Tibet is part of China (since 1950), an autonomous region of China, but it bears no similarity to China. The Chinese all look similar - one guide was Han and the other Manchurian - my Tibetan guide looks very much like an American Indian and she does not speak or read Chinese. The Chinese are rather godless; Tibetians very religious. The Chinese cities air quality is like ... think Mexico City. Tibet's air is like Lake Tahoe. I can't wait to see the stars tonight. I guess it doesn't hurt that the capitol city of Lhasa sits at 12,500 feet. I got light headed just walking around. The altitude sickness pills were a good idea.
Upon arriving, I was given a traditional Tibetan scarf. It made me feel special. So far, all I've done is Lhasa is drive in from the airport - about 40 miles. My guide said I must rest and get used to the altitude. On the way in, all the houses and along the river, fly flags of different colors. They are Buddhist flags. Blue represents water; yellow, earth; red, fire; white, sky; and green ... I forget green. :-) We also stopped at a Buddhist shrine painted on rocks. There was incense burning, and barley and the white scarves thrown up onto the hills as a gift to Buddha. Vehicles have the scarves too.
So here I sit, in the Tibet Hotel's business center (one computer turned on) sipping a Lhasa Beer (one of the two factories in Lhasa, the other being a cement factory) relaxing and thinking "I didn't take enough time." Asia is truly a place to return to.
P.S. Serenity, you're my daughter. But I have a new step-daughter - Jolly, my Beijing guide. Upon leaving Beijing, I tipped her and shook her hand. And she looked at me, stuck our her lower lip and said "No hug?' We spent four days together, had many great, long conversations, and bonded well.
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