Drokpa Journal

Stick a fork in me …I’m done – at least for this year. Yep, my leading season came to an end on October 16th when I said goodbye to my last group. There were a few challenges along the way, but all-in-all another good group. Certainly can’t complain about the groups I’ve had this year. Everyone has seemed genuinely interested in Tibet, and for the most part have dealt well with the hardships that these trips present.

After the trip I spent about a week being a bum in Kathmandu – relaxing/recovering and not doing much of anything. I then flew here to Beijing where I’ll hang out for another 5-6 days until my dad arrives, at which time we’ll do a month-long trip through China and Tibet, before finishing with a few days in both Kathmandu and Bangkok. Should be a great trip – as long as the weather in Tibet allows us to cross the passes. Stay tuned.

As for the trip, we met in Beijing on September 19th. I had a full group of 12 passengers, and they came from 6 different countries. I always like it when I have a good mixture of countries represented, as it keeps the conversations interesting. The 28-day trip was one I’d lead a couple times previously this year - Mountains and Monasteries. Our first day we ventured out to the Great Wall at Mutianyu - about 1 1/2 hours from Beijing. It’s always nice to walk along the wall, admiring the structure as it snakes along the hills. At Mutianyu it’s also fun to be able to take the toboggan run off the wall. Unfortunately, I always seem to get caught behind some overly-cautious Chinese woman who rides the brake the entire way down. So much for careening out of control. Maybe next time.

Our second day in Beijing started with a visit to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. We then had some free time before catching the overnight train to Xian. Xian was the standard visit to the Terracotta Warriors, wandering of the Muslim Quarter, and a nice hot-pot dinner.

After only one night in Xian we were back on an overnight train - this time bound for Lanzhou. Lanzhou was simply a breakfast stop before piling into a sardine-can-with-wheels for what turned out to be a 10-hour journey to Xiahe (Tibetan: Labrang). The best sign seen along that stretch of road stated:

Forbid to chuck jetsam.

What…flotsam is OK? Someone please tell me why they can’t simply say, “Do not litter” like any other country?!? You’ve got to love Chinglish.

In Labrang we spent a morning wandering around the monastery before jumping back in the can for the 5-hour trip to Langmusi. I always enjoy getting back to Langmusi as it has a timeless feel to it. We spent our time hiking in the surrounding area and hanging out in Leisha’s Cafe - eating huge portions of food and chocolate ‘cakes’ for dessert. great place. The next day we stopped at a rural school to see the local children sitting outside learning the Tibetan alphabet, before we headed to our homestay in the region. The passengers usually enjoy the homestay as they get a glimpse into how the locals live.

The next two days were, as is pretty standard, impossible to predict. The first day we took 11 hours to reach Hongyuan. Normally it takes about that long as we stop at nomadic tents and a monastery along the way. This time we had to bypass the monastery, and only spent a few minutes in a nomadic home. We discovered that the overturned truck we’d seen minutes before along the road had killed a person from one of the tents in the area. Figured it best for us to move along. So why did the trip still take 11 hours? Well, for 3 hours we sat along a muddy stretch of road in the grassslands because a bus and truck had become mired in the mud and were blocking all traffic. We then broke down for about an hour, and came across an accident blocking the road farther along. Never a dull moment. And the next day? I always prepare people for that trip to Chengdu, as it’s taken our groups anywhere from about 11 to 23 hours to make that journey this year. I’ve done it in 17, and the last two trips have taken me 15. Needless to say people are pretty worn out by the time we reach Chengdu, but they only had time to scarf down some pizza, shower, and sleep, before our 5:30 departure the next morning for the airport. Oh - I guess they did also have time to read the ‘Notice for Hotel Guests’, which stated:

1.Every guest have to take valid identification for check in.Increase person or change person,;please transact procedure at the Reception Desk.Don’tleave any person or transfer to others privately. Relative or friend have to transat procedure for visit or receive.Come in the room deed the register’sagreeing.
2.Please take good core of the rpp,faco;otoes.of any mangled,please pay for as the rack rate. Don’tinstall electrical wire and telephone, set goods on fire, paste at will.
3.According to the police, don’t prostitute oneseif, wench, gambling, hit the pipe and spread obscene goods.
4.For security reasons of the hotel guests, there is on accepting of things like combustibles, exquisite, exquisite poison and radiated items.The gun and ammunition will give the local police to keep it.
5.For quiet reasons of the hotel guests,don’t hit the bottle, fight, make trouble, full mouthed,for badly violator, hotel will cancel his lodging qualification and call police.
6.Of the staying,if you have any dissatisfaction,please contac our Assistant Manager.

A short 2-hour flight and we found ourselves at Gongkar Airport in the Tibet Autonomous Region. From there I was finally able to take the ‘new’ road to Lhasa, which cut down the driving time considerably. During our 5 days in Lhasa we visited the Jokhang, Potala Palace, Sera Monastery, Braille Without Borders, Dropenling Handicrafts, and simply wandered the streets. I was also able to meet up with a few friends in the area, so that’s always nice.

The rest of the trip in Tibet was pretty uneventful - aside from the numerous flat tires on our landcruisers. In several small villages along the way we were treated to locals working in the fields…cutting/separating the grain, drying the grain, and collecting and storing the hay to be used as animal feed for the winter. It was great to see the operations being done by hand, as they no doubt have been done for thousands of years.

From Lhasa we hit Samye Monastery, Gyantse, Shigatse, and Sakya, before making our way towards Everest/Qomolangma. It was definitely more chilly there than it had been on previous trips. I’m sure the upcoming trip with my dad will be cool as well. Tingri and Zhangmu/Dram completed the Tibet portion of the trip.

In Nepal we were fortunate enough to catch the tail-end of one of the biggest festivals of the year - Dashain. There are numerous animal sacrifices, though we missed most of those. To us, the most prevalent sight indicating there was a festival ongoing were the numerous bamboo swings erected everywhere, with laughing children, and adults, taking turns to see how high they could fly. It was fun.

After our normal two nights at the High View Resort in Dhulikhel, and a great visit to the village of Panauti, we were in Kathmandu for our final night dinner and the end of the trip.

I was able to take a lot of video during the trip, and hope to capture some more during the trip with my dad. I’m hoping that when I head back Stateside for Christmas that I’ll be able to incorporate those videos into the site. I also have some other things in mind for the site, so stay tuned….

I’m also hoping to be able to add a few more pictures to the “Gallery” section in the next few days, so check the “What’s New” for those.

And with that, another one is finished. I hope all is going well in your part of the world, and I’ll catch you from somewhere down the road - most likely after I complete the trip with my dad in December.

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