Pictures worth a thousand words, a thousand breaths, and a thousand thoughts on different ways of living.

So this is Tibet.

First and foremost, this post is coming much later than I would’ve liked. WordPress is blocked in China, but it can be accessed through the use of a VPN. However, Chinese internet quality is poor all across the city of Beijing, making the VPN nearly useless at times. But, I’m beyond excited to finally share my experiences in this incredible part of the world!

Why did I choose to come here?

1. Its political history, cultural significance, and tensions with China are incredibly interesting.
2. It’s beautiful. Like, draw-dropping goosebump-igniting beautiful.
3. Mountains. As some of you know, I’m completely obsessed.
4. It’s bizarre, out-there, and somewhere that very few people have had the pleasure of seeing. I love going to places like this, and I love sharing these experiences with friends and family back in America.

Here’s some general background info on Tibet. Given its history and past and present relations with the rest of China, it’s quite fascinating stuff.

• Tibet is still considered part of China by technical terms. However, Tibet is incredibly culturally distinct from the rest of China. It has its own minority population, its own language, and its own feel.
• Tibetan-Chinese relations have been rocky for decades and are still rocky today. Chinese repression against Tibetans is widespread common knowledge among Tibetans. 130 Tibetans have self-immolated, or set themselves on fire, to protest against Chinese rule.
• Another big player is the Dailai Lama, the head monk of Buddhism. He is Tibet’s go-to guy. But, he was forced by the Chinese government to flee Tibet in the 1950s and hasn’t been back since. It’s a very touchy subject for Tibetans.
• Tibet is the size of Western Europe.
• Tibet is the world’s highest plateau. To get to Tibet, we took a two-day train–the highest train ride in the world (and the most beautiful!).
• Tibet’s travel restrictions are profound. Foreigners are allowed to visit the area, but only with a travel permit and a tour guide (who is able to get the permit for you). This makes the trip quite pricey, but it’s worth every penny.
• China can, at any point in time, restrict the entrance of foreigners into Tibet. But, we somehow got lucky and made it all the way through our trip with no problems.

We even got to experience this crazy tension first-hand…sort of. Upon arriving in Tibet, our guide told us that, no matter what we do, make sure not to take pictures of a police officer, a police station, or a police car. First, there are undercover cameras all over Lhasa, the capital, that can catch you doing so. Second, if you’re caught doing so, a police officer will come up to you, break your camera in front of you, deport you from Tibet, and deport you from China, never to be allowed back in for the rest of your life. This is something I made sure not to tell my mom while I was there, but I figured it’s okay to share now that I’m back home in Beijing!

Our time in Tibet consisted of incredible monasteries, incredible history, incredible food, incredible culture, incredible landscape, and many other incredible things. And, a nice perk of Mt. Everest Base Camp. To this day, Tibet is the most beautiful place I have ever been to. Because of the high altitude, I always felt as though the clouds and mountains were keeping me company. I like to say that all the gods of all the religions, no matter who believes in what, created Tibet last, after they got all of their practice-runs of earth creation out of their system.

“Was it as great as you’d hoped it to be?” my mom asked me when I arrived back in Beijing. The answer: yes, and then some. Whenever I go somewhere bizarre and off-the-beaten-path, I never come home disappointed. Seeing the way of life in Tibet through local Tibetans was rewarding beyond words. The women walking down the streets of Lhasa, carrying their children on their backs wrapped around their stomachs in cloth; the old men, on their knees in prayer at mosques all over the region–a completely different world from China, Asia, and especially America.

Check out some photography from the journey! And hold on for more, because in two days, I’m leaving for Thailand!

My final shout-out is to these 5 new friends I made. They were all 50-and-up, making them many generations away from my 20-year-old self. But, they were incredible. On these day-long train rides, they invited me into their cabins, fed me (I am now a big fan of dried yak meat), gave me shots of Chinese alcohol (sorry, mom), and put up with my broken Chinese. With the two couples in the bottom picture, I spent about 5 hours, talking about life in China, their favorite places in China, the key to learning Chinese, and the fact that I want to live in nature some day–all of this occurring in Mandarin. This was my first experience where I was able to be proud of the little bit of the language I know. I could never thank them enough.

Currently in: Beijing, China
Next stop: Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Thailand