Page 218 - Udaan 2019-2021 Final

TO THE ROOF OF THE WORLD- TIBET

(THE FORBIDDEN CITY)

By Sudipta Bhaumik

‘KHAM-SANG’

to the Roof of
the World and

the Forbidden
City.

People with the
burning desire

to travel and to
see new places

always harbour dreams of travelling to certain not so often

visited places on this planet to unravel the mysteries that
very oft surround them and keep them away from the usual

list of tourist destinations. For me planning a trip to Tibet,
riding the Qinghai–Tibet train was a long fostered dream and

desire. The destination is after all the Forbidden City,
forbidden for many reasons. Difficult to access

geographically, geo-political factors keep the tag of the
Forbidden City intact. In fact, I was very sure that I would

not get the Tibet Permit as I am an Indian and post Doklam,
this belief became very real. I had to get a Chinese visa first

but could not declare that I would be visiting Tibet from
Mainland China. Once the Chinese visa came through I had

to get the Tibet Permit which arrived just a week before our