By Bertine Krol
Tibet has a powerful allure for people from all over the world. Even though travelling in the country is restricted and visitors need permits to go anywhere, Tibet is a popular destination. Back in the early 18th century, well before the age of tourism, an adventurous Dutchman named Samuel van der Putte became the first European to cross the Himalayan country on his way to Beijing and back. The story of Samuel van der Putte intrigued travel author Carolijn Visser so much, she decided to retrace his footsteps. Her journeys have resulted in a book “Tibetaanse perziken” (Tibetan peaches).
Visser has written 13 books about her journeys to countries as far apart as China, Nicaragua and Estonia. In the past couple of years she has made three trips to Tibet and its neighbouring countries: China – which has occupied Tibet since 1950 – India and Nepal. “I think everybody who likes travelling wants to go to Tibet once in their life. I was always looking for a good reason to go there and then I found an old map in a library, drawn by one Samuel van der Putte.
On it was a remote valley, the Olka valley, and when I saw that map, I wanted to go there. He had also written in very small print that there were peach trees in that valley and I couldn’t believe that. I thought: ‘ How can peach trees grow in Tibet, that must be a lie. Maybe he never even went there.’ But when I finally reached the Olka valley, I saw a man with a basket selling peaches and they were very small and very sweet. They grew close to that village, the man told me. So it wasn’t a lie after all.”
Curiosity
In the 18th century, a Dutchman travelling all the way to Tibet and then crossing the country was something unheard of, Visser says. “It was exceptional, especially because he was not a missionary and he was not a trader of any kind. He went there out of curiosity. He travelled on horseback, by himself or joining a caravan. We know that he finally reached Beijing. He was not allowed to travel further south by the Emperor, who saw him as a spy and he had to make the trip all the way back over the high and dangerous plains.” This meant van der Putte was the first European who ever crossed Tibet in both directions.
Today tourists can’t travel freely either. “As a foreigner you need all sorts of permits, first to go into Tibet, and then when you reach the capital Lhasa, you need all sorts of permits to leave it again. But you can do it illegally. I met a German who spoke fluent Tibetan and together with him, hiding from the police and other officials, I reached a village close to the Olka valley. There we found a Tibetan with a horse, who accompanied us over a high mountain pass so we could finally find the valley.”
Hospitable and brave
Carolijn Visser found the Tibetans very hospitable, despite the risks involved in talking to or helping foreigners: “They would be careful when there were other people around they didn’t know, but if you knew them a little bit, then they would tell you how they felt and how they coped with the Chinese restrictions. They were also very brave, they would help me to hide from Chinese officials, and they were not afraid to be caught, they were very clever to work around the rules.”
Tibet has an almost mythical appeal to millions of people all over the world, with the Himalayas, the Buddhist temples, the monks and the friendly mountain people. But Visser believes that image is somewhat glorified. “Often Westerners who visit Lhasa are disappointed when they see monks eat yak steaks in a restaurant. I heard about some tourists who got angry because they couldn’t meditate in the Tibetan temples because there was so much noise, there were so many Tibetans running around. The reality is different from what people think.”
Religious purpose
But make no mistake; Buddhism is still omnipresent in Tibet. More than 50 years of Chinese oppression haven’t uprooted the religious beliefs and practices of the Tibetans. “Many people are busy with it all day. In Lhasa I knew a father and a daughter who would get up at 4 o’clock in the morning and make a big religious circuit around Lhasa. It would sometimes take them three hours to do that. Tibetans never just go somewhere for fun, there is always a religious purpose. But when they’re making these religious circuits they’re relaxing as well, they’re talking to their friends, and it’s also a social gathering.
At the same time, Tibetans are also quick-witted traders, hard bargainers. When they’re in exile they’re extremely clever in raising funds. I think they make a better balance in life than we do. Things we do are very much geared to earning more money, buying more things. Somehow I feel they balance better enjoying life and making money than we do.”
You can email Mr van der Aalsvoort at l.v.d.aalsvoort@wxs.nl
