Food in Tibet

Once we arrive in Lhasa, our cook will do grocery (with meat and without) shopping for the duration of our stay in villages. The program fee covers three local meals a day - breakfast, lunch, dinner and bottled water. the inthe day Food will be healthy, nutritious, and locally available. We will not be able to offer exotic foods and alcohol.. Lhasa has many good restaurants where we will eat when we are not in villages. Depending on what you want to eat, the average meal from restaurants that TVP recommends cost $3 - $5 (not covered by TVP).

Clothes in Tibet

There are at least two occasions that you need to dress for: (1) warm, light and easy to dry clothes for visits to villages and (2) nicer clothes that you may want to wear around town (Lhasa and Chengdu and for going to dinner, visiting monasteries and meeting important people (like Lamas). It is culturally unsuitable to wear skirts and other tight clothes in Tibet so please avoid bringing them. The packing list (will send you by email) may help you decide what clothes to bring and how many of them to bring so please refer to that page. Lastly, it is highly recommended that you bring waterproof clothes such as those carried by the North Face brand. Again, think of what clothes you would pack for a camping trip! Please keep in mind that you may want to purchase or order some fairly fancy Tibetan outfits (Chupa) for as little as $50 that you could wear in Tibet and then bring back as remembrance! The TVP store makes nice jackets as well.

Lodging and Accommodation

Although TVP has family members, friends, and project associates who generously offer a home to stay in, foreigners are not allowed to stay in private homes. Thus, you will share a clean and comfortable hotel room of a hotel with another person. Most rooms that TVP books do have a private bathroom and hot shower most of the time. However, due to availability of rooms during the hot traveling season, you may end up staying in a room with no private bathroom or shower thus using commonly shared facilities. When you travel to villages, you will be camping as no hotels are available. TVP recommends you bring a sleeping bag (designed for 0 to 25 degree weather), pad and a tent. If you do not mind sharing a tent with one other person, TVP has a few good tents. In addition tents and sleeping bags are available to rent in Lhasa. However, quality and availability of rentals sometimes become an issue. Please note that our team has a kitchen tent in case of rain and complete cooking sets.

Travel Budget and Money Handling

Since the program fee covers most of your expenses, you might not need to bring a lot of extra cash for the TVP planned itinerary. However, you will have personal expenses and may want to bring back gifts to family and friends. Please remember that having extra money is important in case of an emergency situation. An extra $1000- $1500 to keep for the duration of the TVP trip is plenty. If you are planning to stay longer in Tibet, you may need additional money.

1. $1300 to $1600 for roundtrip airfare from Denver to Chengdu
2. $150 to $200 for one one way airfare from Chengdu to Lhasa
3. $15 to $40 for 0-2 stars hotel with twin beds per night (if you shared s room)
4. $30 to $50 for cost of hiring an interpreter / tour guide per day
5. $80 to $120 for daily cost of a car with driver around Lhasa (or $.70 per kilometer)
6. $3 to $5 for a meal from a decent restaurant in Lhasa

How to handle money: If you feel safe, cash and travel’s checks are the best way to handle your money situation. As of April 3, 2007, the exchange rate of one dollar is equal to 7.57 Chinese RMB. Once you enter China, money can be easily exchanged at airports, hotels and banks. In addition, you can withdraw money from major banks like the Bank of China (Lhasa has several) and make credit card purchases in some places in Lhasa. Please do not expose money in public places in case of theft and keep a copy of all your credit card and traveler’s check numbers in a safe place in case you lose them.

Health and Safety

Health and Safety – The center for Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov) has up to date information on health and safety issues and other recommendations that are organized by geographical regions. For example, East Asia includes all of China and Tibet and there is also a Traveler’s Health section with lots of good information. Again, TVP highly recommends that you consult with a travel clinic to see if you need vaccines and to seek advice. In terms of safely issues such as losing a passport or getting into trouble with the law, please visit the website of the US Consulate in Chengdu, (http://chengdu.usconsulate.gov) as it offers some advice. TVP will purchase basic medical emergency and evacuation insurance through Travel Guard International (www.travelguard.com) and your program leader will have a copy of this policy. TVP also encourages you to purchase additional coverage if you are not covered by your current health insurance.

High Altitude Illness and Weather

Weather: Summer in Tibet is mild and, besides a few rainy days, quite pleasant. The low to mid 20°C (70-75°F) summer days give way to winter days that are not as cold as you might expect, still averaging around 7°C (44°F) during the day in January but plunging to around -10°C (14°F) at night.

High Altitude Illness: The altitudes in Tibet are categorized into HIGH: 8,000 to 12,000 feet, VERY HIGH: 12,000 to 18,000 ft and EXTREMELY HIGH: 18,000 and above. We will be staying within about a 300 square mile radiance of Lhasa (in ranges from 11,000 ft to 16,500 ft). We will acclimatize in Lhasa for a few days and increase in altitude slowly. High altitude tea, herbal pills, and oxygen tanks are available in Lhasa and TVP will bring some to villages. However, you are asked to consult with a travel clinic before you leave and bring your own remedies. Some of the past program participants did suffer mild altitude Illness but nothing serious.

Passport, Visa and Permit

When you are traveling to Tibet, you need (1) a visa to enter China and then (2) a special Tibetan Tourist Permit (TTB) to enter Tibet. The visa to enter China can be obtained from a Chinese consulate that has jurisdiction of your residential area. All individuals entering Tibet must hold a passport that is valid for at least six months. There are two ways to apply for your visa: (1) you, a family member, or a friend can go directly to the consulate or (2) use a visa service agency for an additional fee of about $25.00. However, TVP recommends you send your passport directly to our preferred travel agency with your visa application and two passport size photos. Please do not fill your home address in the visa application as TVP will use its agency’s address as your home town might not fall under jurisdiction of Chicago where TVP applies for visas. If you do not have the visa application, it can be printed from http://chicago.china-consulate.org/eng. Please put ‘pleasure and sightseeing’ as the purpose of the trip and the places to visit are: Chengdu, China. Do not say your purpose of visit is to: volunteer for Tibetan Village Project as you may not get a visa. All visas for our purpose are issued under the ‘tourism’ category. Although you may not need it, you will be applying for a three-month visa with no extra cost incase you fall in love with a nomad; decided travel to other places; or do more volunteer work! TVP will arrange your Tibet permit and purchase your roundtrip flight between Chengdu to Lhasa ($300 - $400 for round trip). Your program cost does not include this airfare and you will reimburse it to TVP once you arrive in Chengdu.