Tibet and China 2 - Shangrila

Shangrila County

Going into this trip, we didn't know much about Shangrila. Isn't it a fictional location? Wiki tells me that Shangrila County in China used to be called Zhongdian but was renamed in 2001 after the land from James Hilton's novel 'Lost Horizon' to promote tourism.

Songzanlin Monestary

It was originally mapped as part of Tibet but was reallocated as part of Yunnan province, again to increase tourism. The point being that visitors to Shangrila could go on a basic Chinese visa and not have to apply for the pesky Tibet permit.

Tibet and China 1 - Lhasa

Lhasa

I can't explain why, nor do I recall a reason for this but I've wanted to go to Tibet ever since I was a young child. I think the root of this desire is something as simple as looking at a postcard of the Potala Palace and thinking "this is the most stunning building I've seen in my entire life. I must visit in person!"

View out of our car on the ride to Lhasa from the airport

This last holiday, I finally got the opportunity to head to Lhasa. Tibet is one of those places we feel is important to visit while we're young and fit because the altitude can be an issue. We had been planning to travel around China as part of our honeymoon and geographically, it made sense to tag Tibet on to the trip. It's not very straight forward obtaining a permit to enter Tibet but thanks to our travel agency everything was sorted in time.

Back home... China and Tibet in review

China and Tibet in Review

It was so hard getting back on this keyboard to start putting up posts. I have a severe case of post holiday blues. When you go from 4 blissful weeks of no work, waking up whenever you want, eating whatever you want and looking at amazing sites to the mundane reality of home, work and routine, it's a huge decline in quality of life.

This morning, I was unpacking my China suitcase and started feeling teary at the thought that the last time I wore certain items of clothing was when I was in Xi'an, or Beijing, i.e. when my life was still enjoyable. In any case, there's no point dwelling on the past. I'm sure one day I'll have the time and money to go on another adventure... maybe in the next 50 years. :( :(