It looks like I might be spending three months working in the Tibetan Autonomous Region, and since I’ve never visited before I’m pretty stuck about what to bring. I’m going to end up carrying about 20-30 pounds of equipment in a modified ammunition case, and I’m hoping to fit everything else I’ll need into a single backpack. I’ve already packed a thick sleeping bag, an emergency first aid kit, a GPS, sunglasses, warm socks, and a torn, extremely beat-up looking coat I’m intending to wear over my clothes to discourage thieves and con-men, but what else should I bring? I’m not really sure what kind of weather to dress for (I’ll probably be going during the summer), and I don’t really know what kinds of things would come in handy in that region.
I spent a month there in Spring 2005.
Where will you be? What sort of accommodation? Tent or hotel? None of the hotels I stayed in had heating. The down sleeping bags we had were invaluable.
You might be at relatively low altitudes on the plains, in which case much of my advice is moot.
Bring lots of layers, too. When the sun’s out it can get blisteringly hot; the moment the sun goes in, you’re freezing, and at night it’s really, really cold. I wore wool sock liners and thick outer ‘smartwool’ socks at high altitude. And thermal underwear. And an extra pair of sunglasses - you don’t want to be out in that glare if you break or lose your first pair.
Also, sunscreen - the thick stuff, high factor. I got very sunburned on the mountains, and the stuff they sell in Lhasa doesn’t work. And stock up on packs of tissues to use as toilet roll - less bulky, and fairly ubiquitous in stores.
I could not find deodorant there at all, so if you want to remain relatively unscented, bring a few. Don’t bring ball or aerosol, though, as the pressure differential when you get to the higher altitudes can cause them to go bang. That said, there are few places to wash: if you’re away from the cities you might not be able to wash for a long time, so bring plenty of underwear. Few hotels have bathrooms - that work - one hotel had a shower, but it only worked for an hour a day. And some of them didn’t have toilets either, just a hole in the ground.
I recommend a shortwave radio - one with an external antenna. This was really good for keeping me in touch with home via the BBC World Service. There’s no internet available further west than Shigatse.
Most towns have some kind of provisions store, with varying dried foods of varying qualities. Outside Lhasa I pretty much lived off ramen cup noodles. Very tasty they were too. Momos are delicious, and you should order them whenever you find them.
Tsampa and rancid yak butter tea, not so much.
You might see if Lonely Planet has recommendations. They don’t expect you’ll be staying at the Lhasa Marriott (as Fodor’s would, were there such a thing), nor do the expect you’ll find it somehow more authentic to carry only an old blanket and a copy of The Ugly American (as Let’s Go! sometimes seems to favor).
Agree about Lonely Planet - very useful.
Also, bring something to read about altitude sickness, just in case. Get to know the symptoms. There are western drugs available to stave off a couple of the symptoms (ETA: but not in Tibet!), but sometimes the cure is just getting to lower ground - which might require evacuation - or huffing an oxygen can (they’re available on sale in Lhasa). The Chinese herbs don’t do jack.
BTW, we visited the poshest hotel in Lhasa, the former Lhasa Holiday Inn (as detailed in the hilarious and touching The Hotel on the Roof of the World) and I suspect any Fodors-touting traveller would have been absolutely horrified with the standards… Tibet doesn’t do hospitality, yet.
Wow, thanks for the great advice! I’m probably going to be staying in tents for the most part; I’m going to spend most of my stay in Amdo studying some of the less documented dialects, which’ll probably mean hanging out with the nomads and herders.
I can probably get away with carrying lots of light, easily removable layers, so the clothing should be fine. (I’ll definitely make sure to stock up on underwear.)
While we’re on the topic, is there anything in particular I should bring to use as gifts to my informants? Digital wristwatches and small, high-power flashlights have gone over well in the past, but I’m not sure what kinds of stuff would be useful in Amdo.
Flashlights, probably. But bear in mind that the electronics revolution from China, has infiltrated a lot. That said: Amdo, wow. Remoter than I’d have dared go! Probably not there. The city seems to be a stopping point from Golmud, mind you, so maybe it has. Calling China Guy - he’s been all over Tibet, IIRC.
Western-style cigarettes proved extremely popular. Even for people who didn’t smoke.
From observation, a Polaroid (or new digital instant printing) camera would make you many, many friends. Take a pic, give the subject the pic. Instant buddies.
will have to do a lot of iterstions. where and when in amdo? I spent a few months in the Aba area - which is sorta Amdo. and with just a backpack. plan on not being able to buy anything.
you will need a small portable water filter. 100x sunscreen.
learn to like buckwheat and yak butter. seriously.
for good reading, try way of the white clouds by govinda.
those are just quick thoughts. will post more
Forgot a couple of things. If it’s Amdo, it will be Qinghai province and not TAR.
Definately take along a leatherman all in one tool. Compass. I would get a compass/altimeter watch. Good satellite map from the US because you won’t find anything detailed in China.
Boots that won’t fall apart. Don’t buy any of your clothes etc at yuppie places. You’re going to trust your life to your clothes and equipment, and that is not hyperbole, so get real rugged gear and not weekend warrior shit. I had a pair of boots fall apart on my last few days in country. After several days, I was able to find some wire to wrap around to keep the sole on.
A money belt for your passport and cash. I also used to have a ace bandage type pocket that I wore on my upper calf. It had enough money to get me back to civilization. I never had to use it but be prepared. Depending on where you go in Amdo, it could be one of the least accessible places in the world.
Pamela Logan’s Kham Aid foundation. http://www.khamaid.org/alternate_index.htm There is a ton of useful information. She is focused on Kham and not Amdo but it’s probably good to touch bases with her.
Some other interesting reading. Search on Cynthia Beale, who spent time with both the Mongolian and Tibetan nomads (pastoralists). Her time was in the TAR. She’s written scholarly works, as well as featured in national geographic. Hrer research was done as part of Case Northwestern university.
Moving to IMHO from GQ. Also edited title for clarity. (I think many people would assume you were going to excavate sabertooths at La Brea rather than going to central Asia.)
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
another quick thought - your biggest danger will be from guard dogs and wild dogs. EVERY Tibetan carries a dog whapper of some sort, a short sword, or something 24/7. I was attacked by a guard dog who broke his chain and was set on by a pack of herd dogs. the nomads and a big knife saved me from a severe mauling. another time I had to beat a wild dog with a walking stick as it tried to chew my leg off.
btw, i’ll be near amdo in jiuzhaigou in a few weeks at a corporate event.
Whoa, thanks for the advice China Guy! Let’s see… as for the specific region, I’m planning on wandering through Qinghai in a general east-west direction. I’m interested in studying variations of the Amdo dialect of Tibetan, though, so I can’t give a very definite itinerary.
Good idea about the boots… I have good expedition stuff, but I hadn’t thought about making repairs; I’ll be sure to carry a small repair kit with twine, wire, glue, and the like.
Out of curiosity, what languages tend to be the most commonly used? I speak fairly fluent Tibetan and passable Bali, but my Mandarin and Burushaski are absolute crap.
I don’t know anything about Tibet. But may I suggest thinking about medicines?
You are apparently going to be living very,very close to people --and their animals–whose intestines are filled with different bugs than you are used to. You will be sharing food and utensils with people who have natural resistance to things that you do not have resistance to.
No need to get paranoid–but it seems a good idea to have more than your average supply of anti-diarrhea and runny-nose pills.
Good point about the medicine, chappachula. Another thought Omi no Kami: I’m sure you’ll get all the appropriate shots before you go, but there are various drugs that you can’t get without a prescription in the west (I presume this applies to where you are now) that it might be handy to have to hand.
Depending on what your jumping-off point is, you can buy pretty much anything over the counter in many Asian cities. Hong Kong is good for this, Shanghai and Beijing are good, Chengdu is good, Bangkok is good. Many pharmacies have a medical dictionary that allows direct translation of the drug name into the local language. I suggest investing in a good stock of amoxycillin for general infections that won’t go away. (Complete the course. Always read the label.) and some Flagyl for persistent intestinal problems such as giardiasis (read up about this stuff - it’s powerful shit. Complete the course. Always read the label.). Also get a load of aspirin, ibuprofen, and anything you need personally, as well as the altitude sickness stuff I mentioned upthread. Last time I travelled in Asia I got a shedload of pills in HK and bought one of those roll-up washkits to keep them in, so it didn’t take up too much room.
*There will be no label of course. However, Lonely Planet has a lot of good advice about dosages and course length, as do reputable parts of teh intarwebs. Make sure you’re not allergic. Does not constitute medical advice - just a hint. Void where prohibited.
Oh, good call on the medicines! I’ve never had trouble with altitude sickness before, but I usually carry a few days worth of meds in case it sets on. Having decided that rural central asia can be pretty miserable when it comes to diseases, I intend to be well-vaccinated before I leave. I’ve done fieldwork in other areas of central and eastern asia, so I’m pretty sure my stomach can, in theory, handle the food, but it’s a good idea to carry meds for any problems incurred by the sudden change in diet.
Get a rabies shot before you go. You have about a week if you get bit to go back to civilization and start a treatment cycle. Get advice from a doctor though specifically on rabies.
I would take 1-2 cycles of antibiotics. Also take some eye ointment. I was in a village where they were threshing barley, and with wearing contacts ended up virtually blind for a few days. That was fun.
How about your planned starting and stopping points? Maybe from Ta’ersi to Qinghai Lake? You also might want to try track down a reincarnate lama in Berkeley. He’s from Amdo, and I met him and 3 gorgeous daughters when they were returning from Amdo to Chengdu. He might be helpful. I can’t remember the Rinpoche’s name but he had a meditation center in Berkeley at least in the 1980’s.
What Tibetan do you speak? Assume you know this already but the nomads speak a pretty unintelligeble dialect. If you speak Lhasa, then Amdo dialects may not be very understandable. Mandarin is actually the trade language between many of the different tibetan languages. Which is not to say mandarin level is high. Many places I went to we would have maybe 50 words in common.
I did several 1 month-ish type trips 20 years ago. It was very safe apart from being in strange brutal mountains and the dogs. My plan was always to trek from monastary to village to monastary. People there are bored and will greatly enjoy a show and tell. Photo’s of your family, different currencies (1$ bills make good presents), pix of US farm animals (go to a livestock show - the pix of a prize bull was priceless in Tibet). I had something called the lantern candle from REI. A simple collapsable case, with a spring that pushed the candle up into position. Very simple mechanics that everyone really enjoyed checking out, discussing, and they fully understood this technical marvel.
Make sure you get blessed by the monks and wear the colored charms. If you’re into it a gaowu and rosary are good too.