Nyingchi, Tibet
Two days in Nyingchi are way too much for a package tour group. There are probably plenty of places to go and see if you have a proper guide and flexibility and mobility, but for a package tour where someone is sitting in a tour agency office deciding where to take a group of people and when, pickings are apparently slim.
This morning we went to see some really big cypress trees that called to mind giant redwoods in California, but ultimately left me unimpressed. It looked like there might have been good hiking, but I was with a bunch of old people who mostly couldn't handle anything vigorous, plus since I'm pretty much incommunicado on this trip with no information coming to me and no way to ask, I didn't know if I could safely take off on my own without inconveniencing everybody.
After wondering about it for a while, I finally did start venturing up into the pathways, taking my earbuds out in case people called me back, and call me back they did; they were about done. No one else was willing to venture further into the prayer flag swathed grove. They just stayed at the lower level area and gawked at the trees, taking pictures like good tourists do.
Back in the parking lot, I noticed that the grove of trees, nestled at the base of a mountain, didn't cover much acreage. Looking up the mountain, it was clear the grove of trees did not go up the mountain, and therefore those paths were likely quite short. Not impressed.
 |
| 9:47 a.m.-10:04 a.m. |
Next, we headed up into higher altitude to a scenic lookout in the mountains surrounding Nyingchi. It was a pretty long drive going up, but the long drive itself wasn't far from Nyingchi. I think we went up to about 14,500 feet, and again I wasn't impressed by the tourist lookout.
 |
| I think I knew by this time that to avoid reflections shooting out windows, put the lens as close to the window as possible. I don't know why I wasn't doing it. |
 |
| 10:26 a.m.-11:23 a.m., Tibet scenery from the bus |
At first I thought the view rivaled Yosemite National Park, but then looking around this way and that, the difference was that there was nothing particularly special about the view. They could've set the lookout up anywhere and it would've been pretty much the same, whereas at Yosemite there are distinct features that make that place stand out.
 |
| 11:50 a.m.-12:17 p.m., namche barwa scenic overlook |
 |
| Rainbow V 22mm lens toy camera, Ilford XP2 Super |
There was an enclosed area of the lookout and there were some Tibetans there. I forget how it came about, it may have been because one of our group was constantly taking video throughout the trip (which annoyed me more than once), but they went into a little
song and dance for the tourists.
 |
Pentax ZX-5n Nikon N70, Kodak BW400CN |
I don't know if that's the reason why they were there, but although they sung and danced together, there was an impromptu feel about it. I think that is why they were there informally and they loosely "rehearsed" for it, and afterwards asked for money. This was probably my first sense of the degrading situation Tibetans are in because of the Chinese. Throw a few shillings at the locals and they'll give the tourists an entertaining song and dance for the cameras.
I was struggling with the altitude a bit, and there were stairs leading out to the lookout point, and I decided to push myself to check out my fitness and decided to run up the stairs. People were telling me not to run, not knowing what I was doing, and when I got to the top, I immediately had to go into Qi-gong breath channeling exercises to not pass out.
We had lunch in the mountains – Chinese-style, multi-course banquet – and then returned to the hotel, and the effects of altitude were apparent to probably everyone. Nothing else was planned that day until dinner at the hotel. Again. A Chinese-style, multi-course banquet (again) that tour members complained about for being too spicy. I was embarrassed by that.
 |
| 1:38 p.m., street where we stopped for lunch |
Our last night in Nyingchi, one too many; I went out and walked around, hoping to possibly find a place to try Tibetan food, but no luck, no night life. People about, but nothing to do. Small town Nyingchi from a tour group perspective was a pretty depressing place.
