The next day I was supposed to leave early for Nyingtri also known as Kongpo, which is believed to be the most beautiful place in Tibet Autonomous Region. However, I had a terrible hangover due to last night’s gathering with friends at Lhasa. I went back to sleep for a while.
I woke up again and had a few cups of water. It was a little better, but not in the mood to go. My friend told me to stay one more day, but I refused because I already had to change my plan—this time, I was not planning to change whatsoever. I lay on my bed for an hour watching a movie. It was getting better. It was around a quarter to noon, so I decide to leave right away.
I took a taxi to the bus station. I was scared of my health and thinking about what if I get sick. I was starving too and a little bit dizzying. I asked the driver to stop near a shop. I bought some dark chocolates, biscuits, and a bottle of water.
Travel to Kongpo
I arrived at the bus station and bought a ticket. I had only ten minutes to ride on the bus and rushed inside the bus, but only three passengers were there. It was a minibus. There was a Chinese girl who was trying to have a conversation with me in the front seat, but I just gave a short and straight answer. I knew I would not be able to continue the conversation because my Chinese was very limited. I took the safe side.
However, I got a Chinese girl again. She was my seatmate. I was happy because she was not talking with me. A few hours later, she was throwing questions one after another. I told her that my Chinese is not good, anyhow she told me no problem she could understand it.
Then I had to continue answering her questions. I tried my best to answer it because she was coming here for the first time, and so do I. I liked her patience, I struggled with my broken language, and she was acting like a language teacher by nodding and encouraging me as if she understood everything.
I knew she lost some way in the conversation, but I felt relieved. At least she accepted. She asked me about the plan for tomorrow. I had a plan to visit Basum Lake. It was on my bucket list. She told me that she hasn’t booked a hotel and also doesn’t know where to visit. I told her we could go together and look for a hotel. My boss sent me some names of the hotel, and I looked for them on the Internet but didn’t find any reliable information.
Around five in the evening, we reached Bayi City, which is Kongpo City. We took a taxi and asked to drop us at the Meilin Hotel. I went to the front desk ask for two single rooms. It was quite expensive, but I requested to call her boss. She refused for the first time, but I insisted on her.
Finally, I talked with her boss about the price of the room, as our company partnered with them. He politely said, be our guest. It was impressive, and for the last ten minutes, I was trying to explain it to the front desk. She couldn’t get it.
However, I thanked her and got the key card. We arrived at the room, and her room was next to mine. I advised her to take a good rest and drink some water. I could see her responses, exhaustingly saying, ok.
It was around six in the evening. I texted her about the dinner. She replied she is ready. We went out, and it was windy and cold. I could handle that, but I was wondering about her. However, I asked are you feeling cold, and can you handle it? Her responses were confident enough. She assured me that she would be alright.
After our dinner, we went back to the hotel. I told her to take a good rest because tomorrow we planned to go to Basum Lake. She agreed. I went inside my room and made a call to the car driver. I told him to pick us up at nine-thirty. He was very polite. Our plan was simple. Basum Lake is quite far from there. It takes around two hours to get there.
Basum Lake
Located in a deep valley at an altitude of 3,538 meters, Basum Lake is a crescent surrounded by mountain ranges and lush trees, like an emerald embedded in a valley. The lake is famous for its beautiful scenery and is also a sacred lake for local Tibetans. Every year, thousands of devotees flood here for pilgrimage.
We reached there at around 11 a.m. and there were only a few visitors. At the entrance, you need to buy a ticket which cost 30RMB for Tibetans and 50RMB for non-Tibetans. Private vehicles are allowed to go inside but there was a bus that will take you near the lake. Usually, winter is off-season but during spring and summer, tourists and pilgrims flood this place.
Basum Lake is surrounded by mountains and at the feet of the snow-capped mountains, the vegetation is flourishing and the trees of black maples, birches, junipers, and pines cypresses connected each other to form a world of greenery. The pristine waters of the green lake reflect the picturesque snow-capped peaks surrounding the lake.
The entire area around Basum Lake is so beautiful that thoughts of the inspiring Swiss Alps come to mind as one stands on the shoreline of this majestic lake. Animals are living a comfortable and easy life in Basum. Fish are shoaling in the water, birds are circling in the air and beasts are roaming in the nearby forest.
Things to do at Basum Lake
The most popular things to do at Basum Lake are the boat ride and hiking. During the off-season, the boat riding costs around 150RMB per person and it’s about 30 min ride around the lake. The local Tibetans prefer hiking around the lake which takes two days and is also considered a pilgrimage around the lake by doing circumambulation. Horse riding is available as well.
We took boat riding and it was fun. It was a cloudy day and the scenery was fine locals told me that during a clear sky day, the scenery is much better as we can see clear views of the valley and snow-capped mountains. In the evening, I went back to the county capital and after all, it was a great day.