Going to Tibet

Simply put, traveling to Tibet is a bitch. You need a special permit to enter Tibet and another to travel anywhere outside of Lhasa. Certain other places require special permits to visit as well. For a foreigner to visit Mt.Kailash, holiest mountain on Earth, you need at least five separate permits. The only way to get a permit is to join a tour and the tour often vary vastly in price and quality. The tours used to be a front to get permits for foreigners, but since the riots of 2008, all foreigners must be accompanied by a guide at nearly all times. Self-exploration is nearly impossible.

I started researching tour companies in July. By August, I narrowed my choices to seven companies and chose a September 25th departure day, nearly a week before the week-long Chinese national holiday. A few days before leaving for China, I had chosen my tour, which had a good price and was ready to book. At booking time, however, the price had jumped up by $300. So, I went with my second choice, who had dropped their 25th departure date, only offering a tour for the 12th and the 3rd of October. The third choice had a good price and the date I wanted, so I was ready to book.

All was fine; they sent me an email, quoting $700 for a seven day tour and $150 for the train ticket from Xining. Then, right when I asked them how to pay, they tacked on $200 since the people they told me were on the tour didn't actually exist, plus an extra $75 surcharge to stay in my own room at three star hotels for the whole tour. This was a bit extravagant for me. I told them to shove it nice language; I don't apreiciate when the deal changes.

I was lost at this point. It was September 14th and the door for a 25th departure date was all but closed. Suddenly, my favorite tour agency told me they had two other people planning to book for the 25th and they could serve me my original desired price. I felt skeptical, so I told them that I would book after the others booked. I heard nothing for a week.

Finally on September 21st, they told me the others had booked. I then told them to explicitly lay out the entire booking procedure so I could get it settle in one day. I never heard from them again. By this point, I had already planned two alternative iteneraries that skipped Tibet. I had given up.

The next day, I had an email from a company that didn't even make my shortlist since it had no departure for the 25th. "We have four people booked for the 1st to the 9th. Would you like to join?" I jumped on it. As a a bonus, it was cheaper than the other tours I saw so far. The only problem was the tour left on October 1st, most popular travel day in China. This seemed a little fishy.

The departure date was a week later than I wanted, but when stuck with only three days to complete the booking process, including purchasing a train ticket and obtaining the permit, I couldn't be picky. After arriving in Xining, I talked to a travel agent above my hostel to see if I could find a better deal. He sadly had nothing until after the Chinese holiday. When Bill (the tour agent) heard that I was leaving on the 1st, he quickly commented, "Either they are a scam or they have some serious mob connections. You can't get a permit and the ticket is tough too." He really helped my confidence.

I still went forward, sending a scanned copy of my passport and China visa. Too secure the tour, I had to wire $150 for the train ticket and permit. No secure credit card transaction. The next day, they said they received my payment, which was a relief. This would have been the best time to take my money and run.

Two days later, I had the train ticket in my hand. I stared at it and the October 1st date. They really must have had some connections. The next day, I had the permit. I boarded the train with no problems. I was off for the top of the world!