Now that I'm in Tibet Autonomous Region and moving inwards, I start to notice my surroundings change.
From what the locals wear, to the design and structure of their houses, and even their motorcycles! The colors and design used evokes a very bohemian feel. Look at their motorcycles, the many little details on it makes it look ultra cool.
Their houses are mostly made from stones and bricks with their entrances guarded by wooden doors.
As I was riding from Yan Jing to Markham, I noticed these Indiana-Jones-looking Tibetan bikers don't wear helmets while riding. I don't understand how they can do it when it's 12 degrees here and even with my bandana and HJC Rpha full face helmet on, my face feels like its gonna crack anytime!
They have skin of steel.
And I have butt of steel, because although its tarmac, the mountain roads here are full of potholes!
Not little shallow ones, but big and pretty deep ones! Gosh, the bumps are so uncomfortable.
Thankfully my baggage are thrown into my local guide's van, otherwise I'd worry my baggage going out of place even if it was strapped firmly onto my bike.
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| Selfie with a Tibetan boy |
Sharp bends, rough roads and corners here we go again. It's going to be like that every other day so it's time I get used to it.
Although the temperature here can be pretty cool, the sun's UV rays are extremely strong especially being at a higher altitude so applying sunscreen daily is crucial. Tibet belongs to one of the highest region on Earth and is known for its severe dry and harsh weather conditions. Its usually worse in Winter when the cold really bites.
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| Stopped to take a breather |
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| All covered up |
I tried from hitting my helmet, to singing horribly to myself, to talking or reciting poems to myself, to standing up and dancing, back to hitting my helmet - NO USE.
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| Round 1, GO! |
Constantly looking out for things that may come into my way takes up energy too, and I had quite a fair bit to look out for. From huge trucks, cars, horses, sheep, goats crossing or simply standing in the middle of the road, to little children playing when passing through small villages or just people who decide to sit on the road and have a picnic. Really.
It got to a point where my energy level was -30, and I'm like fcuk this shit. I'm going to sleep, right here, right now. I don't care anymore. I need to sleep, even just for a while.
I was so shagged I decided to just stop by the riverside. While listening to the gentle water currents, I fell asleep within minutes. My Tibet guide who finally caught up, crept up and secretly took this photo of me haha.
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| Riding through the high passes |
With a sleepy face, I continued my journey, stopped at another one of the many Police check points to pass through Markham, heading towards Zuo Gong. Sometimes presenting our documents at these check point isn't enough. We'd need to be escorted to the Police Station to verify the papers.
Strictly Tibet for ya ;)
Passed by vast ranges and I started to feel my bike getting boggy, its power gradually becoming a little weaker. Not long later, I started to experience a mild thumping headache. Before you know it, both my bike and myself were experiencing high altitude reactions because...
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| Dong Da Mountain |
That's more than 16,000ft, and the highest I heard for a tandem skydive was 15,000ft. Wow.
Everest Base Camp is 5,200m.
I was so thrilled! Many visitors were there too, taking photos and all. Most of them are on self drives and rides too!
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| The auntie was so excited she just jumped into the photo taking haha |
Met some of the local bikers who realized my motorcycle number plate was different from theirs and they asked me where I was from. When I told them Singapore, they were so surprised and gave me so much words of encouragement which I really appreciated.
Glad to have a few photos taken with them, a wonderful moment captured! And so happy to have reached the highest altitude I've ever reached in my life by motorcycle! :D
5,008metres!
On towards Zuo Gong, there was about 20KM worth of dusty off road due to road works and the sun was glaring in my direction, making it difficult to see. When vehicles in front move off, a lot of dust and dirt gets stirred up in the air making visibility worse.
Look at all that brown dust! On my RS Taichi Drymaster Jacket, my HJC Rpha helmet visor and even the tiny lens of my Drift Action Camera! It seems like I just went through a sandstorm or something, and the dirt was irritating my eyes :(
Reached the police check point to enter into Zuo Gong, and my Tibetan guide proceeded to present all the necessary documents as usual. Normally it takes about 10 minutes to clear, this time, I waited and waited, for almost 45 minutes.
Clearly, there was a problem.
It was a serious problem.
Apparently, I’m not 100% legal to be in Tibet Autonomous Region right now because I
don’t have what they call an Alien Permit, which is required for foreigners to have
when entering into Tibet. They only have a few offices in Tibet that does the
permit application and the original passport is required.
Doesn’t really make sense to me because how can they have my
original passport without me entering their region first?
That’s the thing about Tibet, they're kinda governed
independently and rules here can change with little notice given. They can refuse your entry anytime, which was worrying.
So I was presented with two scenarios:
A: The police allow my Tibetan guide to apply for the permit via fax or
email to one of the processing offices.
B: They disallow and I will have to pack my bags and go
home. JUST LIKE THAT.
I am definitely not ready to go back home. Dude, I’ve
traveled over 5,200km to be here and I’m gonna get to my Everest base cam >:(
Thankfully the police allowed me to check into a hotel nearby to stay for the night first, though they held onto my passport :((( It's damn insecure not having your passport with you, you knowww.
Oh and in Tibet, foreigners can't stay at any hotel or motel we like. At the police check point, they will inform you which hotels are foreigners-approved and they will escort you there accordingly. You can't like book your hotel through Agoda or something and happily head there yourself. Doesn't work that way here!
I went to bed feeling worried but at the same time, I knew
there is nothing I can do about it other than pray everything goes smoothly tomorrow.
[Singapore.Malaysia.Thailand.Laos.China.Tibet]
[Mileage Clocked: 5,380KM]
[Weather/Temperature: Sunny/12°C]
[Altitude: 5,008m]
[Terrain: Mountain Roads/Tarmac/Potholes]
Next: Ran Wu Lake, Tibet
