Little Tibet Revisited

On the afternoon of March 22, I decided to revisit the Tibetan neighborhood in Chengdu. I was overdue for a Tibetan meal with butter tea, and was wondering what the scene was like in that area given the escalation of violent protests which had occurred in Tibet and western China.

I was immediately struck by the heavy police presence, yet despite police cars with flashing lights every 50 meters and motorcycle cops buzzing back and forth, it seemed quiet. A giant police bus was parked across the street from the Tibetan restaurant where I ate. On the surface, it seemed like business as usual.

Butter tea is very salty. If I had made it to Tibet, I would've made an effort to acquire a taste for it. Instead, I focused on my yak dumplings and yak meat and green pepper stir fry – what turned out to be far too much food for me. Then again, how often does one get to eat yak?

Dave Lee

Dave is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Go Backpacking and Feastio. He's been to 66 countries and lived in Colombia and Peru. Read the full story of how he became a travel blogger.