Year 1992, I was a backpacker travelling alone in China for 3.5 months. Upon reaching the
border of Tibet and Geermu, I was kicked out by the police and the reason given was ' travellers
are not allowed to enter Tibet alone without any permit from the Tibetan government.' I was
 

(Lahsa City)

very disappointed, and from that time onwards I had planned to visit Tibet on a few occasions but were always postponed. However, now my dream came true, and 12 days’ Tibet Trip is truly an unforgetable trip in my life. Our group consisted of 18 members, 9 males and 9 females. The youngest is 25, and the oldest is 69. The first day, we departed for Guangzhu at 10:15a.m, 40 minutes behind time and it caused us to reach Guangzhou very late. It was so horrible we had to do

 our immigration formalities and luggage clearance within 30 minutes to connect another flight to
Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province. We had to  rush to the next flight and our baggage
must be loaded into the aircraft immediately. The situation at that time was confusing, but
fortunately they allowed us to hand carry.

The plane couldn’t land as scheduled and circulated in the air above Chengdu for some time.
Finally, the flight landed at 5:30p.m.. It was too late for our sightseeing, but we still went and
took pictures in front of ‘Wu Monastery’. We had the first meal at a Sichuan Restaurant, but
too many small dishes killed my appetite to eat. ‘Sichuan Opera' is a famous cultural performance
in China, especially the illusion act ‘Change Faces’. Anyway, some of us enjoyed it, and the rest
of the group enjoyed their free time. I met Xiao, a friend whom I have known 8 years ago. That
time she was only 18, and now a 26-year-old pretty and matured lady. That was the second time I
met her, but I could still recognize her. Time was short and we could spend only two hours but
we had a good time.

Tibet is situated on the Qingzang Plateau. It has the world's highest mountains and several large, rushing rivers. Its unique culture, celebrated monasteries and its magnificent scenery make it charming and mysterious. Tibetans are nomads, or farmers raising barley, yak, and sheep. Different tribes wear dresses of distinctive style. The religion here is Lamaism, a sect of Buddhism that believes strongly in reincarnation and a torturous hell for sinners.

( Bharkor Street, Lahsa)

7:30a.m. flight to Tibet, so we woke up very early in the morning the second day. We had our
ready-packed breakfast on the bus, a simple breakfast, 1 apple, cake, 2 slices of bread and 1
bottle of mineral water. I was very excited upon arriving at the Tibet airport at about 9:30a.m.,
and our tour leader,Stanley, constantly reminded us not to rush and move in slow pace. At my
first step on Tibet land and I told myself not to be the first person falling down during the
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Correspondence to Ong Ka Seng @ ksong8@hotmail.com

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