Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Directory A-Z
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Accommodation
Most towns in Tibet offer a decent range of hotels, many with hot showers and some three-
or four-star options. In smaller towns you may be limited to rooms with a shared bathroom,
while in the countryside electricity and running water are luxuries that cannot be relied on.
Hotels are divided into
bīnguǎn
(),
fàndiàn
() or
dàjiǔdiàn
(hotels),
zhāodàisuǒ
(guest-
houses) and
lǚguǎn
(simple hostels). The Tibetan terms are
drukhang
(hotel) and
dronkhang
(guesthouse).
Budget accommodation generally means a room without a bathroom or, at the top end of
the scale, a simple room with a hot-water bathroom. Lhasa in particular has many budget
guesthouses and youth hostels. Midrange hotels generally have rooms with a private bath-
room and hot-water showers, at least for part of the day. Top-end hotels are limited to the
main cities and Lhasa now boasts several luxury and boutique hotels.
Hot water is provided everywhere in thermoses and even in the simplest places a basin
and drum of cold water is usually provided for washing. Bedding is provided, but in the
cheapest places it's often not that clean and a sleeping bag is a nice luxury.
In some towns (such as Tsetang, Ali and Purang), and in most of Eastern Tibet, the local
Public Security Bureau (PSB) keeps a frustratingly tight lid on which places can and cannot
accept foreigners, and budget hotels are often not permitted to accept foreigners.
Groups are sometimes expected to share rooms at remote truck-stop places, since many
only have four- or five-bed rooms. If you want your own room, you may be able to either
pay for only the number of beds you require, or for all the beds in a room.
Midrange and top-end hotels in Lhasa are more expensive than elsewhere, though
standards are higher. You can sometimes get good deals on midrange and top-end hotels
