Metok, located in the southeastern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region, is considered to be one of the most untouched places in the world. To those who are not familiar, Motuo is surrounded to its west, north and east, by the Himalayas, and segmented by Yalunzangpo River and Palongzangpo Gorge. That’s why it is so isolated. It is the only county in China which cannot be accessed by car.

Although it is out-of-bound for foreigner except for expedition teams, Chinese backpacking enthusiasts () regard conquering Motuo as the ultimate challenge.  Motuo’s landscape varies from cold mountainous slopes, to tropical rainforests. Rainfall makes this area very vulnerable for landslide/mudslide. Since the founding of People’s Republic of China, the Motuo Highway has been attempted many times and failed many times.

Up till now, all transportation between Motuo county and the outside world has been done by animals and human. This Metok Highway under construction is supposed to change that.

The Motuo Highway negotiates the difficult terrain of the Grand Yalunzangpo Gorge. Before approaching Motuo County, it will cross over 6 rivers, and push through the the newly constructed tunnel through Galongla mountain.

Although environmentalists and backpacking enthusiasts may wish to keep things the way they are, with the development of technology, the isolation of Motuo – @The last county in China to be connected by highway” – seems to come to an end.

80 yuan a day for the driver and 100-120 a day for the guide  for private tour groups of 2-5 people.

Travelers to China probably notice that there’s no tipping at the Chinese restaurants, taxi, barber shop or pretty much everywhere else. But Chinese tourism really starts to pick up on that, for better or for worse. It seems like this is the trend so a general guideline will be helpful. But for the most part, how much you tip still depends how you feel about the service. In Tibet, drivers and guides mostly rely on the short summer months for their income and they generally support a larger extended family so I normally would tip them. 
 
That’s it, I am putting out a page on the website for some clarity.

Anyway, long story short, I got rescued by two “knights” with AAA membership. My car was towed to the shop in two minutes. Whether it was worth the risk and whether it was worth the favor to tow the car for two blocks are separate topics.  After listening to me thanking them profusely, one of my saviors said that he was from Alaska and in Alaska, people stop to help people out because if you don’t, they might die. 

That reminded me of one incident in Tibet. Yeah, that’s right, that’s why I’m posting this blog here.  One time when we came back from Mt. Everest Basecamp, after the stuffy, scorching hot ride on the 110 km dirt road from EBC to Old Tingri, we were all tired and longing for a long shower in Shigatse.  There was no running water at the base camp. I don’t think I washed my hands, let alone shower the night before. Just while we were thinking about shower and dinner, our driver (Gesang shifu – yes, in China we call our drivers “shifu”, just like Kung fu apprentices call their masters, like Kung fu panda calls his Shifu) pulled over alongside another car just returned from EBC . You knew because the other car was just like ours, covered with dirt from head to toe. Clearly the other car had some trouble. It had about 3-4 Laowai (expats) in it, looking just as tired and exuberant from an adventure as we were. Both Shifus spent about half an hour working hard on the broken car and it finally jolted a little. We took the guide from the other car in our car to offload the weight and continued on to Shigatse.  But the other car eventually broke down again later.  I found out that while we were having dinner and hot shower, our Shifu went back to tow the other car to the shop. I thought that the other driver must be our driver’s friend or relative or something. It turned out that they are just acquaintances.  Tibetan people are awfully nice, I concluded. Yes, that’s true, but later I heard more about it. Gesang Shifu said that in Tibet, especially in winter, when you see cars broken down, you stop to help because if not, people may die.  Besides, “do to others what you would want them to do to you”. 

Tibetan cars are all well-used , beaten up by snow, dirt, wind, and just plain running non-stop. 10,000 mile cars are still considered new. Cars oftentimes break down in the middle of nowhere. That’s why every Tibetan driver is also half a mechanic – hence the name “Shifu”?  So, dear readers, if next time you are privileged to visit Tibet and if your car broke down or you met other broken cars, a little patience and understanding goes a long way.

Combining foreigners in a cheap group tour seems like a solution. However regulation states that no foreign tourists can be combined with other Chinese tour groups or foreign tourists from another travel agency. Sounds complicated? It is. Small boutique travel agencies do not have the scale to organize foreign tourist groups. They do not have enough foreign customer base to form a group on its own. Because of the regulation that you can’t join them with another group from another agency, the daunting cost of traveling alone (well, not exactly alone because of driver and guide, but only one paying customer) often turns budget travelers away.

Major Buddhism temples in China all held prayer rituals for the about 2,700 victims killed in the earthquake The monks prayed for the victims’ souls and for the survivors to overcome the hardships caused by the disaster.

Our prayers also go to the victims and their families.

Like most of the rural areas in China, the buildings in the quake-devastated region in Qinghai Province are not-at-all quake proof. Over 700 people died and more than 10,000 were injured in the earthquake.

The epicenter of the earthquake is near the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu (where a large number of Tibetan ethnic minorities inhabit). in southern Qinghai, just north of Tibet Many people were still buried under the debris of collapsed houses in the Gyegu Town near the epicenter.

Chinese central government is calling out rescue effort from all over the country. Let’s hope these strong people pull out from this disaster soon.

Travel to Tibet in the next couple weeks is expected to experience delays. Travellers are advised to arrive the airport/train station early and tune in for updates of the road condition, train/flight schedule.

FYI:
Losar festival is celebrated by Tibetan people and is marked with ancient ceremonies that represents the struggle between good and evil, by chanting, and by passing fire torches through the crowds. Since the systematization of the Tibetan calendar in 1027 A.D., the first day of the first month became fixed as the New Year. A certain amount of levity is provided by events such as the dance of the deer and the amusing battles between the King and his various ministers. Losar Festival is characterized especially by dancing, music, and a general spirit of merrymaking.

On the New Year’s Day, families unite “auspicious dipper” is offered and the auspicious words “tashi delek” are greeted. Young Tibetans wear chuba and pay their first visit of the year to a temple with their family early in the morning. On New Year’s Day, Tibetans are supposed to offer ornaments called ‘Chemar’ and barley beer to their households’ deity and to the water dragon that takes care of their water supply. Be careful as the “beer” served is strong enough to get drunk. On New Year day, Tibetan village women compete with each other to be the first one to take water from their village’s well, which is said to bring good luck.

After saying ‘Tashi Delek’ and exchanging greetings with neighbors, Tibetans do nothing but feast on the food and drink that they have painstakingly prepared. They visit each others’ feasts and have parties full of drinking and singing. The men don’t miss an opportunity to enjoy gambling, with games of ‘Sho’ (dice), ‘Pakchen’ (mah-jong), etc. On New Year’s Day everyone spends time with their family or neighbors and then start paying visits to their relatives on the second day. Children also have a good time New Year’s gifts of candies, etc.

On the 3rd day they replace the year old tar-choks and dar-shings on the roof of their houses with new ones and burn thick bunches of ‘Sang’ (mulberry leaves).

Four planning and designing companies from Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu are bidding to undertake the project.

According to the bureau, the new route will involve the undertaking of eleven projects, including the Muli Monastery, the Shangri-La National Forest Park, the Daba Culture Park and an ecotourism holiday resort.

Meanwhile, Tibetan-style hotels, a rock climbing base, a skiing park, a safari and racetrack will also be constructed.

Muli, located in the southern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, boasts high mountains and highlands, as well as lakes and rivers.

Though rich in natural and tourism resources, the mysterious town was little known to the outside world until the 1920s when American Austrian scientist Joseph F. Rock traveled to the place three times and published in the National Geographic magazine his travelogues about Muli’s natural and cultural landscape.

With snowy mountains, large forests, perilous peaks, limestone caves, waterfalls and ancient monasteries, the county fits the portrait of a utopian paradise. “Eco” is all trendy and dandy. Hip catch word like “ecotourism” plus the mystery, ancient history, scenery and last but not least, commercial promotion is sure to bring hype. Look at what they did to Yunan “Shangri-La”. That place is more commercial than ever. A “rock climbing base”, “ski park”, “safari forest” and a “RACE TRACK”? That doesn’t sound “eco” to me.

Weather forecasts show that the temperature in Tibet will range from ten degree below zero to six degree Celsius for the next few days.

A snow storm hit Beijing on Sunday. The Capital Airport was covered with heavy snow, with only one of the three runways safe for operation, causing delays of flights to/from Beijing. There is one flight daily from Beijing to Lhasa, which was delayed for one and half hours on Sunday. Flights were resumed normal on Monday.

If you are heading to Tibet, dress warmly.

The most widespread legend about Tibetan mastiffs is as follows: A long, long time ago, there was an outbreak of a mountain torrent one year and the land was covered with ice and snow in the winter. With a rampant plague, people were suffering from various types of hardships, and a heavenly god riding a Tibetan mastiff came from the heavens. Ice and snow thawed and the earth came back to life and the people were saved.

The legend reflects the attention that Tibetan people have placed on Tibetan mastiffs. There were only a small number of Tibetan mastiffs during the times of serfdom in Tibet, and expensive Tibetan mastiffs were luxuries. Their numbers were small and owners were limited to the nobles.

Since Tibetan mastiffs were not allowed to be bred in serfdom, they gradually became a breed of sacred dogs both in legends and in reality.

Today, Tibetan mastiffs have become the favorite pets of Tibetan people. They treat Tibetan mastiffs like a family member and are said to have three major treasures: Tibetan mastiffs, excellent horses and sharp knives.