Rude travelers in Tibet: Most travelers to Tibet are great people. However, some travelers should have stayed home. info@thelandofsnows.com

Suppose you have been following my site for a while. You will know that I have lived and worked in various regions of the Tibetan Plateau for 13 years. I started working for an NGO that focused on education among Tibetan adults (most of whom were nomadic). Then, I owned and managed a successful travel agency focused on budget and midrange tours of Tibet for several years. For the past 4+ years, I have led higher-end photography and cultural tours across Tibet. Since I work in tourism, nearly all of my good Tibetan friends also work in tourism. I have friends in all areas of Tibet who work as tour guides, trekking guides, drivers, hotel managers, hotel staff, restaurant owners, travel agency managers, sales representatives, and just about every other job related to tourism in Tibet.

In this post. I will write about some of the horror stories my Tibetan friends who work in tourism have experienced with foreigners. Though the majority of foreigners traveling to Tibet are great people, there are a few out there who are plain rude, disrespectful, and mean. Here are a few stories I have experienced or my friends have…..

Leaving on the train….or so we thought.

In 2007, while I was the owner and manager of a travel agency based on the northeast Tibetan Plateau, I had a group of 6 cyclists I arranged a tour for. In their emails, this group was very cordial and asked for a cycling tour from the Nepal border to Lhasa. At the end of their tour, they were to board the train to Xining and continue traveling through Mainland China. Their tour went very well. The guide reported that the group was quite lovely and friendly. At the end of their tour, the Tibetan guide dropped the group off at the train station and said goodbye. We thought that was the last we would see of this pleasant group….we were wrong.

Sneaking into Different region of Tibet

Three days later, the police in Tsetang (a small city south of Lhasa) called our office in the evening to inform us that our group of six was caught cycling illegally in Lhoka prefecture. The group had a copy of their expired travel permit. Not only was the permit expired, but it also did not list Lhoka prefecture. Since the travel permit had our company name and license, it was easy for the police to track and contact us.

The police told us that they were holding our group at a nice 4-star hotel in Tsetang and that we needed to arrange a vehicle from Lhasa to come and pick them up. Since it was evening, we told the police that we would be there the next morning, which the police were fine with. We told the group of 6 to stay inside the lovely hotel and that we would be there early the next day to take them back to Lhasa.

Fine for Client Behavoir

One of our drivers and guides arrived the next morning to find that the group had snuck out of the hotel in the middle of the night with their bikes. The police in Tsetang were furious with the group of 6 and us. The police spent the next few days trying to find this group, but never saw them. I sent the group several emails, kindly asking them to turn themselves in as the police and Tibet Tourism Bureau were threatening to close our office. The emails went unanswered. The group was never to be found. The Tibet Tourism Bureau handed us a fine of 50,000 RMB (about $7000 at the time), but we could negotiate it down to 10,000 RMB ($1400). Nothing happened to the group cycling illegally after their tour ended, but we got stuck with the fine!

Bumpy Road…I want a refund!

Though the road conditions in Tibet have improved dramatically over the past 10 years, some areas still have rough roads. One section of road that is still dirt (at least for now) is the 100 kilometers from the town of Baber to Everest Base Camp. This road is dirt and is quite bumpy. No matter your vehicle type, you will feel the bumps!

A few years ago, a good friend in Lhasa who owns a popular travel agency arranged for a group of 2 to take the classic overland route from Lhasa to Everest Base Camp (EBC) and back to Lhasa. The trip went well…until the group took the road to EBC. This group of 2, who were informed before leaving for Lhasa that the last stretch of road to EBC was not good, yelled at the driver and guided the entire journey from Baber to EBC. When the group returned to Lhasa, they demanded that my friend’s agency give them a substantial refund due to the poor road to Everest.

Keep in mind that to reach the Nepal side of EBC, you need to trek! On the Tibet side, you can drive all the way. I have been all across Tibet, and there are many roads that are far worse than the road to EBC. My friend gave the group a partial refund, even though he told them clearly that the road to EBC was dirt.

Fight with customs officials in Dram (Zhangmu)

I promise I am not making this next one up! One of my good friends has been a guide in Tibet for the past 6 years. She is well known as one of Lhasa’s best female tour guides. She was leading a group of people from Lhasa to the Nepal border. Overall, the trip went very well. However, at the Nepal border in Dram (known as Zhangmu in Chinese), there was a slight problem with the group’s travel permit. This isn’t completely unheard of; it can usually be fixed in 30 minutes to an hour. It usually requires the guide to fill out a few documents and answer questions; everything is fine.

The guide asked her customers to please give her a few minutes to talk to customs officials and explain the problem with their permit. But, after about an hour, the foreigners took matters into their own hands…literally. This group grabbed one of the Chinese customs officials and hit him several times. Other guards and customs officials came and broke up the fight. While the group was eventually allowed to cross into Nepal without any problems, my friend, who was guiding them, was fined 1000 RMB ($160), and her travel agency was fined 2000 RMB ($320). Foreigners are rarely fined in Tibet for their wrongdoings, but the guide and travel agency will almost always be fined if their customers break the law.

Screaming at a young server at a restaurant

I recently led a group of photographers from Lhasa to Everest Base Camp. We stayed the night in Old Tingri at a popular hotel there. The hotel also has a restaurant that is quite popular with travelers. That night, while I was having dinner with my group, a group 8 sat at a couple of tables away from me. The young Tibetan waitress working at the restaurant came and took their order. The restaurant offered many dishes, and the menu was translated into English. In this isolated part of Tibet, the young Tibetan waitresses can speak basic English but are not fluent.

This group gave their order to the waitress. The group gave their order to the girl relatively fast, and she was trying to write everything down as quickly as possible. When she returned the order to the customers, she discovered she had missed two items the group had ordered. Instead of kindly telling the waitress that she didn’t get all of the order written down, the group began yelling loudly at her. The way the group was screaming at this girl, who must have been only 17 years old, you would have thought the girl was a murderer! This group of people was extremely rude to this young waitress. Tibetans, like anyone else, do not appreciate being screamed at, especially in public and especially for a simple, honest mistake. The group’s order came about 20 minutes later, without any problems.

Looking for prostitutes rather than enlightenment

Last year, a friend who has been working as a guide in Tibet for the past 5 years had a group of young guys she had to guide around. On their second night in Lhasa, the group asked my friend, a female Tibetan in her early 30s, to find them some prostitutes. At first, my friend thought they were joking….they weren’t. Talking about sex with Tibetans, especially with women, is culturally taboo. Asking your female Tibetan guide to find prostitutes for you is entirely unacceptable. If this is the reason you are coming to Tibet, stay home.

Thanks for the discount, but I want the tour to be free.

Recently, a friend of mine who owns a popular travel agency in Lhasa received an email from a group of 4 budget travelers. This group was on a VERY tight budget and didn’t have enough money even for a budget tour. However, my friend pitied them and gave them a tour at a lower cost, meaning that my friend arranged their tour knowing that he would be losing money on the tour. He explained this to the group, who were happy they could attend Tibet.

My friend arranged for the group to stay in budget dorm-style hostels and guesthouses for the entire journey. In Lhasa, everything was fine. However, when the group got outside of Lhasa, they complained to my friend that the accommodations he had arranged for them were not adequate (keep in mind that my friend gave them a MASSIVE discount and lost money on this tour), even though the group had asked for the cheapest possible accommodations. With his very kind heart, my friend paid out of his pocket for them to stay in a lovely 3-star hotel, a massive upgrade to the dorm rooms they had requested.

Threatened to Write Bad Reviews

At the end of their tour, the group emailed my friend and threatened to write bad reviews of his company on TripAdvisor and Lonely Planet unless he refunded them a large portion of the tour price! The group made zero complaints during the tour (except wanting to upgrade from the dorm rooms they had asked for), and the Tibetan guide reported that the group had a great time. However, they threatened my friend with bad reviews unless a refund was issued.

Not only did my friend arrange this tour for BELOW COST, he paid for them to stay in a nice hotel and went out of his way to get this group of people to Tibet. When I talked to the guide, my friend told me the trip had gone well. There were no problems or complaints from the customers until after the tour. My friend refunded a portion of their tour and lost more than $1200 overall. My friend isn’t some huge government-supported company, but a locally owned small business. He tried to help these guys by pitying them, but the group turned around and bit him…hard.

Driver, stop here! Not here! Five meters in front!!

Last year, a friend of mine arranged a bird-watching tour for a group of two photographers. This Tibetan friend owns a successful travel agency in the Amdo region and is very familiar with that region. The group had quite a long itinerary for their bird-watching tour, and my friend carefully worked with them to create the perfect itinerary. The email correspondence went well, and the couple seemed nice.

Shortly into their tour, the group called my friend to complain about the driver. They were not happy with how the driver would stop his vehicle. The customers told my friend that when they asked the driver to stop, he would take too long to come to a complete stop. The driver, who has nearly 2 decades of experience driving tours, said he was stopping his vehicle like he has always done: quickly, but safely. The customers complained that when the driver stopped the car, they would have to walk 5 to 15 meters to get the picture they wanted. Really? Five to 15 meters of walking and you are complaining?? Wow.

It was impossible to make these customers happy

So, to make the customers happy, the driver started stopping his vehicle more quickly by pressing harder on the brakes. The driver didn’t like doing that as it wasn’t safe to make such a stop when traveling 60 to 80 kilometers/hour, but it was what the customer wanted. So, the next day, the customers called my friend again to complain that the driver was stopping the vehicle too quickly (compared to too slowly before)!!

It was impossible to make these customers happy. The driver either took too long to stop the vehicle, and they had to walk 5 to 15 meters, or the driver stopped too quickly. In the end, this group asked my friend for a refund on the tour because they had to do “too much walking” because of the driver. In the end, my friend lost considerable money on this tour. He continues to use this driver as this driver is one of the safest and most popular drivers he uses. You shouldn’t come to Tibet if you can’t walk 5 to 15 meters!

Please give me a 5 RMB discount, or I will leave!

Several years ago, I worked as a manager at a popular guesthouse/cafe in the Kham region. We offered private rooms, dorm-style rooms, breakfast, dinner, drinks, and all the free travel advice you could ever need.

One summer, a group of young men came in wanting to stay for a couple of nights in our dorm rooms. We had just the right amount of beds left for them (in the high season, we were full nearly every night). When I told them the price of each dorm bed, 35 RMB/$5.50 per person, they quickly became rude and demanded a lower price. They began raising their voices at me, accusing me of cheating them.

Out dated copy of guide book

The group, which had not made a reservation, was looking at an outdated copy of Lonely Planet’s Tibet guidebook, which listed the dorm room price as 30 RMB/person. I kindly told the group that since the guidebook had been published, our rates had increased slightly by 5 RMB ($0.75) per bed. I went on to tell them that our website clearly stated the price of the dorm beds. This wasn’t good enough for them. They continued to yell at me, accusing me of trying to rip them off of 5 RMB ($0.75). They then told me they were going to leave. Really? 5 RMB? You think I am ripping you off of 75 cents?? I kindly replied to the group that there was another guesthouse nearby that they could go to. However, the price there was 45 RMB per person. If they wanted, they could go there.

The group stayed, as our guesthouse was very comfortable and cozy. If the group had kindly asked me for a discount, I would have given it to them. Instead, they yelled at me and accused me of trying to steal from them. This type of thing happens REGULARLY across Tibet with foreigners becoming rude with hotel staff and demanding (rather than kindly asking) a cheaper price. I have heard numerous stories of travelers yelling at guesthouse/hostel staff because they charged 1 RMB more for a can of Coke than the shops outside did! If you are an extreme budget traveler, don’t yell at hotel/guesthouse staff for a cheaper price!

Please don’t take pictures of soldiers.

Most travel agencies will let their customers know that it is inappropriate to take pictures of soldiers and police in Lhasa. One of my friends, who has been guiding tours in Tibet for over 10 years, reminded his small group as they walked around the Barkhor in Lhasa. The group disregarded him and kept trying to take pictures of the many soldiers walking around the area. A group of 4 soldiers approached the group and made them delete the photos from their cameras. The group tried to argue with the soldiers and refused to hand over their cameras. The guide tried to persuade the group to listen to the soldiers kindly, but they refused.

Finally, after nearly 20 minutes, the soldiers got the group to delete the photos. The soldiers then demanded to see my friend’s guide license. They yelled at him for several minutes and reported him to the Tibet Tourism Bureau. The Tibet Tourism Bureau then told my friend that he would be fined 3000 RMB ($480…a substantial amount of money since most guides only have work during the short tourism season) and could lose his guide license (meaning he is out of a job). Through a connection, he was able to negotiate the fine amount to a lower amount and was able to keep his license.

Nothing usually happens to foreigners when they take pictures of soldiers. However, your guide could be fined and lose their job.

Please put on your clothes, sir!

This is another story from when I was managing the guesthouse in Kham. One day, we had this customer staying at our guesthouse who needed to do some laundry. We showed him where the washing machine was and explained how to use it. A few minutes later, he returned with clothes to wash. A couple of our Tibetan staff, two young women from nomadic areas, were cleaning up around the guesthouse. Suddenly, the two young Tibetan staff came running up to me, telling me that one of the customers was walking around the guesthouse… naked!

I got up from the front desk to investigate. Sure enough, the guy who asked to do laundry was walking around in his tiny (and very tight) underwear. I asked the guy what he was doing. He replied to me like nothing was wrong. I explained that he couldn’t walk around without any clothes on.

In Tibetan culture, it is inappropriate to do this, especially in front of Tibetan women. He was very agitated with me and told me he had been doing this all during his travels across Asia and Mainland China without any problems. Tibetans are very modest…especially women. Walking around a hotel/guesthouse lobby in just your underwear is not only inappropriate in Tibet, it is unacceptable in much (most/all) of the world. After explaining Tibetan culture to this guy, he finally put some clothes on!

Sorry, we don’t have the money to pay for the rest of our tour!

Several years ago, a friend of mine arranged a 10-day tour across the Amdo region for a group of four. This friend owned a popular travel agency focusing on tours in the rugged regions of Amdo and Kham. This group came into his office one day and wanted to take a tour to the source of the Yellow River, located in the ultra-remote region of western Golok prefecture.

Though one or two old guidebooks on Tibet say that you should only pay for half of your tour up front and the remaining portion when you return, this is NOT standard, almost no travel agency will do this….and here is why. The group of 4 said they wanted to do the tour, but only wanted to pay for half up front. My friend told the group that, like an airplane ticket, they would have to pay for everything before they took the tour. It wasn’t possible to pay only half the tour upfront.

The group pleaded with my friend for two days, and then my friend finally gave in and let them do the tour, paying only half the tour fee up front. Since this was a 10-day tour to faraway, remote areas, the cost of the tour wasn’t cheap. The tour cost around $2000 ($500 for each person).

According to the driver

According to the driver, who my friend had been using for many years without any problems, the tour went very well. The customers had a great time and enjoyed the area’s rugged beauty. However, when the group returned to the city, they told my Tibetan friend, who owned the travel agency, that they would not pay the remaining balance of their tour. The group said that the tour didn’t go “as planned,” so they would not pay the rest of the price. When my friend asked the group what went wrong, the group gave short, vague answers and refused to discuss it.

Finally, after a few hours of discussion, the group admitted that they didn’t have the money (or had the money and didn’t want to pay) for the remaining portion of the tour.  There was nothing my friend could do. If he called the police, the police wouldn’t/couldn’t do much. Ultimately, my friend, who owns a small family-owned travel agency, lost over $1000 on the group.

Over the years, I have heard several similar stories of people demanding to pay only half the tour up front and then making up excuses when they return on why they will not pay the remaining tour balance. Many of these small, local Tibetan-owned travel agencies have lost considerable money. This is why you probably won’t find any travel agency willing to accept only half of the payment before the tour starts….they have been ripped off/robbed too many times by foreigners.

It was cloudy…I demand a refund!

Nearly every guidebook states the best seasons for visiting Tibet. I have several posts on my site that clearly state the best months to get good views of the mountains. Even so, it is impossible to predict the weather! One group of foreigners used my friend’s travel agency to book a tour to Everest Base Camp in the autumn. Usually, the weather from October through the winter provides good, clear views of Everest… but NOT always! An occasional storm will come, producing cloudy weather at base camp.

This group had a good trip, but unfortunately, clouds moved into the Everest Region just when they arrived. So they could not see the world’s highest peak. When this group returned to Lhasa, they demanded a partial refund because the weather blocked their view of Everest. My friend explained that there is no explicit weather guarantee at Everest. My friend never told this group that there was a 100% chance of clear weather. It was no use….the group still demanded a partial refund or they would write a bad review of his company on Trip Advisor and Lonely Planet. So, my friend gave them a partial refund and lost money on the tour.

Online Review platforms are a good resource.

Sites like TripAdvisor and Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree forum are excellent resources for planning a trip to Tibet; however, many times over the years. I have had friends in tourism tell me that customers(Rude Travelers in Tibet) have threatened to write a horrible review of their company on TripAdvisor. Unless they reimburse them the total tour price or at least give a substantial refund. Now, sometimes these demands for refunds are justified. But, many times people threaten these small Tibetan-owned agencies for minimal issues that are way beyond the control of the travel agency, or for problems that are just absurd. Several times, I have gone to travel forums to write a defense for a travel agency that got a bad review.

I know about all of the travel agencies in Tibet and can tell you that 90% are extremely hard-working people who genuinely care for their clients. They often get cheated by rude and deceitful foreigners looking for a free tour.

Conclusion of Rude Travelers in Tibet

Please don’t come to Tibet to cheat Tibetans. Verbally abusing them, being completely ignorant about their culture, and with intentions of getting them into trouble. This post covers just a small handful of the horrible stories I have heard in the past. Please be respectful to Tibetans (and other people in other lands). Enjoy their unique culture and beautiful land!

Please write to me at info@thelandofsnows.com