Who:Eduardo and Jan Ferrada of Denver.
Where: Sera Monastery 30 miles outside of Lhasa. At an altitude of nearly 14,000 feet, the monastery is one of the highest in the Himalayas and is reached by way of a dirt road with many hairpin turns.
Best meal: Lunch on the rooftop of the Kailash (Nepalese) Restaurant overlooking the Jokhang Temple.
Best deal: The vendors who sold their wares on the street in front of our hotel. We found lovely bracelets, unusual, inexpensive and wonderful souvenirs of our stay. Also, the shops in the Barkor, which circumnavigates the Jokhang Temple, had interesting, but more expensive, items such as “singing” bowls, wooden bowls inlayed with silver, and other Tibetan handicrafts.
Best time to go: We were in Tibet in September. It is an ideal time; the air is crystal clear and the weather is still comfortably warm. Be aware, however, that the city of Lhasa sits about 12,000 feet high, and most of the monasteries around the city are even higher. There are abundant sources of canister oxygen; the canisters are sold in the local shops, and the hotels provide oxygen to anyone who requires it.
Best travel tips: We organized our guide and visas through a Chinese travel service. It is almost impossible to obtain a visa without using a travel service. At the time of our visit to Tibet, it was necessary to organize the visa in advance; however, the documents were only delivered to our hotel in Beijing the evening before our departure to Lhasa. Bring comfortable clothing that can be layered, and definitely bring comfortable walking shoes. To reach the monasteries requires a lot of climbing and walking. Also, while credit cards are accepted in many of the shops, the kiosks in the Barkor take only cash, so supplement the plastic with traveler’s checks or U.S. dollars that can be changed to local currency.
