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Riding to Lhasa
I visited India and Nepal for the first time on a Buddhist pilgrimage led by Shantum Seth in 2007. The following is from my 2008 trip to India, Nepal, and Tibet.
The Gonggar Airport south of Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, looks brand new and shiny and empty. I realize it’s not tourist season, which doesn’t start until May, but I suspect that when an architect designed this airport and presumably a committee approved of the design, they were optimistic about how many tourists would visit Tibet. Those of us who had been on my flight seemed to be the only visitors in the entire airport; otherwise, it was staff and green Chinese uniforms. The extremely modern airport has vast glass windows and long brick walls and a long slick white tile floor — a far cry from the detailed and elaborate, Tibetan Buddhist statues and murals I picture when I think of Tibet.
All my bags had to go back through a security check, though we were arriving, not departing. Weird, but it’s an occupied country. A tall young guy in a green Chinese uniform and clear plastic gloves searched both my carry-ons but not my suitcase. Stuff I got in Dharamshala that I don’t want the Chinese to see is in the suitcase, so I lucked out.
I guess the authorities are more concerned about what we bring than what we take to an airport for departure, since this is Chinese-occupied Tibet. It’s the first time I’ve…