Yak meat products, typical Tibetan food

When you travel to Tibet, do not miss the delicious Tibetan food, especially yak meat products which are typical Tibetan food popular among both local people and travelers to Tibet. 

 

On the Tibetan plateau, it is hard to plant vegetables due to the harsh environment with low temperature all year around. Thus, meat and milk are good source of nutrients for Tibetan people. Yaks are an important source of meat for the herdsmen and their families, but the meat is also sold. Even in areas where religious taboos inhibit the slaughter of the animals, the meat is eaten, but professional butchers, rather than the owners of the animals, do the slaughtering. Many yaks are slaughtered every year and this is normally done when the animals are in their best condition, before the onset of winter. Some of the meat is consumed fresh and much else is frozen in nature's own "deep freeze" and stored that way. Meat is also processed into all kinds of products.

 

Fresh yak meat

 

Only when you make a Tibet tour can you enjoy fresh yak meat. The best fresh yak meat is available in autumn because of the good condition of the animals at that time. The method of butchering and eating by the herdsmen is quite simple. The carcass is cut into large cubes then boiled in fresh water for a few minutes. The meat is eaten with salt and with the help of a Tibetan knife. Butter tea is taken at the same time.

 

Air-dried meat

 

Air drying is a common way for Tibetan people to process meat due to the rich wind source on the Tibetan plateau. Prior to winter, Tibetans cut yak meat into long narrow strips (approximately 4 - 5 cm wide and 30 cm long) and dry these suspended from woven-hair ropes. Drying takes only a few days. The air-dried meat will keep for one or two years either hung in a tent or stored in hide bags.

 

The air-dried meat has a distinctive flavor and can be cooked in different ways. Some of this dried meat is eaten as it is, only cutting or tearing the strips into smaller pieces; and milk-tea is drunk as an accompaniment. When cooking the dried meat, there are two main methods. One is to roast it by burying the meat in the stove, fuelled by yak dung, until the meat smells fragrant. It is then taken out, cleaned and cut into pieces. The other method is to soak the dried meat for several hours and then boil it in water. Salt and condiments are not usually added.

 

Smoked meat

 

Smoking is another popular way to process meat on the Tibetan Plateau. Smoked meat is similar to air-dried beef, but the fresh meat strips are first salted in a container for one or two days and then hung over the stove in the herdsman's tent to smoke. Smoked meat can be eaten either raw or cooked.

 

Corned beef

 

Corned beef is salted "bacon-beef". Frozen meat strips are rubbed for one or two minutes. When the meat becomes soft, salt and condiments are added. The meat is rubbed until it becomes wet and it is then transferred to a jar, which is sealed with paper or cloth. After 18 - 21 days, the salted meat is taken from the jar and dried in the air for about seven days. The best corned beef is reddish in colour, savoury and tasty. After being boiled, steamed or fried, it can be eaten with zanba and accompanied by butter tea.

 

Beef jerky

 

There are two kinds of beef jerky - spiced and curry. The fresh meat is boiled in water for one to four hours, depending on its tenderness. When cooled, it is cut into thick slices 1.5 cm long, 1 cm wide and 0.5 cm, which are put into a pot and sautéed for three hours to remove some water from the tissue. Spices (Table 10.2) are placed between the meat slices, which are then covered with water and left to simmer for about three hours. The slices are taken out and hung to drip-dry for four hours, then dried at 65oC for six to eight hours. This product is known as "spiced jerky". "Curry jerky" is made by mixing the spiced jerky with curry powder. These products can be eaten directly or after additional cooking, frying or boiling.

 

The latter four yak meat products are also popular among travelers as they can be stored for a long time. Many travelers to Tibet would buy some meat and take back home. The yak meat products are also perfect gifts for friends or family members as they carry the unique flavor of Tibet.

 

Besides, those meat products that can be eaten directly are also delicious food on Tibet train. If you leave Tibet by train, you can buy some and treat yourself during the long train journey.  

Advice on trekking to Everest Base Camp

When you get to the Everest Base Camp at the foot of the world’s highest peak on foot step by step, you must feel extremely proud of yourself. That is why the Tibet trek tour from Tingri to Everest Base Camp becomes one of the classic trekking in Tibet. Here is some advice on trekking to Everest Base Camp.

1. Take your time.

Remember, you are doing a trek at an altitude over 4,000m, you are not doing a race and nobody is judging how quickly you get up the hill. Acclimatize properly, drink plenty of water and if you need to take an extra rest day. Nobody is going to ask you how long it takes you to get to Everest Base Camp; they are just going to be amazed when you made it. Your guide and porter will not mind if you hire them for an extra day or two. They will be glad for the work. 

2. Bring a book.

Trekking from Tingri to Everest Base Camp takes several days and it can get a little boring at times. You may only have the energy to lie in bed and read a book, so bring a good one. You can buy books in Lhasa, capital of Tibet.

3. Bring a water purifier or purification tablets

Do not drink the water found in the rivers and lakes in Tibet when you are making a Tibet tour. The safety of drinking water in Tibet has been bothering rural Tibetans in Tibet's remote farming and pastoral areas. Drinking water in Tibet should be purified with iodine or other purification tablets to prevent intestinal complaints.

4. Buy your gear in Lhasa

You can buy all trekking gears in Lhasa, trekking poles, hats, gloves, socks, down jackets, sleeping bags etc. Everything you could possibly need to trek to Everest Base Camp is available in Tibet. If you need it or forgot it, you can get it.

5. Bring chocolate and any treats that you want

It is easily to lose energy when trekking on the high plateau. So it is best to bring some chocolates or any treats you want. Sometimes when the altitude gets to us, the only thing that feels good going down is chocolate. It is a good idea to have some with you and you can buy it in Lhasa.

6. Give Yak and its owner the right of way at all times.

You may hire yak to carry luggage for you or meet yaks and Sherpas during your trek. When a yak train comes, move to the mountain side to get out of the way. You don’t want to be nudged off a cliff by a yak. Sherpa’s and porters work hard on Everest, they are constantly taking supplies up and down the mountain. Help make their life easier by staying out of their way.

7. Have a good first aid kit. 

Altitude sickness is the biggest risk for travelers who travel to Tibet. Diamox is a must for altitude symptoms. Follow the directions and take 1/2 of a 500 mg tablet twice a day. Make sure to have decongestants, Advil or your choice of pain reliever, lip balm and sunscreen is a must. I had a woman give me salve for my sinuses to moisten them. My nasal cavities dried out and I suffered from severe nose bleeds which were quite scary. I will always have a lubricant for my nose from now on.

8. Keep batteries close to your body at all times.

Sleep with them in your sleeping bags. It is difficult to find a place to charge batteries. The cold temperature drains batteries quickly, so you need to extend their life by keeping them warm.

 

Enjoy a Horse Riding Tour in Tibet

When you search Tibetan festivals on internet, you will find that there are many festivals in Tibet relating to horse race. Hence, we can conclude that Tibetan people is a nation loving horse riding. For travelers, why not enjoy a horse riding tour in Tibet to remote wilderness of Tibet to explore the hidden interests of Tibet.

 

When you do a trekking in Tibet, you can hire a horse and enjoy a horse riding in the countryside of Tibet. For example, you can do a horse trek around the famous Mount Kailash in western Tibet or around the heavenly Lake Namtso. But it would be more interesting to ride a horse on the grassland in northern Tibet. You know, Tibetan people would hold Horse Racing Festival on the grassland in Nagchu in every August which is the best month to travel to Tibet.

 

The Nagchu Horse Festival is the most important festival in north Tibet plateau. Nagchu is one of the highest, coldest and most windswept towns in Qiangtang Grassland. In this breathtaking spot on the road between Qinghai and Tibet, from August 10-13, more than 10,000 nomads, with their tents, children and animals come to participate and enjoy the colorful Nagchu Horse Festival. A gathering of traders, pilgrims, dancers, gamblers, drinkers, and picnickers, Nagchu is a cultural fair representing a wide range of ethnic and tribal groups. There will be horse racing and acrobatics, dancing and singing at night, and the chang, or Tibetan beer will flow freely. The Nagchu Horse Racing Festival will be held for a whole week in August 2013.

 

Making a Nagchu Horse Racing Festival Tour in 2013, you are supposed to see:

 

1. Thousands of Tibetan nomad spectators.

2. Beautiful horse racing and yak racing.

3. Competitors with well dressed ethnic Tibetan attire.

4. Yaks and horses are well decorated with Tibetan styles.

5. Buying and selling of horse attracts thousands of Tibetans far away from other parts of Tibet.

6. Tradition dancing and performance of Tibetan operas.

7. Well trained Tibetan Herdsmen displays horse riding skills.

8. The grasslands are dotted with tents with full of Tibetan spectators forming a small town for a week.

 

Except Nagchu Horse Racing Festival, Gyantse Horse Racing Festival Tour is also very popular among travelers. This festival is established in 1408 and the farmers and herdsmen from every parts of Tibet gather in Gyantse for horse racing, archery competitions, horsemanship display followed by few days' entertainment or picnicking. These days, ball games, track and field events, tug of war are also playing at the field for about a week. The businessmen from every part of the Tibet display some local products and butter system is still there.

 

What you will see on Gyantse Horse Racing Festival

 

1. Fast running horse competition

2. A well decorated horse.

3. Many horsemen with typical local Ethnic dress up.

4. Hundreds of businessmen displaying the local products.

5. Showing different skill during Archery competition.

6. Hundreds of Tibetan spectators with typical ethnic dress up.

8. You can still observe the ancient butter system there.

9. Thousands of foreign visitors and journalist.

10. Hundreds of Tibetan tents with full of spectators.

 

If you have experience in riding horse, you can ask permission from the owner of a horse to enjoy a different horse riding on the Tibetan Plateau. But be careful. 

Sweet life in Lhasa with sweet tea

If you stroll on the streets in Lhasa when you travel to Tibet, you will find many Tibetan people enjoying tea and chanting happily in tea houses. For hundreds of years, Tibetans have developed the habit of sipping tea. We can find sweet life in Lhasa with sweet tea easily. Some Tibetan people say that they can eat nothing except drinking tea. Sweet tea, prepared by mixing milk and sugar with the juice from fully boiled fermented tealeaves, is Tibetan people’s favorite.

 

In Tibet, tea serves many purposes. It is a symbol of hospitality, a sacred offering, and a meal in itself. People drink the tea alongside flat cakes of ground corn, barley, or buckwheat, called tsamba. The tea is offered to guests in villages, monasteries, or private homes as a sign of hospitality, and must be consumed before conversation can begin. During your Tibet tour, you can pay a visit to a local Tibetan family, and you will be treated with sweet tea or butter tea.

 

To the Tibetan people, butter tea is a beverage that is just like coffee to the Westerners -- a wake-up and a shake-up drink to start the day on the right path. In Tibet no morning can pass without drinking some tea, usually the sweet tea, while no meal can be complete without some tea, which is almost always Tibetan buttered tea. It is also said that you’ve never made a Tibet tour if you did not enjoy a cup of butter tea when travelling in Tibet.

 

Tibetan people in Lhasa prefer to go to a tea house for sweet tea before going to work for the rest of their day. Teahouses sometimes stand as alternative places to find the ones who are otherwise expected in their workplace in the morning and in the early afternoon. When you travel to Tibet, you are highly recommended to spend at least one hour in a tea house. It only costs you RMB 0.7 for a cup of tea. So cheap!!

 

In fact, tourists are highly recommended to go to the Fine and Happiness Teahouse in Lhasa across the road of the Lhasa Middle School. The teahouse serves noodles, yak curry, chowmein, fried rice and all sorts of tea. Most importantly, the income of the teahouse is the life support of hundreds of orphans at Dickey Orphanage found by the owner of the Fine and Happiness Teahouse, Amala Dadhon who tries every best to keep the sweet home and living condition for the children though it is really very hard. Thanks for those donations from kind tourists, children in Dickey Orphanage are living a better life.  

 

When you make a Lhasa tour, you will be appreciated to bring some gifts for the kids in the orphanage. You can also go to visit the gift shop at the orphanage. They sell hand-made bags, rugs, jewelry and pottery. The income is also used to maintain the life of the children and improve their living and educating conditions.

 

Except sweet tea, there is also salted butter tea in Tibet. The Tibetan buttered tea is prepared by mixing butter and salt with the juice from fully boiled fermented tealeaves. Before serving, the mixture has to be further blended in a special blender. More often than not, a slim wooden cylinder is used for the blending. After the mixture is put in the cylinder, a piston is used to push and pull inside the cylinder. With the passing of the mixture through the split between the piston and the cylinder, the mixture of butter, salt, and tea is forcefully and thoroughly blended. If you drop a visit to Barkhor Street during your Tibet tour, you may find such cylinders at a certain shop. 

 

 

How to be a responsible tourist in Tibet

No matter which place we travel to, we should be a responsible traveler. Tibet is a dream place for many travelers. It is said that a Tibet tour is a lifetime journey. Let’s see how to be a responsible tourist in Tibet. A responsible tourist in Tibet means a lot. On one hand, you should be responsible for yourself. One the other hand, you should be responsible for the tourist destination.

 

To be responsible for yourself, you should make a Tibet tour plan carefully. When making a tour plan to Tibet, you should first choose a responsible Tibet travel agency because foreign travelers are required to travel to Tibet under the organization of a registered travel agent. There are dozens of travel agencies on internet saying that they can offer you Tibet tour service, but not all travel agencies are reliable and legal. So do spend some time to know more about these travel agencies, such as Tibet travel org and Tibet tour org. You can talk with their tour consultants and judge whether they are professional and reliable. 

 

Besides, you should make sure you got valid documents for travelling in Tibet. Generally, there are four documents for foreigners to travel in Tibet. Except your passport and Chinese visa, you need to apply for Tibet entry permit and maybe Alien’s travel permit. The Tibet permit is a must for you to board the flight for train to Tibet. Do not try to slip into Tibet without Tibet permit. Your trip will be spoiled by your stupid manner. According to the policy on Tibet permit 2013, it is easy for tourists to get Tibet permit.  

 

In addition, pay attention to your health when travel to Tibet. Tibet is a tourist destination that is quite different from many places, especially its altitude which easily causes altitude sickness. Before travelling to Tibet, you are highly recommended to have a thorough examination. If you are suffering one of the following illnesses, it is not advisable for you to make a tour to Tibet.

 

1. Organic heart diseases, severe arrhythmia or resting heart rate over 100per minute, high blood pressure II or above, all kinds of blood diseases and cranial vascular diseases.

 

2. Chronic respiratory system diseases, medium degree of obstructive pulmonary diseases or above, such as bronchus expansion, emphysema and so on.

 

3. Diabetes mellitus which is not controlled properly, hysteria, epilepsia and schizophrenia.

 

4. People with Bad cold, upper respiratory tract infections, and body temperature above 38 Celsius or below 38 Celsius while the whole body and the respiratory system have obvious symptoms, are not recommended to travel to Tibet until they're ok.

 

5. People who were diagnosed to have high altitude pulmonary edema, high altitude cerebral edema, high altitude hypertension with obvious increase of blood pressure, high altitude heart diseases and high altitude polycythemia.

 

6. High risk pregnant women. 

 

In addition, to be a responsible tourist in Tibet, you should respect local Tibetan culture and customs, and protect the environment of Tibet during your Tibet tour.

 

1. Do not wear shorts or short skirts and tops which bare shoulders when visit a temple in Tibet.

 

2. Don’t intrude on local people’s homes, tents, land or private activities (such as sky burials). Show respect for local’s private property and personal space. Always ask for permission before entering private property or land.

 

3. Don’t be disrespectful at religious sites or family homes by wearing shorts or revealing clothing or kissing or touching intimately in public. Remove your hat and shoes unless instructed otherwise and don’t step over people or people’s legs – feet are considered dirty. Don’t relax by putting your feet up on tables or chairs.

 

4. Don’t swim in holy lakes, sit on holy objects such as mani stones or walk on or step over prayer flags.

 

5. Don’t break local laws and regulations. Make sure you have the valid Tibet travel permits – your travel agency and tour guide or host could be fined or may even lose their license if you break the law.

 

6. Minimize your waste and dispose of waste appropriately. You are kindly requested to carry reusable cups, plates, cutlery or chopsticks. Try to purchase produce which is not wrapped in plastic. Avoid using disposable plastic shopping bags. If you make a Tibet tour to remote places in Tibet without environmentally sound trash management systems, pack your garbage out to larger towns or cities when it can be disposed of appropriately. If there is no toilet, dig a hole at least 25cm deep and bury human waste. Burn or bury toilet paper.

 

 

What tourists can do for local people when travel to Tibet

Some tourists would like to do something instructive to local people when they travel to a certain place. Then what tourists can do for local people when travel to Tibet?

 

Tibet is reputed as the last pure land on earth, partly because of pure spiritual world of Tibetan people, and partly because of well-preserved environment. When tourists make a tour to Tibet, they are appreciated to protect the pure land or help local people to preserve their home town.

 

Firstly, tourists should respect local customs as Tibetans have a very different culture style and customs. So don’t do the following things.

 

1. Touch religious objects in temples

 

If you take a Tibetan monastery in your Tibet tour, don’t touch sutras, Buddhist statues, paintings and musical instruments and never leap from the tops, or you will defile the God in Tibetan Buddhism.

 

2. Talk aloud when watching religious ceremony

 

If you happen to meet a religious ceremony in a monastery, do keep quiet during religious ceremony.

 

3. Smoke in a temple

 

If you are a heavy smoker, do control yourself and do not smoke in a temple in Tibet because it is holy place for Tibetan people. 

 

4. Shout at the top of mountains

 

Usually, tourists would be excited and shout when climb up to the top of a mountain. But please keep quiet on the top of mountains in Tibet. It is believed that loud noise will result in heavy snow, storms or hail.

 

5. Walk counter-clockwise in Barkhor Street

 

The famous Barkhor Street is a must-visit place for a Tibet tour. At the same time, it is also a sacred kora for Tibetan Buddhists who always walk clockwise around the Barkhor Street. So please do as local Tibetans do, especially during the peak hours of pilgrimage from 9 am to 6 pm.

 

Besides, the geographic environment of Tibet is a kind of fragile. When you are travelling in Tibet, please do not scatter garbage. You are kindly asked to use environmental friendly products while keeping your waste far from water sources. Lastly tourist should only travel on well trafficked paths without creating new ones, as this prevents soil erosion from accumulating, especially when you are trekking in Tibet.

 

In addition, tourists are appreciated to bring some gifts to Tibetan kids at remote areas. As we know, most areas of Tibet are off the main roads and the living condition of the Tibetan people in remote areas is very poor. Moreover, the climate and environment of Tibet are harsh. There are many Tibetan people needing help, especially Tibetan kids. There is decent house and school for them, let alone amusement park. Tourists can bring some school bags, reading books, pens, basketballs and other sporting products and school supplies for them.

 

Tourists can also donate some money or goods to orphanages in Tibet when travel to Tibet. Due to the poor medical and harsh living condition in Tibet, some kids lose their family very young. Fortunately, there is another home for them, that is, orphanage. For instance, the Dickey Orphanage is a home for over hundred orphans. But the foundation of the orphanage is a self-motivated action, thus the Dickey Orphanage needs your help, the kids there need your help.

 

In fact, you are doing contribution to the Tibet land when you make a Tibet tour. But do make sure your money is spent on service offered by Tibetan people and Tibetan products, for instance, using a local Tibet travel agency, hiring local Tibetans as your tour guide, etc.

The railway to Tibet is one of the world's top 25 iconic rails

Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the only railway to Tibet is one of the world’s top 25 iconic rails according to the US-based Society of International Railway Travelers that has published a list of the world's top 25 iconic rail adventures. The list includes a variety of trains from the first-class Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express, which crosses eight time zones from Europe to Asia, to India's wheezing 125-year-old steam Toy Train. 

 

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway, dubbed the railway on the "roof of the world", was put in operation in 2006 and has carried millions of travelers to Tibet. This railway to Tibet greatly changes travelers’ way of travelling to Tibet. In the past, tourists can only travel to Tibet by air and overland. By train to Tibet seemed delusional before the construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway.

 

The Qinghai-Tibet railway, a miracle in human’s project history, makes many world’s firsts. 

 

1. World’s highest railway - With an average altitude of 4,000 meters, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway ranks the highest railway in the world.

 

2. World’s highest train station - With an altitude of 5,068, Tanggula Railway Station along the railway to Tibet is renowned as the highest train station in the world.

 

3. World's longest plateau railway – Extending 1,956 kilometers from Xining to Lhasa on the Tibetan Plateau, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway is considered at the longest plateau rail.   

 

4. World’s longest rail on frozen earth – With 550 kilometers constructed on frozen earth, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway has the longest rail on frozen earth in the world.

 

5. World's highest railway tunnel – Located at 4,905 meters above sea level, Fenghuoshan railway tunnel on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway is the highest in the world.   

 

6. World's longest plateau tunnel – With 1,686 meters in length, Kunlun Mountain Tunnel is the world's longest plateau tunnel.

 

If you miss an experience on such a miraculous railway when travelling to Tibet, it will be a great regret in your lifetime. At present, travelers can take train to Tibet from Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Xining and Chongqing. Except from Xining, it generally takes two days to arrive at Lhasa by train. For instance, the Beijing to Lhasa train will take about 44 hours to Lhasa and the Shanghai to Lhasa train will take around 47 hours to Lhasa. 

 

Besides, if you travel to Tibet by train, a copy of Tibet permit is enough to board the train to Lhasa together with your train ticket, but if you go to Tibet by air, the original Tibet permit is required. It is quite easy to get a copy of the Tibet permit. For example, your travel agency can send you a scanned copy of the Tibet permit by email or fax, and then you print it by yourself. Very easy!