Lhasa Tibet Travelling Tips

Lhasa airport and taxi's.  First off, make sure you follow the crowd after you pickup your luggage.  Although it may seem silly since they are all standing in line to leave when the exit is right there, security is checking baggage tags.  Be thankful for this, and don't complain about not having a clue

A taxi from the airport to downtown should cost you about 40 to 50 Yuan per person, it's faster and more convenient than the shuttle, but not necessarily less crowded, as the taxi driver tries to get their monies worth by filling the taxi (3 to 4 people).  You should question the price if they want to charge you more than that, and get out if you don't like the price, there are plenty more behind that one.  Oh, the taxi stand is across the parking lot, hard to see from the door.  The shuttle will get you to town, but I don't know how much it costs or where it drops you.

Things to bring or get.
1) Altitude sickness pills.  This is a must, don't be an idget, a lot of people get it, no big deal, just get the pills.  There are really good Chinese herbal ones and standard.  Both work just as well.  Take 1 pill every 12 hours, for those of you who get the Chinese herbal ones, the directions are written in Chinese. One good herbal pill is called Rhodiola Rosea and it cost about 15 yuan.

2) Dust mask.  Seriously, everywhere we have been the pollution has been horrible, if you don't think you will have breathing problems, think again.  We are all human and have the same type of lungs, bad air is bad air and it is very bad for your lungs, sinuses and throat.  You don't have to wear it 24/7 but at least wear it in the open markets and streets.

3) If it's cold, bring a scarf. Not only to keep our neck and throat warm on the outside, but cover your mouth to keep our throat warm on the inside.  The cold air at this altitude will wreak havoc on your glands and throat, you will thank me or wish you had a bag of cough drops.

4) If you plan on trekking or taking a day trip further up, consider getting one of those small oxygen bottles readily available at the pharmacies.  Don't worry about looking like a fool or tourist, your body is not used to the low oxygen content, and if you need O2 then you NEED O2, don't be stupid, just get one, they're cheap and it could be a life saver.

5) Light windbreaker / raincoat. You can carry it with you easily and it keeps the chill off.  Get some gloves too, these go a long way to keeping you warm, why people don't see that I don't know.

6) Extra memory cards for your camera.  Have fun finding a reliable place to upload or put our pictures on cd. Lots of great things to take pictures of, you don't' want to run out of memory.

7) Liquid!!  I can't stress this enough.  Stay hydrated.  Between the cold and the altitude, your body will be using lots of water.  Part of altitude sickness is fluid in the lungs, where do you think all that mucus you are coughing up came from.  Drink lots of water, real juice or electrolytes.  Always have a spare one in the room.

8) Antibiotics and/or Tamiflu and fever reducers (Tylenol or Advil).  There are plenty of hospitals here, but why risk it.  There are sick people all over, and the pollution doesn't help.  If you get the flu, you will get not only waste travel days, but you will feel like crap.  It's not very good to have the flu and fever for very long, as you know, and being in the middle of nowhere isn't helpful.  These things will help you recover quickly and safely.  Drink lots of fluids, eat warm soup and stay in bed.  Don't take the antibiotics with Tamiflu, one of the other folks.

9) Toilet paper and tissue.  Even if you get a room with western toilet, the rolls have like 40 pieces on them.  Most toilets will be squatters and will not have toilet paper.  Like always, used paper goes in trash, and WASH your hands every time.  Preferably with hot water and soap, which is also scarce, so carry anti-bacterial hand wash.  Also wash before EVERY meal.

Things to watch out for:
* There are beggars everywhere, no big deal most of the time.  Here, its a very impoverished area, so they are a bit worse.  You also have to realize that true Buddhist Monks, are only allowed to beg for food/money and are not allowed to have worldly possessions (cellphones, tennis shoes), so consider this if / when you give money. 

The little street urchins children may look all poorly, but will gladly and quickly snag your wad of cash when you get it out to give them some.  They will also attach themselves to your legs or hips and make you drag them, until they either get the stuff out of your pockets, you give them something, or you shake them off.  Try carrying candy in your coat pocket and throw it on the ground and walk away fast.  This may seem cruel, but if you are a backpacker, you probably don't have money to be giving to every beggar, much less be able to afford losing it to pickpockets.

The monks.  Remember I said they are only allowed to beg for food/ money for food.  So if you feel so inclined, at least look them up and down, it seems there is a bit of fake monks, as a lot of them are fairly young, wearing tennis shoes and sometimes jewelry, brand new robes and cellphones.  These things are forbidden to monks so it's a good  chance they are just trying to scam you.  Also, if they follow you to an ATM and beg, good chance they are not monks, monks won't harass you in ANY form.

*English signs do not mean English speaking employees.  There are a lot of good hotels and restaurants around that cater to westerns.  They have English signs and sometimes English menu's, but don't expect good communication if any.  It does not mean these are bad places, some of them are quite good, just have patience and communicate using small well known words.  Consider getting the international pocket translator, its full of simple easy to understand pictures to point at. Also, don't stay in a 4 or 5 star hotel just because you can for about $200/night, there are a lot of really nice ones for $36 (for a standard room with western bathroom and free breakfast) with excellent service (the Yak Hotel for example)

*Street merchant prices.  As Kristin stated in her haggling post. Don't be afraid to, and expect that the are going to quote you more because they can.  Just offer a lower price.

*Power outages are daily, don't freak out, just bundle up in your room if it's night time as it will get cold. Make sure you have enough cash on you to eat for each day, as ATM's won't work without power   Always have a drink or 2 with you or in your room.