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Life, the Universe and Tibet an Accidental Travel Guide

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Life, the Universe and Tibet An Accidental Travel Guide Laurence J Bonner, Australia, 2015 Disclaimer: I am not responsible for any actions of any humans, aliens or animals taking advice from this document that results in any incident detrimental to themselves, their best friend’s uncle, their possessions or investment bonds. It is recommended that you buy insurance to cover all possibilities and more. The text here is given as entertainment based on experiences over several years. No apology is offered for the humour injected herein, except for the bit about the squirrel. It is a requirement that you are slightly insane to get the best from this document. Any slight resemblance to an intellectual work would be a phenomenal aberration and should be reported immediately to the Galactic Arts Nobbling Council. © 2007 – 2016 Laurence J Bonner. Note: This document is Peppered , within the text, with links to relevant or interesting websites thus: Website [ ] Many of the links are to Wikipedia. Donations to Wikipedia have been made. External map links are, in general, to Wikimapia where you will find a wealth of information, publicly edited, including village place names and other locations such as monasteries, glaciers, mountains and rivers, and including latitude and longitude for your GPS, and sometimes relevant pictures. Longitude and Latitude is given in decimal notation within each link. Mostly because I have only 10 fingers. For other GPS formats check on Wikimapia. There are links to internal parts of this document shown thus: HERE [ ] Another Note: Other links, say to a YouTube video, may suffer from non-existence issues over extended time. If you have a deep interest in a particular location, event, subject or definition then a Google search will help you. If you are having trouble searching for a desirable lifestyle etc., then read Slarty Bartfarst’s “Norwegian Fjords in Africa: a justification” published by Betelgeuse University. This will not help you one bit but it does make interesting reading if you can find a copy. When you’ve read as far as page three you will realise that a trip to Tibet is just what you need to reconnect with reality. One More Note: The author contracted a very mild case of plagiarism from touching a door handle in a remote Chinese public lavatory. But mostly it’s almost, but not quite, all my own stuff. If you have any issues you may contact the legal department as soon as he’s back from lunch. The author also suffers from an incurably biased viewpoint. Some have suggested surgery. The use of Accidental in the title is purely accidental. Second One More Note: This symbol ¥, in this document, is being used to denote the Chinese Yuan or Renimbi (RMB). Additionally I have used a comma to indicate where to take a breath. At high altitude, with low oxygen levels, this is useful. An Extra Note: No pixels were injured during the making of this document. Anything out of focus was inflicted by a camera. Towards the end there is an extended image galley for some of the locations. A Penultimate Note: You need a very relaxed mind to read this dissertation. For best results try a small Jim n Tgonk or a Wheezgy before you start. Note: You need an active Internet connection to enjoy to the fullest the external informational links in this document. Life, The Universe and Tibet: An Accidental Travel Guide Contents Summary ......................................................................................................... 1 Foreword ......................................................................................................... 1 Preface ............................................................................................................. 2 Key Words ....................................................................................................... 3 Introduction .................................................................................................... 3 Road Block and Guns at Dartsedo ............................................................. 3 Report from the Field................................................................................. 4 Background...................................................................................................... 6 Independent Tibet ..................................................................................... 6 Why Tibet ................................................................................................... 6 What is Tibet. ............................................................................................. 2 Tibetan Empire ........................................................................................... 3 Buddhism .................................................................................................... 3 Script ........................................................................................................... 3 Historical Timeline ..................................................................................... 4 Where is Tibet ? ......................................................................................... 4 Who are the Tibetans ................................................................................ 5 Tibet is the roof of the world..................................................................... 5 Tibet is high ................................................................................................ 5 Altitude Acclimatisation .................................................................................. 6 Little Bit Scary ? .......................................................................................... 6 Where we are Going ....................................................................................... 7 Kham ........................................................................................................... 7 Lhasa Permit ............................................................................................... 7 When to Go ..................................................................................................... 8 Weather ...................................................................................................... 8 Weather Records ....................................................................................... 9 Quakes ........................................................................................................ 9 Political ............................................................................................................ 9 Human Rights ............................................................................................. 10 TAR Open, TAR Closed ............................................................................... 10 Tibetan Flag ................................................................................................ 10 Internet Rules ............................................................................................. 11 CIA ............................................................................................................... 11 Getting a Visa for Tibet ................................................................................... 12 Help and Advice .............................................................................................. 14 Language .................................................................................................... 14 “Useful Phrases” and explanations ........................................................... 14 Place names................................................................................................ 15 Internet and Comms .................................................................................. 15 Where to Charge Your SIM ........................................................................ 16 $ Cash ¥ ...................................................................................................... 16 ATM ............................................................................................................ 17 Dogs and Bears .......................................................................................... 17 How to Get Bitten ...................................................................................... 17 Dom Gyamuk .............................................................................................. 17 The Unmentionable ................................................................................... 17 Back to Travelling ............................................................................................ 19 Getting there Internationally..................................................................... 19 How to Book Your Flight ............................................................................ 19 Luggage ....................................................................................................... 20 Deciding Where to Go................................................................................ 21 Life, The Universe and Tibet: An Accidental Travel Guide The Routes: Maps ........................................................................................... 21 By bus from Chengdu to Kangding – Degé – Dzongsar ................................. 21 Paper Maps ................................................................................................ 22 Russian Topographical Maps ..................................................................... 22
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