A Texan in Tibet - Syabrubesi to Kyirong Village

"Lighten up while you still can
Don't even try to understand
Just find a place to make your stand
and take it easy"
- Jackson Browne

Today would be a short day, riding less than 40km. The time needed to cross the border into China was unpredictable to say the least. Apparently there are rules, but also apparently, only the Chinese know them. Our fixer was top notch and had everything in order when when arrived at the Friendship Bridge. Whomever made up the rules must have also made up that name, because the process was anything but friendly.

Processing for crossing into China began at 10:30am China time, which was 8:45am Nepal time. Getting into China would prove much easier than getting out, but that was two weeks away and I had no way of knowing. Only two of us needed visas to enter. Our group consisted of four Australians, one Brit, and me ("the Texan"). Australia has a pretty much open border for Chinese, which I suppose affords favor upon them for reciprocal visitor traffic. Not so much for the Brit and the Texan; especially in today's political climate. The entry process took about two hours for the six of us to complete. With approvals in hand, we mounted up and hit the road for the short run to Gyirong Village. The nasty, hellish terrain we traversed the day before continued for about 20km, all of which was further impaired by Chinese road construction crews. There would be a nice paved road there someday, but not one that I would ever see.

Once on pavement we found ourselves having a blast as we raged through dozens of hairpin turns whilst climbing and descending the final 20km of our route into Gyirong. We were energized and enthused. We were finally in China. This was really happening and Everest was just days away.

I'm going to go into a bit of a rant here, so bear with me.

Throughout the planning for this trip, I've used the term Tibet. The Chinese call it The Autonomous Region of Tibet, in shrewd ploy at attempting to appear tolerant of the Tibetan people and their culture. China essentially ran over Tibet in 1950 while the rest of the world was focused on slicing up post WWII European territory between the east and west.

When the Dalai Lama fled Tibet for India in 1959, his second in command, the Panchen Lama was left as Tibet's Buddhist emissary. In 1995, the Chinese kidnapped him, his family, and his teacher after he was formally recognized as the 11th Panchen Lama by the Dalai Lama. China, which had previously attempted to install its own chosen Panchen Lama, saw the Dalai Lama's recognition as a threat to its control over Tibetan Buddhism and its overall control over Tibet. The Chinese government then appointed another boy as the 11th Panchen Lama. He is widely viewed as a political tool, and although the Free Tibet movement has been largely silenced, there are continued calls for the release of the real Panchen Lama. In a failed attempt to demonstrate tolerance of the Buddhist faith in Tibet, the CCP appointed the Panchen Lama to Chinese Parliament, but in doing so forced him to move to Beijing, which separated him from his followers in Tibet.

 

Chinese Communist Party (CCP) flags are prominently displayed everywhere you look; every street corner, every building, every hotel, and every shack of a home. There are cameras and microphones on every street and gathering area. All public passenger transportation vehicles have cameras installed. There are speed detection cameras along all of the interstitial roads that connect the cities and villages and there are police and military checkpoints every 30 to 50km throughout the country. Everywhere you look, you are reminded of who is in charge. The Tibetans have struggled to maintain and practice their Buddhist faith for the past 75 years while the CCP actively works to erase all evidence of it.

 

Rant mode off.

 

Typical CCP Checkpoint

 

Our hotel in Gyirong was quite nice and quite modern. In fact, the entire village was quite nice. For a people who are repressed, I found them to be gracious and welcoming, and when they learned I was a Texan they all wanted to take selfies with me. Our guide assured me that it was okay, but not to flash any gestures or show any flags.

 

It was a short day, but we had lost two hours, so getting rest was priority one. We would depart early the next morning and cross our first 18,000 foot mountain pass. I had already started my Diamox supplement to combat altitude sickness. I was crossing my fingers that the tablets and my conditioning with the mask would help.

 

"Downtown" Gyirong

The Mountains Surrounding Gyirong Village

Art House Theater?

Gyirong Village Hotel