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Seaforth resident calls Tibet “physically challenging”
It was impossible for Seaforth resident John Scott to know that only a few months after he left Tibet By Dan Schwab
Friday April 11, 2008 It was impossible for Seaforth resident John Scott to know that only a few months after he left Tibet, the region would erupt in an uproar of protests and violence.
Scott took a 25-day guided tour this past autumn of Tibet and the Silk Road, a well-known trading route of the ancient Chinese civilization.
Apart from certain urban areas of China where huge, Western-style billboards bombard the passerby with advertisements, which Scott describes as “like driving through Mississauga,” the majority of the sights he absorbed were awe-inspiring.
From breathtaking landscapes and monasteries to miraculous works of human achievement such as the Great Wall, Scott uses words like “spectacular” and “beautiful” to describe what he saw – far removed from the chaos and destruction he would see a short time later on his TV back home.
“The first pictures I saw on TV when I returned home was rioting and cars burning in front of a temple complex in Lhasa,” Scott says, adding that he spent a considerable amount of time in the Tibetan city. “I don’t know how all this will affect tourism … It will be interesting to see where there are disruptions for the Olympic Torch bearers.”
Scott was invited to speak about his recent experiences on March 29 to the Van Egmond Foundation.
Although he spent time there before the outbreak of violence, Scott stills says the tour was “physically challenging.”
Literature from the travel company about the route he would be traveling warned that it would not be suitable for people with mobility difficulties or any medical condition that may be complicated due to high altitudes.
Tibet, which is sometimes referred to as the “Roof of the World,” is the highest region on earth with an average elevation of almost 5,000 metres.
Scott says the atmosphere took some getting used to.
“After five days, it was like moving in slow motion,” he says.
Scott, who’s traveled extensively throughout India and the Middle East, reveled in the history of both China and Tibet, from the examples of Social Realism art near the tomb of Mao Zedong to the palace of the Dalai Lama.
In the late 1960s, Scott was given the opportunity to meet face-to-face with a young Dalai Lama.
After visiting Tibet this time around, he brought back souvenirs of books and maps, showing them to the group gathered to hear his talk at the Van Egmond Foundation meeting.
Scott also created a set of DVDs featuring a slide show of his travels, from the Singing Sand Mountains and Crescent Moon Lake to Tian’anman Square and the Beijing Summer Palace. |
