h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

G'day John,

Just wondering if you have ever been to Tibet? I was going to go a couple of years ago, but changed my mind after i heard the brief period of letting the temples etc be rebuilt had ended.

I will be going to the Mustang region of Nepal in May, which is a restricted area on the Tibetan border that practices the same brand of Buddhism as in Tibet (It was once part of Tibet many years ago).

Any hints, phrases, thoughts etc would be appreciated.

Cheers, Linus

Sorry mate. Skegness, UK is about as far east as I've ever been. From what I've read recently, tourism in Tibet is a farce. Tourist groups are shepherded around with contact between Tibetans and foreign visitors tightly controlled. Even though Mustang is administered by Nepal, you'll probably see more Tibetan culture there than in Tibet. I've heard that a lot of Lhasa, and much of the rest of the country, has been knocked down and rebuilt to such an extent that it is just another concrete city pretty much identical to any you might see in China.

Anyway... I hope you have a great trip; and I hope to read a heap of entries about the place when you get back.

JTG

I heard that too, part of the reason i couldn't see any point in going.

You are right about mustang though, its about as close as you can get to old tibet these days.

Going for a big Buddhist festival, so should be some great sights.

Will bore you, and everyone else to death on my return LOL

Hi, Linus. Did you make the trip to Mustang?

I've been knocking together something the sake of those among us who are interested in Tibet and might want to meet others who share their interest.

h2g2 Friends of Tibet is to be found at A2170982.

Drop by and have a poke around.

JTG

G'day John

The people the trip had been originally organised for cancelled and there weren't enough others for them to do it, so i missed out unfortunately

I saw a doco about Mustang on the weekend about restoring the temples and the artwork inside which fired me up for a possible new attempt and now this has come out of the blue.

Perhaps i'm supposed to go there...

What a drag!

I know the doc you mean. I was amazed by the sophistication of the traditional building techniques (to me mud's mud!); it's exactly what's needed with what's at hand.

Cheers,

JTG