat? Due to its unique geographic location, Tibetan food has to adapt. Tibetan food is not only sustenance, but also helps them survive the harsh climates. Tibetan cuisine is based on limited ingredients that are available to them. The main ingredients are barley, yaks, mutton, salt and tea.

Teamed up with Chin and Chong, we were on our mission. First we tried the air-dried yak meat. The dried meat was crisp and tasted good. It’s a bit like beef jerky.

Lunch at A’Luocang canting, we ordered Tsamthuk Soup, Fried lamb ribs, Bobi set and Tibetan sausage.

The Tsamthuk Soup was somewhat rich and thick with chunks of yak, shredded radish, spinach leaves, and thickened with tsampa.

The Fried Lamb Ribs was nothing like our BBQ Ribs, it was marinated in chilli powder, spring onions and mustard oil, then deep-fried till crisp and hard. It was very spicy and hot.

The Bobi Set was similar to kebab, with sautéed veggies and shreds of yak meat wrapped in unleavened wheat bread. Um, Yum.

Tibetan Sausage was stuffed with spiced lamb intestines, I only had one bite!

During our lunch, we were debating whether we should go to the Everest Base Camp, it was a long way from Lhasa and we were not geared to trek. Well, we were now. We went to our travel agent to change our itinerary and organised some trekking gears. We would go to Yamdrok Tso the next morning as planned and continue our journey to Everest Base Camp.

We went back to our hotel to have a nap before dinner.

Dinner at Ethnic Restaurant. We had a Tibetan Banquet. Wow, you wouldn’t believe what we ate. Quick boiled blood sausage (sausage filled with sheep blood); Steamed ox tongue; raw beef paste (a mixture of mashed raw beef and Tibetan herbs); Xiahe Hoof Tendon (sheep hoof tendons boil with agarics and lily); Yak meat stewed with radish and Roast Highland Pig. The dishes were mostly tasty and unique.

We were full, happy and satisfied.

Day 10 & 11 Nam-Tso

Day 10 & 11

Early in the morning we set off from Lhasa on a 7 seated Land Cruiser 4WD. It was for 2days/1 night to Nam- Tso. Our driver was a Chinese man living in Lhasa, named Yan. He came to Lhasa 10 years ago, and loved it so much , he stayed.

In Tibetan, Nam Tso means ‘Heavenly Lake’. It is located at 4700m high and is the second largest salt lake in China with surface of 1961 sq km. We headed steadily up into the mountains, we passed by large plains dotted with yaks and nomad tents. We stopped a few times to gawp at the views and went to toilet. There was hardly any toilet, we managed to find one but it was so disgusting that we did not dare to go in. We finished our business behind the bush. The winding road was very bumpy and dusty. Few more hours of driving, we got our first sight of the lake – stunning shade of turquoise. The sky and the mountains were of the same tint. It was simply breathing (beauty not altitude).

After walking around some hills on the shore, we had to find a place to stay, there were either tents or tin box to choose from. We opted to stay in a tent. There was no water and electricity in the tent. Inside the tent, there were 10 single beds, a cupboard at the entrance with instant noodle cups and hot water bottles in it.

After settling in, we walked towards the water to appreciate the beauty of the lake, taking millions of photos. There were birds, wild yaks, goats and other animals leisurely looking for food along the lake shores; thousands of prayer flags fluttering in the wind up in the sky, what a scenic vista.

By this point, the weather closed in and we were a bit hungry, however, there were only limited places to choose to eat. We decided to go to the one owned by our tent owner. There was no menu, actually, there was no need to have a menu. They only had Tsampa (roasted barley flour) and hot yak butter tea. Whaaaaat! butter tea again. Tsampa can be eaten as it is, usually by the spoonful, and washed down with butter tea. I quite like the taste of Tsampa, it tasted a bit like sesame powder, but the butter tea... I took a sip of the tea with Tsampa, the minute I put my cup down, the owner quickly filled it up, then I had another sip, she filled it up again. It suddenly occurred to me that like Chinese, it is Tibetan tradition to fill your guest’s cup if it isn’t full. I couldn’t eat the Tsampa without drinking something, it’s so dry. Butter tea was the only beverage in here, so I kept sipping it and she kept filling it. By the end of the dinner, I didn’t mind it as much. I now realised what the noodle cups in the cupboard were for. To my surprise, my companions seemed to enjoy their meal.

It was freezing at night; we drank many cups of hot water to keep warm. We got in our sleeping bags and piled blankets on top.

We didn’t sleep much because of the altitude.

Next morning, we decided to climb up the mountain to get some better views. It was not an easy job, we could feel the altitude, we had to stop frequently to catch our breath. The mountain top was really windy, but the views were indescribable. The lake’s colour was a storybook crystal-clear blue and was back dropped by snow capped mountains. Nam-Tso is a blessing from nature.

We made our way back to the tent, it was time to eat again. This time we tried the one in the tin box shelter. They actually got a menu this time, but it’s no use to us, we couldn’t read! The owner took us to another room (kitchen I assumed) to show us bowls of vegetables; meats and rice. We had no idea how they would be cooked. To be safe, we pointed at some veggies and rice. The food was edible, but the tea was terrific– sweet milk tea, also known as cha ngamo, very similar to western tea.

After lunch, we packed our stuff and headed back to Lhasa.

On the way back to Lhasa, we stopped in Yangpachen Hot spring. As we approached the town, we could see steam covering the whole town, as if we were driving into the clouds. There are indoor and outdoor hot spring swimming pools but we were not brave enough to jump into the water.

We were looking forward to a hot shower and a good night sleep.

Day 7-9 Lhasa

Day 7

Tibet, nestled between the Himalayas in the south and the Kunlun Shan in the north, is known as “The Roof of the World”. Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) has formed four tourism regions: Lhasa, Western Tibet(Ngari), Southwestern Tibet(Shigatse) and Southern Tibet(Nyingchi and Chamdo).

Our first stop - Lhasa.

Lhasa means "holy land" in Tibetan language. It is the capital city of Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), as well as the political, economic, cultural and religious centre of the Tibetan world. It has a history of over 13 centuries, sits at an altitude of 3,650 meters. With more than 3,000 hours of annual sunshine, Lhasa is also known as "the City of Sunshine".

I woke up at 6am, still feeling a bit dizzy, I drank a large glass of brown sugar water and took a couple of vitamins (recommended for High altitude Sickness). Jack and Andrew were still asleep. I took my ‘Lonely Planet’ and headed to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. A few people were already there, they were also accompanied by their ‘Lonely Planet’. ‘Lonely Planet is like a travellers’ bible, whenever I see people reading it, I feel a sense of intimate connection. We started chatting to each other. When I finished my breakfast, both Jack and Andrew were up.

The goal for the day was not too hectic, we needed time to acclimatize.

Lhasa was nothing like I expected, there are modern cars, shops, fast food chains and even night clubs. It is a mix of old and new. With the Potala Palace as a backdrop, modern facilities scattered on the main drag. I had a moment of doubt whether I was in the holy land. In Lhasa there are more Chinese than Tibetans. Chinese mainly live in the west (new city) while Tibetans in the east (old city). There are different building designs. The traditional homes are painted white with brightly coloured doorways and windows. The doors and windows are very small, making it difficult for evil spirits to enter. We noticed there are military police with big guns on every corner. Well, to think on the positive side, we probably would be safer here than anywhere.

We walked slowly to Barkhor which is a huge shopping area surrounding the Jokhang. The Barkhor is both the spiritual heart of the city and the main commercial district. There are devoted pilgrims performing the body long kow-tows around the huge square in a clockwise direction; others walking in the Kora praying, swinging their prayer wheels around endlessly, and thousands of shops and stalls lining the streets selling trinkets and souvenirs. We followed the pilgrims, circuiting the square a few time. Yeah, we felt a sense of inner peace.

We kept wandering and found our way into the Tashi 1 Restaurant ,a place recommended by Lonely Planet, for a lunch of momos (dumplings) and thukpa (noodles with meat), fired yak meat and buttered tea. Pretty yummy food but the buttered tea, well, very unique, it is actually quite salty; it is more like soup broth than tea. Not my cup of tea!!

Next stop, Jokhang Temple

Visiting monasteries and temples are an integral part of any journey to Tibet. Though we are not religiously inclined, walking with the pilgrims was a humbling experience.
The Jokhang Temple is situated in the centre of the city; it is a massive two story building, surrounded by many smaller temples. White and red are the main colours of the wall; it looks extremely peaceful under the intensely blue sky. Pilgrims move slowly through dimly lit chapels, refilling gleaming butter lamps. The air was filled with the aroma of incense and Yak butter. The floor was sticky and slippery. From the rooftop, we could see the Potala Palace in a distance.

We had our dinner at Lhasa Mayke Ame which is one of the most popular restaurants in Lhasa. It is famous because of the legend of the sixth Lama. We tried the spicy yak stew and potato soup. The stew was a bit too rich for us. We sat by the window which overlooked Barkhor street and viewed the sun disappearing in horizon. Never mind about the food, just sitting there was very enjoyable indeed.

We then retired back to our hotel.


Day 8

Woke up just in time to see the sun rise. Did the routine stuff, breakfast, brown sugar water and vitamins. We were off to Potala palace today.

We caught a taxi to Potala, a flat rate of ¥10.


Potala is Lhasa's cardinal landmark, situated on a hill overlooking the valley. It is composed of 2 parts, the Red Palace as the centre and the White Palace as two wings.

The Red Palace is the highest part in central Potala Palace and is mainly for religious use. It was painted red to represent stateliness and power.

The White Palace was used as the winter palace for Dalai Lamas as well as administrative offices. The wall of the palace was painted to white to convey peace and quiet.

The 13 storey Potala Palace has no elevator, so we had to climb up its stairways. We climbed as slow as a snail blocking people behind us. The palace has thousands of rooms, we just visited a few. Like Jokhang Temple, the floor of Potala was also sticky and slippery. The air was filled with scents of incense and yak-butter burning lamps. There were more pilgrims than tourists. Some have travelled great distances to worship, their deep devotion is truly admirable.

The views from the top of Potala are breathtaking. Below lies Lhasa city and, beyond, the valley countryside as well as snow-capped Himalayan mountains in the horizon. We were at the back of the Potala and we had many stairs to climb down.

After lunch, we went to a travel agent to get information on Yamdrok Tso and Nam Tso. ‘Tso’ means ‘lake’ in Tibetan. The travel agent only quoted us the price, but when asked about the weather, accommodation, he had no idea. We then had to go to another one to get more information. We met two other travellers from Guangzhou, Chin and Chong, they were planning to do the same. So we decided to join together to hire a Land Cruiser.

In the evening, we were sitting on the balcony of a cafe, having a drink and enjoying the views. The day is very long in here, it’s still quite bright at 8 pm.


Day 9

I woke up at about 8am and felt great, washed up and popped in my usual treat, sugar water and vitamins. My body have gradually adjusted to the new climate. We were going to have an easy day, just roaming around Lhasa. We went to organise our trip to Nam Tso and Yamdrok Tso. We walked along the Lhasa River which was lined by colourful prayer flags( blue for sky, white for the clouds, green for water, red for fire and yellow for the land). Then went to have our lunch, the sweet smells of a bakery caught our attention, so we sat in front of the bakery enjoying our pastries while catching a glimpse of Tibetans daily life.

To tell the truth, the air in Lhasa wasn’t very good, car sending out noxious smoke, the air was filled with odour of petrol and yak butter. Shouldn't the air in this holy land be fresh and clean?

Day 5 & 6 Xian-Lhasa

Day 5

8am

At Xian train station,ready to board the 8:42am train to Lhasa. The expedition journey took about 33 hours.

The first leg of the journey was pretty ordinary, not much to see, we spent most of our time in the dining car chatting to people. We were all looking forward to the breathtaking scenery along the Tibetan plateau.

Day 6

At dawn, the train reached Golmud, the last stop before the Tibetan Plateau. I noticed the altitude immediately and and waited for the extra oxygen to kick in (the train is regulated with oxygen) . The Tibetan plateau was breathtakingly raw and barren. The awesome snow capped mountains, miles and miles of vast wilderness, herds of yak and groups of antelope grazing in tall grasses and 800 km “no-man’s land" were just simply stunning. I am glad that I took the train trip.

An hour before the train pulled into Lhasa, the cabin attendants passed through the cabin one last time with their souvenir carts. I bought some carved combs and painted chopsticks.

At 6:05pm, we finally arrived at Lhasa train station. We were met by our tour guide, Tarmu, he took us to our hotel and told us to have a good rest so that our bodies can acclimatize to the altitude. The view outside our hotel room was stunning, our room looked straight up at the lighted Potala Palace. We're suffering from mild altitude sickness with headaches and loss of breath. We reluctantly went to bed and had an early night. Good night.

Day 4 Xian

Day 4

Beijing and Xian is about 910 kilometres apart, 11 hours by overnight train. We were in soft-sleeper class which has four soft bunk beds in the cabin. We were lucky to have the whole cabin to ourselves. The next morning I woke up to see passengers stroll through the aisles in pyjamas to the dining car. It is typical Chinese breakfast, porridge, salty vegetables and boiled eggs.

At about 8:30am, we arrived at Xian. This city was one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China as it has been the capital of 13 dynasties and has more than 3100 years of history.

We went to the tickets office of train station to rebook the train tickets to Lhasa and then headed to our hotel to check-in and get settled. After taking an hour break, we caught the public transport out 50 km to visit the famous Museum of Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horse, it was much bigger than I expected. We first watched the 360 degree movie about the history of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses. The history and discovery of the Army is as fascinating as the sight.

Three farmers discovered the warriors when digging a well in 1974. Since then more than 7,000 of these bigger than life-size terracotta warriors (each of their faces is entirely different) have been found in 4 different pits covering many acres. It was listed by UNESCO in 1987 as one of the world cultural heritages.

Pit 1 - the biggest with columns of soldiers at the front and war chariots at the back (what you see on TV and the travel brochures). However, only the first part of it is excavated, and many of the terracotta soldiers have been badly damaged.

Pit 2 - this contains a U-shaped layout of chariots, cavalry and infantry. Again the majority is unexcavated.

Pit 3 – the command centre of the armed forces to keep the emperor safe in his afterlife. It contains horses and chariots, but the chariots are made of wood.

Pit 4 - is empty, left unfinished by its builders.

What an impressive sight! But it is sad to see someone exhausted so many resources and human lives to build such an elaborate army to guide him after death.

Xian is famous for its dumplings, and tonight we were having a dumpling feast followed by Tang Dynasty performance at Shannix Grand Opera House. We got to sample 20 different types of dumpling. They were different in shapes, flavors and textures. I have never eaten so many dumplings in one go. I was dumpling out by the end of the evening. We retired back to our hotel at 11 pm. Onward to Lhasa tomorrow!

Our stay in Xian was short but well spent.

Day 3 Beijing

Day 3

4:00 am

The telephone rang – morning call. It’s time to get up to see the flag raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square. Zzzz Zzzz, less than 4 hours sleep.

Outside it was a little dark but fresh, much much better than the heat. It took us about 15 minutes to walk to Tiananmen Square. The walk was nice, seeing the changes of the sky from darkness into pre dawn glow. In a distance, we saw the flashing lights of a police car, it was a temporary check-point. As we arrived, a huge crowd had already gathered.. It was around 4.50am we saw the military honour guards, carrying the flag, marched through the gate of Tiananmen Tower (the Gate of Heavenly peace). I wasn’t expecting them to be accompanied by a band .The flag raised slowly at the exact moment of sunrise. The whole ceremony lasted exactly 127 seconds. What an impressive moment!

Andrew left to visit the great wall at 6.30 am. Jack and I did not want to be grilled under the sun. We took a little nap, had our breakfast in the hotel and decided to roam around at our own pace. In this soaring heat, we thought taking a taxi would be a good idea. After negotiating with a few taxi drivers, we finally got one who would take us around for half a day for ¥350.
Beijing is a city reshaped but the pollution is still thick.

Off to see the new landmarks, the Beijing Olympic Stadium, the Birds Nest. We had to go through a checkpoint to get to the Stadium, across the stadium is the National Aquatics Centre (the Water Cube). Wow! What a magnificent modern architectural element!

We then went to the 798 Art Zone. It is converted from a factory plant. When approaching the Art Zone we saw a big red post written with "798", we knew we had reached our destination. Once you enter this area (taxi is not allowed to drive in), you can feel artistic flavor of the area. There are different kinds of galleries, art studios, cultural companies, fashion shops, book shops etc. I can spend a whole day in here. It is the separated world from outside. We had our late lunch at Vincent Cafe, a French restaurant, very yummy pancakes.

Well, it’s time to head back to our hotel,we were to leave for Beijing west railway station to catch the 9:30pm train to Lhasa via Xian.

Day 1 & 2 Sydney-Hong Kong-Macau-Beijing

Day 1 & 2

At 10:45 am I was sitting on the Qantas Jet, it’s going to take off in any minute. Goodbye Sydney. Everything went well, I arrived in Hong Kong at 5:45pm and took a ferry to Macau and arrived at my grandparents place at 7pm, just in time for dinner. I had a short half-day (and overnight) stay in Macau before flying to Beijing with my cousin, Jack. We would team up with Andrew at Beijing. During my stay in Macau I converted my Australian dollars to RMB (¥), the exchange rate is always better here. We had lunch at my favour restaurant, O Santos, we had Bacalhau (cod), fried game sausages and Galinha a Portuguesa (Portuguese Chicken). I had no room for dessert.
We were on a plane again at 2.10pm flying to Beijing. I had no memories of my journey across the skies. I was so full and tired, I was out the whole 3.5 hours.

When we went through the customs, Andrew was already there waiting for us. I met Andrew when I was touring Singapore last year, we have been keeping in touch via facebook. When I told him my plan, he decided to come along. In the 21 century, we are all global citizens, there is no geographic boundary between us.

OMG, the minute we stepped out the airport, we were walking into an oven, we were being baked by the excessive heat, it was 38℃ !!!


We caught the airport bus to our hotel, lucky it was air- conditioned. By the time we finished our check in, it was already 4pm. We contacted the travel agent whom we booked our Tibet trip on internet. All our travel arrangements went well. As foreign visitors are not allowed to travel individually to Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), a tour must be booked in advance before you are allowed to go into Lhasa. There are different tours to choose from and they are very flexible. Our tour was very simple, the travel agent organised our Tibet travel permits (TTB & PSB), a guide would see us off at Beijing train station, and another representative would meet us on arrival in Lhasa. After that, we would be on our own.

It’s dinner time, decision! Decision! There is a Chinese saying, no visit to Beijing is complete if you miss seeing the Great Wall or dining on Roast Duck. Jack and I were here four years ago and did both, but it was Andrew’s first visit so we gave him the privilege. He’s not keen on Peking Duck, so we opted to be a bit adventurous to experience some new taste. Personally, I think the Peking Duck in Beijing tastes the same as the one I ate in Sydney.

We caught a taxi to Donghuamen Snack Night Market (东华门夜市). The street is crowded with food stalls. The stalls are along the side of the pedestrian area, in a long row with coloured lights and Chinese lanterns hanging on top. They sell all manners of food. There are lots of creepy foods, such as snakes, scorpions, crickets, locusts, seahorses on a stick and heaps of pig and also testicles. Of course, there are sensible food like stir fried noodles, dumplings, dim sims, buns and Uighur kebabs.... What the heck ....we were being brave, we tried the crickets, snakes, scorpions and locusts, except for the snakes which had no taste and tough, the rest were very crispy and tasty (if you don’t know what they are). They were deep fried in front of us and then seasoned with herb and salt. We also had dumplings and noodles, again absolutely delightful. We ended our meals with another famous stick – San Char, it was a small red sourish fruit coated with candy, wow, refreshing.

It was a fun and adventurous night out except that we had been ripped off by the taxi driver, our hotel was just couple streets from the market.