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Q: Have you been to Tibet?
After 3+ years traveling ever chance I get in china, I think I've hit most of the must-sees. Sure, there's a bunch of places I would like to see but if I don't get the chance then I won't cry about it. Tibet, however, I really, really must see before I go. Any suggestions, stories or advice?
10 years 9 weeks ago in Transport & Travel - China
There are several treads on Tibet, if you search for the word 'tibet' on the top.
By far the biggest issue for non-Chinese visiting Tibet is the requirements for the TTP (Tibet Travel Permit). Google it. You need a Chinese visa and then need to join a tour group that, from memory, must be minimum 4 people from the same country. These restrictions were tightened back in 2008 for a number of reasons that I won't repeat here.
I consider myself self lucky that I went in 2007 when the rules on getting the TTP were a lot more relaxed.
Visco8:
Sorry Hotwater ~ but I also want to visit Tibet, are you saying I can't go as an individual traveller?
I must join a group? I'm an Aussie living & teaching in QD.
Find that hard to believe...
Hotwater:
Last time I checked Visco8 you had to go as part of a group, of the same nationalities. No independent travel was allowed. It was supposed to be the case when I went in 2007 but the rules were not enforced at the time. I bought a Tibet Travel Permit & train ticket from a tour company. I couldn't read the travel permit but on the back of it was a list of 10 people, myself included and their names, ages, nationalities and passport numbers. So even then I was supposed to go as part of a group....I never met the other 9 people!
After there was more unrest in 2008 & onwards the authorities tightened up on non-Chinese entering Tibet and during some periods even stopped foreigners going there. As i said, my understanding of the rules last year was as I previously wrote. I've just checked out the website of the travel agents who I used in 2007 and it seems that they have relaxed the rules again. Not sure if I should link to them but I found this company very useful and professional for getting the permit and train tickets. Have a look at what they state on their homepage. http://www.chinayak.com
the requirements for visiting changes regularly.
you will have to check for the latest
You can get a taste of Tibet without the red tape to go in actual Tibet : go to Sichuan, Garze district. It's 90% Tibetan living there, in typical Tibetan landscapes, it's all above 3500 meters. Complete with the heavy military presence 
I have not been to Tibet because of the pain in the ass procedures and restrictions involved.
I have been to western Sichuan to Kangding and Danba in 2007. Mostly Tibetan and very beautiful. The buildings were amazing. I went in high summer and the weather was nice and cool. Really enjoyable and not over ran with tourists. One thing though...the local food was AWFUL, it just was, and there was no fast food to fall back on. I was looking forward to going back to Chengdu for a proper meal. So, my advice is if you are going up that way to stock up on some food (like noodles and whatnot) before going there. Or eat nasty boiled and greasy meat and vegetables. Trust me on this!
One trip I would like to do is to go northwest from Lijiang go to Tibet and turn around and enter Sichuan. Even though this means going into a small corner of Tibet, this is not allowed. it would also be amazing to go from Xinjiang to Tibet. Again, nope, not allowed. Fly to Kathmandu. Nepal and travel to Tibet. Nope, sorry (this might, MIGHT be possible but doubt it) Seems fairly pointless to only be able to go to Lhasa, see that big building on the back of the 50 RMB bill and just turn back. The Chinese dont want foreigners there. Oh well.
My suggestion is to go to Sichuan or Gansu and not really mess with Tibet proper.
DrMonkey:
We did a similar trip it seems. Yes, Tibetans won't get remembered for their cooking -_-' I remember being in a minivan, with a huge hulk of a man, a Tibetan. It was 6 am, he was snacking on a big piece of meat, holding it by the bone. The meat was just barely cooked, they guy spitted the unsavory bits through the window. At one point, the minivan stopped so that one Tibetan lady could pick some huge yellow flowers. Then, she would suck the nectar from the flowers. At an other point, the driver (one-eyed) suddenly turned outside of the road, driving in the middle of a desolate plain. He stopped behind a wall. On the road, a police van... Once the van gone, the driver went back on the road. He turned his head, looked at me with his one eye and a huge smile face. In a poor mandarin, he told me "police, not seen us, lol"
I befriended a guesthouse owner in Seoul who once told me that back in 05' he simply went to a train station in Chengdu and asked to buy a return ticket to Lhasa at the ticket booth, once they rejected him, he went outside and found a local to buy the tickets for him. He then went to Lhasa and back without being checked once for photo ID or anything, and this guy can't even speak Chinese.
Things have changed since then obviously and odds are you won't be as lucky, interesting/crazy thing to do though.
