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Alex Mumzui, intrepid Russian Brompton enthusiast takes his Brompton to Tibet to see how far up Mt Everest he can get. Follow his travels with the letters below.

Traveling in Tibet

Alex Mumzhiu
2006-03-20 17:35:05

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Letter 1

OK, I have seen Everest and Potala, and I am in Tibet, now I can die in peace, but not from altitude sickness, I almost do not feel any symptoms.
Alex
Sept. 28, 2000

Letter 2

OK, OK, I will write about everything. Some of my subscribers, especially G---e family,became very impatient. Some people told me that I will be upset with Lhasa because It is not that it was before, and that these Chinese spoiled everything. They probably are right, but I did not see Lhasa before. The shadows from the clouds on the surrounding mountains are painted properly, with Nicolas Roerich colors, Potala is the same as it was before. I think Potala is one of 5 world best architectural sites. I cannot describe it in proper English, in proper Russian too... I probably would have to use an expressions like "ny blia, zashibis'"(non-translatable). So I am not upset with the Lhasa. Tibetian Lhase compose only 1/4 of nowdays Lhasa. These who are familiar with geography of Washington DC. can think of Lhasa in the same terms. North West is populated by Tibetians instead of non-Hispanic whites, and 3 other quarters populated by Chenese instead of African Americans. Potala (inside the temple) share the same fate as other major religious sites. It overridden by organized tourists groups. You can see there these omnipresent elderly America ladies with their walkers and walking sticks, accompanied by few man who manage to survive till the same old age, Japanese, who tell you mishi-mushi and asked you to make their photographs, and so on. On displays there are old Tibetan religion relics, like 3-d Mandala, which are probably very interesting things for these who know something about them, or have great imagination. For others it looks like dusty and fake stuff from the antique shop. I am somewhere in between. Another, less famous site in Lhasa is Jokhang. It is really interesting place. It is not as impressive from ...