These are some phrases we would have found helpful during our travels in Tibet and respectfully ask that you include them in your phrase book for future travelers :)
1. Does this bus actually, really, truely go back to Lhasa... today?
2. I can tell thatyou are taking a picture of me with your cell phone, this is not being subtle.
3. If I drink any more yak butter tea I will float away.
4. Where are your real pants? Those are split down the middle.
5. I would like to remove your dogs fang from my leg.
6. Please stop massaging my face, you are suffocating me.
7. I'm sorry, you keep talking to me a lot in Tibetan, but I don't speak Tibetan.
8. Is this soup a single serving?
9. I already have my own lotion, thank you.
10. Can I introduce you to a good taxidermist?
11. You're selling sheepdogs?
12. I would like a hepatitis shot.
13. Can you please play a different song?
14. Excuse me, why is there a monkey in your monestary?
Monday, April 30, 2007
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Samye Monesetary
2-27-07
The alarm went off at 5:00am this morning. It was still dark and cold and I wans't ready to get us. We rode the pilgrim bus to Samye monestary about 200km outside lhasa. It was an entertaining experience, we were the first ones on so it was about an hour of people watching because we apparently were not leaving until the bus was totally full. Some people came onto the bus selling all sorts of random things from Tibetan bread to prayer flags to drinks and other goodies. About 4 hours of dirt roads and Tibetan music later we arrived at Samye.
Samye is an impressive monestary. It is the biggest monastic compound that I've seen in Tibet, it was also the first monestary built in Tibet. It was designed as a mandala which I think is fabulous as the mandala definitely captivates me. There were some amazing epope and places that I saw in this monestary. THe kora around the monestary is totally lined with prayer wheels, we walked clockwise around (as good pilgrims do) and spun each wheel, my fingers were black from the handles.
Our first stop was in a chaple tended to by teh sweetest Tiebtan man, he had the nicest eyes and I could almost feel the joy projecting from them. He walked through the building with usand pointed out the main statues and we all laughed and smiled together. He sat down to drink soem yak butter tea and told us that is good for the heart and the soul. THen he picked up an empty soda bottle and told us that it was bad for our heads. He then got a smirk on this face and motioned for us to join him. He lifted up a tapestry on the wall and under it was a picture of the Dalai Lama. It is illegal to have his picture anywhere in Tibet and it filled my heart with both joy and sadness to see it. It was obvious the love that this man had for him!
Next, we jumped back on the prayer wheel circle and migrated to the next couryard. As sson as we got there I heard the beautiful sond of monks chanting. They were all seated in their place in the hall and a georgeous baritone of Tibetan prayers was making its way out to us. Within that came the occassional addition of the voice of a young monk, it sounded so joyful. I could have sat there listening to that all day. Unfortunately, it ended and the monks began walksing out. I was studying their faces as I felt so drawn to them and their joy and love for Buddhism. Then a most unexpected thing happened, a sheep walked out of the assembly hall. I did a triple take but everyone else seemed to think that this was as normal as could be. Maybe it is a sacred sheep trying to build karma so that it will come back as a human in its next life. Since that point I saw the sheep join the monks when they were debating and in other parts of the monestary... curious.
The thrid amusing incident of the day... Back on the prayer wheel cycle and causing my hands to become even more blackened. We stop at a building that appears to deal with death. But that isn't what catches my eye. I see a nun tossing candy at a poil and I'm intrigued. I look up to the top of the poll and there is a grey harry monkey on a chain sitting there. Now I must say, I thought the sheep a bit odd but the monkey beat that for sure. I decided that lonely planet needs to add a phrase to their phrase book that would tell me how to ask in Tibetan "excuse me, why is there a monkey in your monestary?" Later in my walking I did read that it is belived that a union between an orgress and a primate creates a Tibetan so maybe that had something to do with it.
The alarm went off at 5:00am this morning. It was still dark and cold and I wans't ready to get us. We rode the pilgrim bus to Samye monestary about 200km outside lhasa. It was an entertaining experience, we were the first ones on so it was about an hour of people watching because we apparently were not leaving until the bus was totally full. Some people came onto the bus selling all sorts of random things from Tibetan bread to prayer flags to drinks and other goodies. About 4 hours of dirt roads and Tibetan music later we arrived at Samye.
Samye is an impressive monestary. It is the biggest monastic compound that I've seen in Tibet, it was also the first monestary built in Tibet. It was designed as a mandala which I think is fabulous as the mandala definitely captivates me. There were some amazing epope and places that I saw in this monestary. THe kora around the monestary is totally lined with prayer wheels, we walked clockwise around (as good pilgrims do) and spun each wheel, my fingers were black from the handles.
Our first stop was in a chaple tended to by teh sweetest Tiebtan man, he had the nicest eyes and I could almost feel the joy projecting from them. He walked through the building with usand pointed out the main statues and we all laughed and smiled together. He sat down to drink soem yak butter tea and told us that is good for the heart and the soul. THen he picked up an empty soda bottle and told us that it was bad for our heads. He then got a smirk on this face and motioned for us to join him. He lifted up a tapestry on the wall and under it was a picture of the Dalai Lama. It is illegal to have his picture anywhere in Tibet and it filled my heart with both joy and sadness to see it. It was obvious the love that this man had for him!
Next, we jumped back on the prayer wheel circle and migrated to the next couryard. As sson as we got there I heard the beautiful sond of monks chanting. They were all seated in their place in the hall and a georgeous baritone of Tibetan prayers was making its way out to us. Within that came the occassional addition of the voice of a young monk, it sounded so joyful. I could have sat there listening to that all day. Unfortunately, it ended and the monks began walksing out. I was studying their faces as I felt so drawn to them and their joy and love for Buddhism. Then a most unexpected thing happened, a sheep walked out of the assembly hall. I did a triple take but everyone else seemed to think that this was as normal as could be. Maybe it is a sacred sheep trying to build karma so that it will come back as a human in its next life. Since that point I saw the sheep join the monks when they were debating and in other parts of the monestary... curious.
The thrid amusing incident of the day... Back on the prayer wheel cycle and causing my hands to become even more blackened. We stop at a building that appears to deal with death. But that isn't what catches my eye. I see a nun tossing candy at a poil and I'm intrigued. I look up to the top of the poll and there is a grey harry monkey on a chain sitting there. Now I must say, I thought the sheep a bit odd but the monkey beat that for sure. I decided that lonely planet needs to add a phrase to their phrase book that would tell me how to ask in Tibetan "excuse me, why is there a monkey in your monestary?" Later in my walking I did read that it is belived that a union between an orgress and a primate creates a Tibetan so maybe that had something to do with it.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Ani Gompa
Ani Gompa is the Tibetan name for a nunnery. Yesterday we finally went to a nunnery after spending the majority of our time on the monestary train. This nunnery is off the beaten path and not many people head up there for a visit, we quickly found out why. We had someone write down the name of the nunnery in Tibetan for us and it was still remarkably difficult to find a taxi driver that could figure out how to get there. Finally, we located a cab with khata in the front, meaning he was most likely Tibetan, so there was a chance he would be able to read our directions. With some help frm the secutiry gaurd at the Yak Hotel the mystery was finally solved and we were on our way. Vehicles actually can't drive all the way up to the nunnery so the driver dropped us off at the end of the road and we were to walk the rest of the way. It was much farther up the mountain then it appeared from Lhasa but it was exciting to be doing something not many others usually undertake. We started by walking on the ouside of a large quary and a place where they were using large machines to cut rocks. After winding our way through a wash and scrambling over some boulders we just started heading straight up. It was about 2 hours up, up, and up the mountain following switchbacks and pausing to look over the ridge at the city of Lhasa in the distance. We reached the nunnery winded but curious. There weren't any people around so we just wandered into their courtyard and poked our heads inside. Finally, a nun saw us and smiled and pointed us to their tea room. Here three cups of yak butter tea were quickly set before us and there was a lot of "smile conversing" going on between us and the nuns. As we sat there, our cups always full, many nuns stuck their heads in the door to say hi. They even fed us lunch, I found that very touching and suprising. We were able to explore the nunnery after drinking endless amounts of yak butter tea and finishing our rice and potatoes. Their assembly hall was amazing, the floor was red and yellow tiles and there were georgeous paintings adorning the whole room. It was obvious that it was very well cared for. After we finished exploring the hall we went back to the main courtyard and joined some of the nuns on the benches and had some fun with the phrase books. Everyone was smiling and laughing and having a good time trying to communicate. After a bit it was time to go and let them get back to their business. The abbott (head nun) walked us out and sent us on our way straight down the mountain. About 15 min into our walk we came upon a large green tent, two people stuck their heads out and invied us in. It was the home of about a 10 person Tibetan family who had walked there from somewhere north. This time we didn't have our own cups so no more yak butter tea, which was ok with me. We did get out the cameras and those were a huge hit. They absolutely loved seeing their picture on the digital screen and were posing to get in more shots. It was great fun! Marya got some address for them so hoepfully we can send them some of the pictures when we get home. I think that would be something really great to share.
Something I have also been learning during my time here... everyhwere... when you are blonde and a bit pale you really stand out in Tibet and it makes people smile, giggle, and want to touch your hair :)
Peace and love
J
Something I have also been learning during my time here... everyhwere... when you are blonde and a bit pale you really stand out in Tibet and it makes people smile, giggle, and want to touch your hair :)
Peace and love
J
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Humble Pie anyone?
I feel it has been a while since I've updated my blog. Much has happened in Tibet since my last entry. I've been pondering ways to share everything with you but have been having a hard time being able to put it all into words. Western Tibet was an amazing place and the kora around Mt. Kailash was beyond my imagination. I've decided that it was one of those experiences that is most difficult to sum up, I'm not sure that I've really formulated all of my thoughts on it yet. It's going to be one of those things that will hit me later at some point.
It took us 3 full days driving to get to Mt. Kailash, most of the way was one single track dirt roads up and around and through mountain passes. The going was slow but we made some stops along the way and saw a different Tibet then the one that is in Lhasa. The trek around Mt. Kailash took us 3 days. They were 3 of the most difficult and phsyically demanding days that I have ever had. The first day was about 12 hours of trekking, we slowly made our way up in altitude the entire day until we reached the first monestary on the kora where we stayed at an adjacent tent camp. We were told at the end of the day that some Tibetan porters and a party of russians also doing the kora were suprised to see us carrying our own expedition packs and said something along the lines of "those are not girls, those are men." We decided to take this as a compliment in this context. Towards the end of the day we were all feeling pretty tired and ready for some carbs (instant mashed potoates and cheese powder) and some sleep.
Day 2 started bright and early, we left the tent camp before 7 (much before sunrise in western Tibet). Since it is still the end of winter there is much snow on the mountains and the route and we wanted to get through the pass before the heat of the sun hit and everything began to get soft. This was the day of Drolma La Pass, and we either underestimated the difficulty of this pass or overestimated our abilities to trek it. Lets just say that this was a day where I was served a giant slice of humble pie and learned some good lessons about myself. The trail immediately began going up, we were all carrying our packs and walking quite slow in hopes to conserve our energy. About 2 or 3 hours later, we still haven't reached the pass yet, we are trying to get up this ridge to where the pass begins and I realize that I am about as cold as I have ever been in my life. I could not feel my hands or my feet and wasn't entirely sure that I would ever be warm again. My only goal at that point was to get where the sun was shining on top of the ridge. Once there my hands went through a incredibly painful rewarming process, almost as if someone was sticking 5ft long needles into every inch of my hand. At this point it had taken us about 4 hours to reach this ridge, where we could finally see where the pass began. The journey was only to get harder from here, the pass tops out at an altitude of 18,200 ft (higher then Everest Base Camp), and was covered in snow. At the rate that we were going we were going to be lucky to get to the top before the sun set. At this moment, what I like to call a magical porter showed up on the kora. Up until this point we had not seen many people at all and it was divine intervention I would say that brought him to us. This is where the humble pie comes in, as much as I wanted to carry my own pack and complete the kora in that fashion my body was insisting that it wasn't going to happen. Therefore, when the porter asked me for the 4th time if I wanted him to carry my pack I swallowed my pride and agreed, as did the rest of my group. Without our packs it was still slow going but we finally made it to the top of the pass that was strewn with prayer flags and it was a very special place. I wanted to stay up there all day but was reminded that we still had a good 6 hours to reach our destination for the night, we snapped a few pictures and began the descent. The day was not going to get much easier from here believe it or not. At this point our next challenge was the fact that we were practially out of water and all of the rivers were frozen or non existent. In the valley the sun was blazing and dehydration was quickly getting more uncomfortable. I was trying to quench my thirst with snow (doesn't work well) and wondering how much longer I could keep walking without water when we finally came to a spot where we could fill up our bottles. I've never been that happy to drink un filtered water before in my life. I chugged my full nalgene and kept going back for me. Something about the altitude messes with your appetite and I was still trying to finish the single power bar I had started for breakfast that morning. My body was definitely exhausted and ready to be done for the day. Yet... there was still 3 more hours to go until reaching the monestary where we would sleep for the night. Along the way we did get some amazing views and I was able to enjoy them more with my full water and the fact that we were no longer climbing in elevation. We finally reached our destination after 14 hours of hiking and it is safe to say that I can't remember the last time I was that tired.
We slept in a bit the next day and were able to spend the morning at the monestary hanging out with the lama's and the baby sheep and catching up on sleep and food. The last day we had our packs back and it actually felt more like a stroll. Either it was just incredibly easier then the first two days or my body was finally getting used to the abuse. There were amazing mountains on everyside and a river running through the gorge. It was what I pictured hiking in Tibet to look like.
Before heading back to Lhasa we spent about a day and a half at Lake Manasarovar, a sacred lake near Mt. Kailash. It was a chance to catch up on sleep and have a lazy day. The lake was amazing, and I enjoyed being in a small village where the Tibetan life is still perserved unlike in the bigger cities. Out in the wester we were able to hang out in tea houses, drink yak butter tea, eat fried noodles and mo mo's, chit chat with the locals as much as the language barrier would allow, see the countryside, run away from some scary dogs, visit small monestaries, watch sheep trip over cardboard boxes in the middle of the road, see cows eating plastic bags on the street, walk into the back of a kitchen in a restaurant and just point to what we wanted to eat, learn the names of farm animals in Tibetan, and have some good conversations.
We are now back in Lhasa and on the final leg of our journey. The plan is to explore a bit more of Lhasa, the potala, monestaries, nunneries, and day hikes around the area as well as do a couple overnighters on the outskirts of town.
I know this was a ramble of a posting but I tried my best to get some of the experiences down. Maybe once I get home the whole trip will be making more sense. For this, I can at least cross my fingers.
I hope that all is well with all of you! I think about you all often and miss you tons. Hopefully we will able to sit down and have some tea and share stories at some point.
Peace and Love
J
It took us 3 full days driving to get to Mt. Kailash, most of the way was one single track dirt roads up and around and through mountain passes. The going was slow but we made some stops along the way and saw a different Tibet then the one that is in Lhasa. The trek around Mt. Kailash took us 3 days. They were 3 of the most difficult and phsyically demanding days that I have ever had. The first day was about 12 hours of trekking, we slowly made our way up in altitude the entire day until we reached the first monestary on the kora where we stayed at an adjacent tent camp. We were told at the end of the day that some Tibetan porters and a party of russians also doing the kora were suprised to see us carrying our own expedition packs and said something along the lines of "those are not girls, those are men." We decided to take this as a compliment in this context. Towards the end of the day we were all feeling pretty tired and ready for some carbs (instant mashed potoates and cheese powder) and some sleep.
Day 2 started bright and early, we left the tent camp before 7 (much before sunrise in western Tibet). Since it is still the end of winter there is much snow on the mountains and the route and we wanted to get through the pass before the heat of the sun hit and everything began to get soft. This was the day of Drolma La Pass, and we either underestimated the difficulty of this pass or overestimated our abilities to trek it. Lets just say that this was a day where I was served a giant slice of humble pie and learned some good lessons about myself. The trail immediately began going up, we were all carrying our packs and walking quite slow in hopes to conserve our energy. About 2 or 3 hours later, we still haven't reached the pass yet, we are trying to get up this ridge to where the pass begins and I realize that I am about as cold as I have ever been in my life. I could not feel my hands or my feet and wasn't entirely sure that I would ever be warm again. My only goal at that point was to get where the sun was shining on top of the ridge. Once there my hands went through a incredibly painful rewarming process, almost as if someone was sticking 5ft long needles into every inch of my hand. At this point it had taken us about 4 hours to reach this ridge, where we could finally see where the pass began. The journey was only to get harder from here, the pass tops out at an altitude of 18,200 ft (higher then Everest Base Camp), and was covered in snow. At the rate that we were going we were going to be lucky to get to the top before the sun set. At this moment, what I like to call a magical porter showed up on the kora. Up until this point we had not seen many people at all and it was divine intervention I would say that brought him to us. This is where the humble pie comes in, as much as I wanted to carry my own pack and complete the kora in that fashion my body was insisting that it wasn't going to happen. Therefore, when the porter asked me for the 4th time if I wanted him to carry my pack I swallowed my pride and agreed, as did the rest of my group. Without our packs it was still slow going but we finally made it to the top of the pass that was strewn with prayer flags and it was a very special place. I wanted to stay up there all day but was reminded that we still had a good 6 hours to reach our destination for the night, we snapped a few pictures and began the descent. The day was not going to get much easier from here believe it or not. At this point our next challenge was the fact that we were practially out of water and all of the rivers were frozen or non existent. In the valley the sun was blazing and dehydration was quickly getting more uncomfortable. I was trying to quench my thirst with snow (doesn't work well) and wondering how much longer I could keep walking without water when we finally came to a spot where we could fill up our bottles. I've never been that happy to drink un filtered water before in my life. I chugged my full nalgene and kept going back for me. Something about the altitude messes with your appetite and I was still trying to finish the single power bar I had started for breakfast that morning. My body was definitely exhausted and ready to be done for the day. Yet... there was still 3 more hours to go until reaching the monestary where we would sleep for the night. Along the way we did get some amazing views and I was able to enjoy them more with my full water and the fact that we were no longer climbing in elevation. We finally reached our destination after 14 hours of hiking and it is safe to say that I can't remember the last time I was that tired.
We slept in a bit the next day and were able to spend the morning at the monestary hanging out with the lama's and the baby sheep and catching up on sleep and food. The last day we had our packs back and it actually felt more like a stroll. Either it was just incredibly easier then the first two days or my body was finally getting used to the abuse. There were amazing mountains on everyside and a river running through the gorge. It was what I pictured hiking in Tibet to look like.
Before heading back to Lhasa we spent about a day and a half at Lake Manasarovar, a sacred lake near Mt. Kailash. It was a chance to catch up on sleep and have a lazy day. The lake was amazing, and I enjoyed being in a small village where the Tibetan life is still perserved unlike in the bigger cities. Out in the wester we were able to hang out in tea houses, drink yak butter tea, eat fried noodles and mo mo's, chit chat with the locals as much as the language barrier would allow, see the countryside, run away from some scary dogs, visit small monestaries, watch sheep trip over cardboard boxes in the middle of the road, see cows eating plastic bags on the street, walk into the back of a kitchen in a restaurant and just point to what we wanted to eat, learn the names of farm animals in Tibetan, and have some good conversations.
We are now back in Lhasa and on the final leg of our journey. The plan is to explore a bit more of Lhasa, the potala, monestaries, nunneries, and day hikes around the area as well as do a couple overnighters on the outskirts of town.
I know this was a ramble of a posting but I tried my best to get some of the experiences down. Maybe once I get home the whole trip will be making more sense. For this, I can at least cross my fingers.
I hope that all is well with all of you! I think about you all often and miss you tons. Hopefully we will able to sit down and have some tea and share stories at some point.
Peace and Love
J
Sunday, April 08, 2007
The roof of the world
Ta shi de lek from Tibet! We are finally here on the roof of the world. It is an amazing place. We got in after a 48 hour train ride from Lhasa. The train was interesting, crowded beyond belief, a bit dirty but great views. I liked to call it a social experiement in different personal space boundaries for different cultures.
We have been in Lhasa for 2 full days now. It is a great feeling to get somewhere that you have been thinking about for so long. It really is the roof of the world and my body and brain are working hard to increase the red blood cell count so I can live safely and comfortably at this altitude. Everyone here seems so friendly and ready to greet you with a smile as you pass by (or by sticking their tounge out which is also a form of greeting). I feel like I am going to be able to learn an enormous amount from the Tibetan people, their culture, way of life and religion. For one, they put so much quality and craftsmanship into the work that they do. As I sat in our room at the Yak Hotel I was noticing that the border along the walls is hand painted, and that was probably done in every room in the building.
While we were at lunch yesterday, we were joined by three older Tibetans. As the three of us were talking at our table and ordering, I noticed the older man, about 60, sneak his hand over and grab our Tibetan phrase book. We then handed over the other books that we had brought with us and they were a great ice breaker. They seemed to really enjoy the pictures and we truely enjoyed our conversations with them. We were able using our best guess at pronounciation to ask their names, where they were from, and Marya showed some pictures of her family. It was such a fun interaction.
Today we checked out the Barkor. It is a square and a kora circuit by the Jokang temple. Many pilgrims walk the kora daily and pray in the temple. The circuit is also lined with small boothes seeling various fun items, almost anything you can think of. It was a superb chance to work on our bargaining skills as they were definitely put to the test, I was actually a bit tired when we left. We went to an amazing Indian restaurant which is on the edge of the kora, but since you need to walk the kora clockwise you are required to journey the whole of it to get to anything on the end, if that makes sense.
Tomorrow we start the largest chunk of our journey, our trip to Mt. Kailash. We are heading for WEstern Tibet, considered one of the most remote places in the world and definitely in Asia. We will be in that area for 15 days approx. The main attraction with be visitng out of the way monestaries along the way, seeing some remote villages, trekking the Mt. Kailas kora (considered one of the holiset mountains to many eastern religions), and spending a relaxing day at Lake Manasorovar and the hot springs before heading back to Lhasa. We won't have internet on this part of our jounrey but I will be thinking about you and all and hoping everything is well.
I'm crossing my fingers that this will post as everything on the website at the moment is in Chinese.
Miss you tons.
Peace and Love
J
We have been in Lhasa for 2 full days now. It is a great feeling to get somewhere that you have been thinking about for so long. It really is the roof of the world and my body and brain are working hard to increase the red blood cell count so I can live safely and comfortably at this altitude. Everyone here seems so friendly and ready to greet you with a smile as you pass by (or by sticking their tounge out which is also a form of greeting). I feel like I am going to be able to learn an enormous amount from the Tibetan people, their culture, way of life and religion. For one, they put so much quality and craftsmanship into the work that they do. As I sat in our room at the Yak Hotel I was noticing that the border along the walls is hand painted, and that was probably done in every room in the building.
While we were at lunch yesterday, we were joined by three older Tibetans. As the three of us were talking at our table and ordering, I noticed the older man, about 60, sneak his hand over and grab our Tibetan phrase book. We then handed over the other books that we had brought with us and they were a great ice breaker. They seemed to really enjoy the pictures and we truely enjoyed our conversations with them. We were able using our best guess at pronounciation to ask their names, where they were from, and Marya showed some pictures of her family. It was such a fun interaction.
Today we checked out the Barkor. It is a square and a kora circuit by the Jokang temple. Many pilgrims walk the kora daily and pray in the temple. The circuit is also lined with small boothes seeling various fun items, almost anything you can think of. It was a superb chance to work on our bargaining skills as they were definitely put to the test, I was actually a bit tired when we left. We went to an amazing Indian restaurant which is on the edge of the kora, but since you need to walk the kora clockwise you are required to journey the whole of it to get to anything on the end, if that makes sense.
Tomorrow we start the largest chunk of our journey, our trip to Mt. Kailash. We are heading for WEstern Tibet, considered one of the most remote places in the world and definitely in Asia. We will be in that area for 15 days approx. The main attraction with be visitng out of the way monestaries along the way, seeing some remote villages, trekking the Mt. Kailas kora (considered one of the holiset mountains to many eastern religions), and spending a relaxing day at Lake Manasorovar and the hot springs before heading back to Lhasa. We won't have internet on this part of our jounrey but I will be thinking about you and all and hoping everything is well.
I'm crossing my fingers that this will post as everything on the website at the moment is in Chinese.
Miss you tons.
Peace and Love
J
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