Drokpa Journal

Another update – this one coming to you from Lhasa, though mostly outlining my trip through the Tibetan grasslands of Gansu and Sichuan Provinces.

We left Xian via an 8-hour overnight train to Lanzhou. We ate breakfast there and then hopped in a mini-van for the 6-hour drive to Xiahe. Xiahe, or Labrang in Tibetan, is home to one of the six most important monasteries of the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Upon arrival we simply walked the kora of the monastery, and observed pilgrims and monks spinning large, colorful prayer wheels.

The next morning we took a tour with a local monk through Labrang Monastery. It was pretty standard, though I did notice some differences between the monasteries in this region – known as Amdo in Tibetan, and those in the center of Tibet. It’s also interesting to actually see a few pictures of the Dalai Lama in these monasteries, considering it’s illegal to have pictures of him in what is now known as the Tibetan Autonomous Region (i.e. Lhasa and surrounding areas). We were also able to see huge, colorful sculptures made entirely of butter. These are traditionally displayed during the Tibetan New Year festivities, but again, that practice has been outlawed in Central Tibet. Nice to see that it is alive in some parts of what was traditionally Tibet.

From Xiahe it was about a 4-hour drive to Langmusi through some nice green grasslands, where we observed nomads with their herds of yaks and sheep. Langmusi was a great little town to hang out in for a few days. It sits at about 3400 meters, so was a good chance to start our acclimatization for the altitudes of Central Tibet. It was small, and a bit off the beaten track, so everybody in town treated us extremely well – especially the owners of Leisha’s Restaurant. If you’re in Langmusi, I can highly recommend that place – good people, good food, and huge portions.

Langmusi actually straddles two Chinese provinces – Gansu and Sichuan, so we took the opportunity to wander through the two monasteries in town – one in each province. They were nice, though there is a lot of reconstruction so much of what you see is relatively new. It was nice to see some of the traditional paintings newly painted on the outsides of the monastery, as well as some of the details from the support columns. The color and detail is amazing. We also took the chance to do a bit of hiking in the area. It was nice to get out and stretch the legs in the green grass, but to also have the jagged peaks and rocky outcrops to scramble around on as well. A fantastic couple of days.

From Langmusi we headed a couple hours away to a small village where we were to do a homestay, but on the way were fortunate enough to stumble upon a gathering of nomad families. They’d arranged to get together for three days of games and socializing. Normally nomads lead pretty solitary lives, but they seemed to relish the chance to see friends. We were immediately mobbed by kids wanting to have their pictures taken, and enjoyed our time spent amongst them. While we were wandering about we watched some tug-of-war competitions, as well as foot races for the kids. It was great fun, and all of us quickly filled up our camera memory cards.

We left the festivities just as the rain started to fall, and it continued well into the night. We drove to a small village and visited a local school. The kids had been told we were coming, and were standing outside reading from their books. After spending a bit of time there we decided to try to hole up in the home of a local to wait out the rain before hiking to the village where we’d do a homestay. It didn’t work. After a few hours we finally decided to grin and bear it, and so donned our best waterproofs and slogged through the mud to our home for the night. It was great to be able to experience how the locals live, though would have been much nicer in better weather such that we could have walked around the village a bit.

From the homestay we made our way to Hongyuan through the beautiful green Tibetan grasslands. Along the way we stopped to pop our heads into a nomadic tent – after the owners called off their huge Tibetan mastiff dog. Another interesting glimpse into how these people live, and to see their meager possessions which allows them to pick up and move with the herds. Interesting.

Along the way we also passed the first bend in the Yellow River, which made for nice pictures – the various waterways and the surrounding green grasslands.

Hongyuan wasn’t much – except a nice hotel room in the middle of nothing. We really didn’t have time to explore – and the rain meant we didn’t venture too far afield, so we simply ate in Hongyuan and then got an early start, 5:30, the next morning headed for Chengdu.

We made the mistake of telling our guide, who told our driver, that we may want to get to Chengdu by 7 PM in order to see a culture show. The driver careened around corners most of the day – bouncing us around like pinballs. In spite of his efforts it was all for naught – we ended up stuck for 3 hours while the trucks that had been involved in a head-on collision in a tunnel ahead of us were cleared away. Oh well. Since we got into Chengdu late it was simply a meal, a great shower, and a place to sleep.

The others were convinced there was some kind of conspiracy, since the two nights we had nice hotel rooms were followed by 5:30 starts, so no chance to have a lie in. This 5:30 start had us headed to the airport and the flight to Lhasa.

We’ve now been in Lhasa for 4 1/2 days, and have taken in the standard sites – Sera Monastery, Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, as well as visiting a traditional Tibetan medical hospital, and the school established by Braille Without Borders. I’ve also had a chance to catch up with some local friends, so it’s been good.

Tomorrow has us heading to Samye Monastery – the first monastery in Tibet. There may be a festival happening out there, which would be great. I saw it last year, and believe that the passengers would really enjoy the experience. Hopefully there will be pictures of the festivities in the next update – stay tuned.

And with that, another one is done. This trip will finish in early July in Kathmandu, so I’ll probably catch you again around that time.

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