Tibet - Everest Base Camp

To the Land of Snow, the Roof of the World

When I announced to friends that I am going to Tibet, I am often greeted with a WOW reaction. For many of us, Tibet is a mysterious, exotic and spiritual Buddhist country. It is a country that is locked away in the corner of the earth. What is it gonna to feel like at the roof of the world?

My 10 days journey to Tibet was a trip that I very much looked forward to going. Altitude sickness is the most often mentioned challenge when visiting Tibet.  How does one overcome it? Can I?

Pre-tip preparation

There is no direct flight from Singapore to Lhasa. You have the option to get to Lhasa via domestic flight in China or via train. Also, you will need to engage an agent to prepare the travel permit and also purchase the air ticket to Lhasa.

Some took train to gradually adapt to the altitude. People do encounter headache and short breath. We decided to skip the train and flew to Chengdu instead. We arranged to meet the agent who handed us the travel permit at the airport. Without the travel permit, you will not be able to board the plane.

Medication for altitude sickness

To prepare for altitude sickness, you can purchase the medicine from a local GP. Alternatively, you can also consider purchasing 红景天 ‘hong jin tian’ from any Chinese medicine halls. It is advisable to consume it at least 1 week before departure.

Sightseeing in Lhasa

We arrived in Lhasa in the afternoon. It is important to have sufficient rest and stay in Lhasa for at least 2 days. This will allow your body to acclimatize before venturing beyond Lhasa.  Lhasa is approximately 3600m above sea level.

Jokhang Temple

We stayed in Ghorka Hotel, which is near the Barkhor bazaar and it is also within walking distance to the Jokhang Temple. The 1300-year-old Jokhang Temple is the spiritual heart of Tibet. We were greeted by sea of devotees early in the morning. It is a common sight to see devotees prostrating themselves outside the temple. The compound is huge, and we had to jostle our way together with the locals. It was suffocating inside the temple, and the smell of the yak butter was really pungent.

Potala Palace

Another magnificent landmark in Lhasa is the Potala Palace. It was formerly the seat of the Tibetan government and the hiding place for the Dalai Lamas during winter.

The impressive Palace is 130m-high!  The Palace includes the White Palace (eastern part of the building) and the Red Palace. Do remember to purchase your ticket early. It will save you the hassle if this is handled by your guide. You will need to produce your passport when purchasing the ticket, and do note that there is a cap on the number of tickets sold per day.

Sera Monastery

Sera monastery is famed for the lively debate by the monks at the courtyard. The debate takes place from 3.30pm to 5pm.

Journey to the Holy Lakes

There are 3 holy lakes in Tibet. Yamdrok Lake in Shannan, Namtso Lake in Nagqu and Lake Manasarovar in Ngari. We covered only Yamdrok and Namtso Lakes.

Yamdrok Lake means “jade lake” or “swam pool”. It is a freshwater lake, and according to local mythology, Yamdrok Lake is the transformation of a goddess. It is over 72 km (45 mi) long and the lake is surrounded by many snow-capped mountains. The view is awesome! Please do take note of locals coming to you collecting money at some of the photo points. Generally, you will need to pay about RMB $5.

Namtso is the biggest lake in Tibet.  It is also the highest altitude saltwater lake in the world. The water here is crystal-clear.  We stayed a night in Namtso. It is basically container buildings which we see in Singapore. The room is clean and you get a heated bed. It gets really really cold at night! The greatest inconvenience is going for bio-break. You will need to bring your torch and find your way in the dark.  The number of toilets is sorely insufficient for the number of visitors. Also the toilets has got no roof and no flushing system.

Everest Base Camp

The highlight of this trip is the opportunity to be at Everest base camp! The ride was long and bumpy. We were exhausted when we arrived around 3pm. We rest at the mid of the mountain to have a good view of  mount Everest, it's a cloudy afternoon and we could only see part of the Everest.

Upon reaching the place we stay, we check in to our tent. The "Chair" in the tent are also our bed for the night. It's pretty spacious. You can also request for a Yak fur blanket if you are feeling cold at night. Air is thin and pretty cold. We had our thick jacket on.



You could do a hike to the base camp, which probably will take about 45mins to an hr, depending on your fitness level. Alternatively, you could take a shuttle bus, approximately 15mins to the base camp. We decided to take the shuttle bus instead. And were glad that we did! It rained shortly after we arrived at the base camp. We were running to get into the shelter and this could have caused the throbbing pain in our heads that evening. It was quite unbearable. I took the pain killer and also the portable oxygen but the pain did not go away. I just wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible. We were all looking forward to the break of dawn and hopped on to the our vehicle leaving for our next destination. The pain eased once we descended on a lower altitude. The learning point for us, go slow and do not rush when you are on a higher altitude.

We make it!!! Everest base camp at 5200m above sea level.



Finally it's 7am in morning, the cloud are gone and we have a full view of Everest.
Good morning Everest!

I enjoyed the stunning and magnificent views when we were on the car rides. The snow-capped mountains were awesome. The only ‘discomfort’ for us is the sanitary issue. I am glad none of us fell too sick to journey on during the trip and we were able to acclimatize at various altitudes, except at Everest! There are heaps of magnificent view along the way to mount Everest, I could not pen them all. Sit back and enjoy the photos below.