Drokpa Journal

Well, another trip completed. This one was a 21-day affair starting in Kunming, hitting Lijiang and Chengdu in mainland China, then into Tibet, and finishing in Kathmandu, Nepal. It was a great trip, as I only had 3 passengers, which allowed us to see a more intimate side of Tibet. We were able to pop into the school where I taught before, eat in the small restaurant of a friend, meet other friends for dinners, drink chang and butter tea in the home of another friend, and we were invited into a small temple at Sera Monastery while the monks were performing a ceremony. None of those activities would have been possible with a large group. Add the fact that a festival was in progress while we were there, so we saw more pilgrims and religious activities, and we had crystal-clear views of Everest, and it was a good trip.

We started in Kunming, China, on May 10. The group consisted of an American couple, and an Australian woman – all roughly the same age. From Kunming we proceeded to Lijiang, which is a great place to hang out – even if it is pretty touristy. The narrow, cobble-stoned alleyways and meandering waterways mean one can wander aimlessly for hours. Lijiang is home to the Naxi minority – notable for the outfits worn by the women. The locals tend to gather in the main square each day and perform song/dance numbers, though it looks suspiciously like a ‘mandatory’ event…I’m sure they must be paid by the government, or at least feel some pressure to perform. Feels a bit voyeuristic, but people seem to lap it up – particularly the Chinese tourists, of which there are many. Aside from that, one really can enjoy hanging out in Lijiang and relishing the slower pace of life.

From Lijiang we had a looooooong travel day. It started with an 8-½ hour bus ride to a place called Panzhihua. What a dump! We saw nothing but coal trucks, various plants, terrible roads, and pollution. Seems that Panzhihua is important to China as a manufacturer of iron, but it’s certainly left a mark on the environment. Has to rank as the ugliest city I’ve seen in China.

Anyway, in Panzhihua we simply caught a taxi from the bus station to the train station, waited a few hours, and then attempted to board our train to Chengdu. I say attempted, as the train staff had seen fit to sell our bunks to four others. Thanks for that! Actually, it wasn’t a big deal, they soon found us four more bunks, and we were good to go.

The train was a 13-hour overnight ride to Chengdu. However, the traveling still wasn’t complete. We were met at the station and driven directly to the Panda Research Center. Why? Because it seems the pandas can sleep even more than I can, and early morning is the only time they’re active. Even though we’d already been going for over 24 hours, it was worth it to see the pandas – my first time. They were in various enclosures based on their age, and all were quite active. It was amazing to see how they used their paws to hold onto bamboo and continually feed it into their mouths. They’d alternate quickly from feeding into the right side of their mouth, then the left. Entertaining. The really young were rolling around, falling off wooden platforms, and generally enjoying themselves. It was great to finally see the national symbol of China. Finally, around noon, we were able to check into our hotel for some much needed rest (and probably the best shower I’ve ever had in my life!) Looking forward to returning to Chengdu on my next trip.

The rest of that day was simply taking care of paperwork, making various payments, ensuring everything was in order to enter Tibet, and meeting another leader for dinner. My group actually joined his group for a cultural program – which I’m told was excellent, but I decided I’d catch it next time.

The following morning we were up eaaaaaaaaarly to leave the hotel at 5:30 AM on our way to the airport. After a short 2-hour flight, followed by a 1-½ hour bus ride, we were in Lhasa. Ahhhhhhhh. Checked into a great hotel for our 5-night stay in the Lhasa region. Really enjoyed our stay in Lhasa for the aforementioned reasons – having spent so much time in Lhasa, and having so many contacts, we were able to interact more with the Tibetans and have an enjoyable stay. Of course we hit the standard sites – Jokhang Temple, Potala Palace, and Drepung, Sera, and Nechung Monasteries. One highlight at Sera was that we were invited into a small temple while monks performed a ceremony. They chanted, blew horns, and played skull drums, while we sat on the floor in front of the heavily made up altar and drank the sweet tea they offered. It was magical. Another highlight there was the daily debate between the monks – hands clapping to emphasize a point. However, the true highlight had to be the old man who took his sheep into the main assembly hall. As he wandered the hallowed hall he mumbled continually – I’m sure he was simply reciting mantras, but it sounded as if he were giving a running commentary to his sheep. Too funny.

While in Lhasa we also relaxed in the courtyard of old people chanting and spinning prayer wheels, wandered all the back alleys, and talked to various friends. We were also fortunate enough to witness heightened activity and devotional fervor, as it was a festival – Saga Dawa. Always good to catch Tibet during festival time.

One day we popped into Braille Without Borders, an organization set up to help blind Tibetan children develop skills to cope in today’s society. Because Tibetans believe so heavily in Karma, most of these children are neglected by society, and their own families, as it’s thought they must have done something wrong in their past lives to be blind in this one. However, BWB teaches them English, Chinese, Tibetan, computers, massage, and other skills. Some of the children have opened a massage clinic, others have gone into standard schools after attending BWB, and still others will be going to other countries to study. The courtyard is filled with laughter, and the stories are shocking, and ultimately truly inspirational. These kids are amazing.

After five great days of meeting up with friends and wandering around Lhasa it was time to move along. We headed towards Samye Monastery, but found that the bridge was under construction and would be impassable for 6 hours. We decided to backtrack and take the ferry across…sounds easy…wasn’t. Number one, it was our worst day weather-wise, so spit rain most of the day. As we were under a time-constraint, we ended up chartering our own ferry – and paying dearly for that privilege. After a 1-½ hour ferry crossing, we got to do the hard bargaining again – this time for transport to/from the actual monastery. Finally settled on a truck, and we were off. It was eerie being at Samye, as there were very few others around – seemed spooky, especially since the only other time I’d been there was during a Cham dancing festival, and there were Tibetan pilgrims from all over the plateau in attendance.

Anyway, we reversed the truck and ferry trips, which again sounds easier than it was, as others decided to join our ‘private’ ferry. We finally negotiated a new outrageous price and were on our way. Once back on land, and back to our own landcruiser transport, we headed back to the airport area to spend a night. Having to pay an exorbitant amount for dinner completed a pretty crappy day. Still, in hindsight it worked well, as all of the bad things happened in one day, and comparatively really wasn’t bad.

Another eaaaaaarly start – this one 5 AM, had us in the landcruiser and on the road. We had to leave early in the morning in order to pass a construction checkpoint before they closed the road for the day. We made it. Because we had such a small group it didn’t make sense to hire two landcruisers. However, since we had to have a guide and driver, that meant 6 of us in a landcruiser. The guide and I alternated sitting on the sideways-facing bench seat way in back with all the backpacks. I probably spent the most time back there, and it was definitely cramped, but it made me feel like it was true travel again. All I needed were a handful of Indians also trying to share my space (or a bunch of hocking/spitting Chinese) to complete the picture.

It was a relatively easy 7-½ hour drive to Gyantse, with some great scenery along the way. During our time in Gyantse we climbed the hill to the ruined fort (and checked out the Anti-British Museum), wandered the streets of the old town, and checked out the monastery complex and unique Kumbum. Due to Saga Dawa there were more rooms opened in the monastery than usual, and we also felt privileged to see three beautiful sand mandalas created for the festival. Sand mandalas are beautifully crafted designs made entirely of colored sand. They’re lovingly, and painstakingly, made by four monks, and simply swept away when the festival is over…driving home the belief Buddhists have in the impermanence of everything.

The Kumbum is one of the few remaining buildings of its style in Tibet, and literally means ‘100,000 images’, which refers to the numerous paintings and statues in each of the small chapels. It’s a great place.

Shigatse was next, where we spent two nights. We did a bit of wandering about, and also checked out Tashilhunpo Monastery – another of the most important monasteries of Tibet. It’s the former home of the Panchen Lamas – second only to the Dalai Lama in importance in Tibetan Buddhism. There were many pilgrims in town, as we celebrated the most important day of Saga Dawa while in Shigatse – the ceremony goes for a month, but the middle day (the 15th of the month on the Tibetan lunar calendar) is the most important. Therefore, there were many beggars, pilgrims sitting around on the sidewalks, and a lot of chang (barley beer) being consumed from small white-plastic jerry cans. A true event.

From Shigatse we had to take some back roads for the bumpy, dusty drive to Sakya. Even though the road is known as the Friendship Highway, most of it is actually a dirt track. They seem to be attempting to change that this year, as there is a lot of work taking place along the ‘highway’. The cynical side of me wonders why it’s taken 50+ years after ‘peaceful liberation’ to pave a main road, and why they’d be doing so much work now in what happens to be the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Tibetan Autonomous Region. Hmmmmmmm. The anniversary also explains why new facades were put on many buildings in Lhasa, and why several buildings across from the Potala were leveled in order to create a park.

Anyway, Sakya. It’s a good little town, with a unique monastery. The colors vary from the standard whitewashed building with maroon stripe at the top, and are instead ash gray with periodic vertical stripes of white and maroon. I’d been there once before, but hadn’t had time to wander the older, northern complex, so I took the opportunity to do that this time. I set out walking and soon found myself alone among ruins and small memorials, and enjoying the beautiful view down to Sakya and across to the larger southern monastery. It was a great day.

Sakya is actually the home to an entirely different sect of Tibetan Buddhism. There are currently about 4 main sects, with the Gelugpa the most prominent – the Dalai Lama is part of that sect. However, Sakya was the main sect back in the 11th century, and the scholars from there were known far and wide. The sect is also unique in that the lamas aren’t reincarnated, but the title is actually passed down from father to son, meaning that the head of the Sakya sect can marry.

From Sakya we headed towards Everest, known as Qomolangma to the Tibetans and Chinese, which translates as ‘Goddess mother of the earth’. Nice. Again, things were considerably different from the last time I visited. If you remember, we had hit base camp on December 31 of 2003, and we were literally the only people there – one driver, and 4 passengers. This time we had to park the landcruisers about an hours drive from Rongphu Monastery, which is itself about 8 kms. from base camp proper. That night we ‘enjoyed’ the 4-bed dorm rooms and overflowing squat toilets of the Rongphu Guesthouse, but weren’t bothered by it in the least since a look out the window showed us the entire north face of Everest. Stunning. The next morning two of us walked the 2 hours to base camp (5200 m/17000’), while the other two opted for the horse-cart transport. As it was the climbing season, there were several expeditions around the area, as well as the mini-city that invariably crops up to sell food, beer, etc. to the climbers and day-trippers. I had much better views of the mountain this time, as the sky cooperated, so I’ve included a few pictures.

Next stop, Tingri. On the way, we ran into another landcruiser that had broken down, so our guide and driver walked over to see if they could help. While they were away a group of dirty village kids came up begging, but ended up simply laughing with us as we took their pictures. One small girl in particular was beautiful. Snot-nosed, and dirt caked on her face, but she had a radiant smile and the most amazing laugh I’ve heard in a long time. It was magical.

Wasn’t much there, so we contented ourselves with card games, chocolate, brandy, and views of Cho Oyu – another of the world’s 14 highest peaks. Not a bad night.

The next day on our way to the border town of Zhangmu, we stopped on a pass and admired a range of mountains spread before us - including Shishapangma, the 14th highest peak in the world. Zhangmu, like border towns all over the world, was some sort of hybrid mixture that was neither Tibetan/Chinese nor Nepali. The city clings to the green hillsides, which is itself a shock to the system after going so many days in the stark, barren landscape of Tibet – Zhangmu sits at about 2300 m/7500’.

The next morning we said goodbye to our guide and driver and crossed the border into the chaos of Nepal. It’s amazing how quickly things can change, but it was also invigorating. We found a ride to a hill resort area known as Dhulikel, and were immediately welcomed by the resort owners/workers offering cold towels and cold drinks – both welcomed in the oppressive heat. Nepali’s certainly understand customer service. We spent the afternoon on a walk of the area, visiting more traditional villages and learning a bit about Nepal, before relaxing on the terrace that night over an excellent dinner. Plus, we had the resort to ourselves. We felt extremely pampered, and there were a lot of “Mmmmmmmmm’s” uttered. A nice way to wind down the trip after the hard travel conditions across Tibet.

The next morning we headed to Kathmandu, with a stop in Bhaktapur for some sightseeing and souvenir shopping. Everyone enjoyed that, as it’s a bit more relaxed than the main area in Kathmandu, known as Thamel. Once we did hit Kathmandu proper we dumped our stuff in our rooms and immediately headed out to Swayanabath, more commonly referred to as the Monkey Temple for its most common inhabitants. It’s an interesting Buddhist stupa sitting on a hill, with the ‘eyes of Buddha’ looking out in the 4 cardinal directions observing pilgrims, souvenir stands, and flapping prayer flags.

A walk back into town and a final dinner basically completed the trip. I spent 4 more days in town finishing the paperwork and wandering aimlessly. It was good to be back in Kathmandu, as I hadn’t been there for about 4 years. I always liken it to Bangkok – it’s noisy, filthy, chaotic, and you take your life in your hands walking the streets, but it has a vibrancy that always brings a smile to my face. It was good to be back, though strange to see it with so few tourists.

From Kathmandu I flew to Bangkok, hung out in the airport for 6 hours, and then caught the red-eye flight to Beijing. I’ll have a few days here before starting my next trip on the 6th of June. It should also be good, as I only have 5 passengers this time. We’ll see the Great Wall, before heading to Xian for the Terracotta Warriors. From there we’ll venture out to the Tibetan Grasslands (now encompassed into a Chinese province), and then basically do the Chengdu, Tibet, Kathmandu trip as described above. As most of my trips will be the same, I thought I’d describe it in some detail this time and then other updates should be shorter.

Anyway, with that another update is done. Hope all is going well in your part of the world, and I’ll catch you from somewhere down the road.

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