Aramco Expats

DOGS' Tibet Tour Opens Its Ranks to Annuitants and Brats

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Author: Aramco ExPats
Released 17 July 2007

Himalayas

For the first time in the history of its organization, the Dhahran Outing Group is making space available for Aramco ExPats to accompany them on their trips.

Now annuitants and brats alike can catch up with old friends still living in Saudi while they travel the world together with the DOGS. The first excursion set to take advantage of the new, more open structure is the Tibet Discovery Tour. Though the trip will be the first of its kind, it will be the last DOGS adventure helmed by longtime expedition leader Lou Spencer, who has retired from Saudi Aramco.

For annuitants and other expats not currently living in Kingdom, the only arrangements not taken care of by the DOGS are airfare to and from Kathmandu, Nepal. They should plan to arrive at the Hotel Yak & Yeti on the morning of Thursday, October 11 where they will meet up with rest of the Outing Group.

This 270 room, five-star hotel and former palace will serve as a base of operations for the group during the first three nights of the trip. September will mark the 30th anniversary of the Hotel Yak & Yeti and the first few days here will provide an exceptionally relaxing opportunity to acclimate to the altitude while shopping and adventuring in Kathmandu.

A tour of the city Thursday afternoon will include stops at the Swayambhunath temple, one of the most ancient shrines in Kathmandu Valley and Durbar Square, with its many palaces, courtyards and temples, as well as a jaunt to see the home of the Living Goddess.

Boudhanath Stupa

Friday and Saturday will include tours of Pashuatnath, a Hindu temple and Boudhanath, the largest Tibetan Buddhist Stupa in the world. A stupa is an important religious monument that can range in size from the massive one at Boudhanath to small, portable ones that many Tibetan people carry with them as sacred objects or amulets. Bhaktapur, the "City of Devotees" is also on the itinerary, as are trips to Patan city and a Tibetan Refugee Camp.

Sunday morning the group will fly into Lhasa, Tibet to kick off the real adventure. After checking into the Kailash Hotel, named after the holy mountain of Kailash that Tibetan people worship, weary travelers can look forward to a full day of doing nothing. Due to the 12,000 foot elevation, trip organizers decided to let Sunday be a day of rest. The following three nights will all be spent at the Kailash Hotel.

Monday and Tuesday will be divided among the Sera Monastery, Jokhang Temple, Potala Palace, Dreepung Monastery, and the summer palace of Norbulingka. Of course, time will also be set aside for the very arduous task of shopping for handmade crafts and ornaments on Lhasa's wonderfully ethnic Barkhor Street.

After breakfast on Wednesday, the tour will make for Tibet's fourth largest city, Gyantse, by way of the Karo Pass at almost 16,500 feet. Upon arriving in town the group will pay a visit to the monastery of Kumbum. This monastery stands upon the place where Zongkapa, the founder of the dominant Yellow Hat sect of Tibetan Lamaism, was born.

After an overnight at the three-star Gyantse Hotel, DOGS intrepid adventurers will set out Thursday morning for a drive to Shigatse, Tibet's second largest city. The 600 year-old former stronghold of Tibetan culture is the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama. Tashilhunp Monastery, one of Tibet's greatest monasteries, is located there. The evening's lodgings will be at the Utse Hotel.

Friday begins the unfortunate process of tapering down and decompressing after a long trek. After breakfast, the group will drive back to Lhasa and check into the familiar Kailash Hotel. The remainder of the day is designated as leisure time to allow individuals to explore Lhasa at their own pace.

Monks

Saturday will mark the third full-day excursion in Lhasa. The DOGS will visit the Garden Monastery, located about 70 km east of the city and sitting at only 4,300 feet but still commanding a dramatic view of the Lhasa River Valley. This was Lhasa's second biggest monastery and the place where the Yellow Hat sect of Tibetan Buddhism truly evolved. The Kailash Hotel will provide one more evening's rest for the final night of the Tibet Discovery Tour.

Sunday is the last day in Tibet, for the DOGS folks, anyway. Members of the Outing Group will depart for Kathmandu at 1025 and arrive there at 0925 Kathmandu time. They will have a day room at the Hotel Yak & Yeti, and at 2030 that evening they'll depart for Bahrain. Of course, any annuitants or brats joining the Tibet Discovery Tour would be free to do whatever they wish from this point on. They could catch flights home that night like their comrades returning to Saudi, or choose to stay and admire the beautiful Himalayas for a bit longer. Maybe they'd devote a couple days to revisit a favorite place they'd visited along the tour.

The possibilities for fun and adventure really are quite endless. Should the Tibet Discovery Tour sound appealing, interested parties are urged to contact the trip's leader and organizer, Lou Spencer. He can be reached via email at travel@aramcoexpats.com.