Octogenarian rides motorcycle to Lhasa, says altitude not that bad

At least one 84-year-old mother in China thinks the altitude of Tibet is not that high after a motorcycle journey tour to the place.

The octogenarian told her son that traveling to Tibet was her lifetime dream, so her son helped her to make that dream come true. On June 15, the son-and-mother duo started their motorcycle journey from their home in Leshan City, Sichuan, to the plateau. They arrived in Lhasa, capital city of the Tibet Autonomous Region, on June 21.

With the help of a local tour guide, they visited the Jokhang Monastery and the Potala Palace during their two days’ stay in Lhasa. The mother had hoped to stay even longer.

They rode through two mountain passes on their way to Tibet, one of them at 5,130 meters above sea level, the highest point along the journey. The mother did not suffer from altitude sickness, saying it was lower than she had expected.

But bad road conditions did cause some danger. “I held on very tight so I wouldn’t fall of the motorcycle,” she said.

Netizens are mixed about their adventure. Many spoke highly of the son, saying respect is helping his mother fulfill her dreams. But others thought it was too risky to take an 84-year-old to such a high place, and worried that something bad could happen.

“We both wanted to travel to Tibet. As my mother grows older, we felt it was now or never,” said her son Song Jianhui, an outdoor enthusiast who enjoys riding motorcycles.

“My mother took medicine for altitude sickness before we set off, and we would’ve returned if she was feeling uncomfortable,” Song said, adding that his mother could do over 20 sit-ups in the hotel. The mother now plans to take her son to see some of the northeastern regions of the country.