Midnight in Lhasa. Filmmakers Derek Smith
and Joe Briscoe playing with the locals.
At 3,490 metres above sea level, Lhasa (拉萨) sits at the top of the world.
Having given our 'guides' the slip at the earliest possible moment, we immediately ventured out into the city to experience a Lhasa which is currently 'off the record' to foreign tourists.
The people we spent the night talking to, both Chinese and Tibetan were friendly and warm.
To see more of Lhasa and the rest of Tibet, watch part one of the new web documentary 'TIBET', coming soon to untiltheybecomeconscious.
IN THE coming days,untiltheybecomeconscious will be posting a short series of travel documentaries, filmed in Tibet.
The footage was filmed early in 2009, and documents an entirely overland journey which myself and my good friend made from Shanghai, in China to Delhi, in India.
The films include extensive footage of the incredible train journey across the plateau - the highest train line in the world - along with scenes inside the capital Lhasa, secretly filmed footage from within the infamous Sera monastery, sequences where we travel through mountain passes of over 5,000 metres above sea level, and of course coverage of our time crossing the Himalayas to Mount. Everest.
It is my intention that the majority of people who have never been to Tibet, and will likely never have the chance, will be able to see a glimpse of what life there is like, and will hopefully get a better idea of the situation in the area.
Shot entirely on a handheld video camera, the footage is raw, and the fact that it was filmed as part of an actual journey should underline it's authenticity. This is what it is actually like to travel through Tibet.
I have included a brief preview below of a scene from the third episode:
Please use the comment function below to provide feedback or ask questions.
J
