So the old adage to never judge a book by its cover served new meaning when referring to travel within China. A country that has one of the world's most deeply-rooted histories and also some of the most well-known traditions can be very easily be typecast by the western world. My original impression of China, before traveling throughout the country, was of billions of people on top of each other, strict law enforcement and tremendous organization. Some pretty extreme typecasts.
Being the avid enthusiast of His Holiness The Dalai Lama, I was very interested in trying to get a sense of both sides of the story in reference to The Dalai Lama and his relationship with the Chinese government. So before starting my month long journey to China (and with wishful thinking Tibet), I began reading "Freedom in Exile" by His Holiness. Although hearing the rumors of the Chinese police kidnapping and arresting people who read The Dalai Lama's books, I wanted to actually see if that was true. So I took the risk, with the book in hand, as I stepped off the plane in Guangzhou. I made sure that the front of the book, which has a photograph of His Holiness, on it was to my side.
Being the avid enthusiast of His Holiness The Dalai Lama, I was very interested in trying to get a sense of both sides of the story in reference to The Dalai Lama and his relationship with the Chinese government. So before starting my month long journey to China (and with wishful thinking Tibet), I began reading "Freedom in Exile" by His Holiness. Although hearing the rumors of the Chinese police kidnapping and arresting people who read The Dalai Lama's books, I wanted to actually see if that was true. So I took the risk, with the book in hand, as I stepped off the plane in Guangzhou. I made sure that the front of the book, which has a photograph of His Holiness, on it was to my side.
