Friday, November 16, 2007

Tashilunpo Monastery...chillin like a monk


Our friend showed us in to his room, and then had to go make sure that no one else was around so we could visit in peace. Tashilunpo Monastery is known to be in leaugues with the Chinese government, and while it was not wrong for us to be in his room, if the wrong person saw us it could cause trouble for our friend. And our friend was a true Tibetan, loyal to the Dali Lama, who he can only honor in absolute silence and secrecy. He talked to us of this in whisper tones, not even able to possess a picture of His Holiness without facing serious trouble. He had few possessions. Most were religious items, except for his tea cup and small tin of pens and pencils. Oh yeah.... and an oddly huge sack of hard, "fruit" flavored candies, coated with sugar.

Tashilunpo Monastery...getting schooled


Wherever you are in Tibet, if someone notices that you are carrying a Lonely Planet they will invariably want to look at it. Seems like word has spread about the photos and colorful maps in the Tibet Lonely Planet. Our friend was no different, but the section he wanted to look at was the brief chapter describing many of the most widely seen images and dieties of Tibetan Buddhism. He spoke less then five words of English, yet he was so patient and desired to communicate so much that by using my small Tibetan phrasebook we actually were able to exchange many interesting concepts and facts. He was fun... he kept giving us handfulls of candy too.

Tashilunpo Monastery...new friends room and accoutrements



Thursday, November 15, 2007

Tashilunpo Monastery...new friend




We found out that our friend had watched us walk into the building from this window in his room, which happens to be directly over the entry door.He then came up on the roof to find us. He was so silent we had no idea anyone was around. And aside from the colorful cloth border over the doorway, these buildings seemed abandoned. I love how he is touching the plant in this photo. This man was very aware of and very good at exchanging energy. He seemed to seek out ways to do this on many different levels. I wish we could have really spoken words that one another could understand... while there was much information exchanged on other levels, so much of the deep understandings and observations on life need words to be expressed and understood completely. I felt like we three could have spent many interesting hours in conversation on topics of philosophy and life. He was kind and hospitable, as well as being highly intelligent. We were very glad to have trespassed in HIS home!

Tashilunpo Monastery...new friends


Tashilunpo Monastery...boundary wall


This high wall encircled the Monastery complex completely. The sacred pilgrim path, or kora, follows the outside of the wall up the hill, all the way around. Walked in a clockwise direction, of course. On the lower right side, on the outside of the wall you can see a row of prayer wheels lining the kora. Most all of the entire kora is lined by a row of prayer wheels built into racks similar to these.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Tashilunpo Monastery... art bike


We kept commenting how Tibet reminded us of being at Burning Man, with all the colorful and weird art everywhere you look. Then we came across this decorated bike in the kitchen courtyard and couldn't help but laugh. Looks like we found Black Rock City's Eastern annex...

Tashilunpo Monastery... kitchen staff




The Monastery had a huge kitchen and adjacent courtyard. I don't think many tourists check it out... everyone seemed surprised to see us. Nonetheless we were happily shown around the kitchen, with it's enormous woks and burners, as well as the courtyard. These massive burners I mentioned were fueled by flames which came from a sort of furnace underneath the kitchen building. I have never seen a set up like this. The "furnace" room was amazing! There were 2 men, covered in thick sweat and soot, continually stoking and loading the furnaces with wood. I don't know where all this wood came from! It is a scarce commodity in Tibet, and I can only think they must maintain a small grove somewhere to supply their needs. Tashilunpo is a huge and very important Monastery, both historically and even today. We happened to stumble into this area during dinner prep, so everything and everybody was in full swing! The man posing with Fish was flirting with me big time, blowing me kisses and winking at me right behind Fishes back! Hilarious, but odd treatment from a Tibetan. The man stoking the fire was happy to pose for an action shot, but was adament that we take his picture with his wife as well. They were an astonishingly beautiful couple, in the midst of all that thick black smoke. With the advent of the digital camera age, many people are happy for you to take their photo, because they know they can look at it immediately on the screen. It creates many fun moments with others, and always peels of laughter when everyone crowds around to look!

Tashilunpo Monastery...


This is what most of the Monastery complex looks like. The high ridge in the background is the ridge we climbed the next day. The photos from that hike are under the heading "Tashilunpo hike".

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Tashilunpo Monastery... temples



Tashilunpo Monastery...tea time



These solar water boilers were literally everywhere in Tibet. The intensity of the sun in this phot gives you an idea of why these are such handy devices. The idea is to adjust the position of the kettle until the shiny metal back-panel focuses an intense ray of light onto the bottom of the kettle. It was amazing how fast these work, and how roiling hot they are actually able to get a whole kettle of water. Whether waiting for ramen noodles or hot tea this was the device folks were counting on throughout the country.

Tashilunpo Monastery...a secret garden


While this Dahlia was beautiful it had absolutely no scent. As you can see, I had to check.....

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Tashilunpo Monastery...Snow Lion


Gaurdian painting on the inside of the front gates to the Monastery complex.

Friday, November 09, 2007

Shigatse's "Red Square"


In every Chinese town we visited there was a large open square, usually located in front of a major monastery, dedicated to and praising the virtues of communism. This was Shigatse's "Red Square", as we were calling them. Located, of course, directly in front of Tashilunpo Monastery. This square was unique in the fact that it's central feature was an incredibly huge movie screen. Our imaginations could only guess what kind of propagandized films are shown on this screen.

Shigatse... sunset from the roof of the Tenzin Hotel


Shigatse... Tibetan quarter


This is a typical walking trail through the Tibetan section of town. We were on our way up to get an up close look at the Shigatse dzong...

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Shigatse Dzong... excuse our dust



This dzong, or fort, is also known as the Little Potala. A dzong is an old fort, and you can see many ruined dzongs throughout the whole country. This dzong in Shigatse is particularly impressive, both in it's size and location, perched on a narrow ridge over the Tibetan side of town. It is currently being rebuilt by the Chinese government as a tourist attraction. A bit harsh to destroy something only to rebuild it, rename it and charge money for entry from unsuspecting tourists....... Notice the workers accomodations at the bottom of the dzong.

Tashilunpo hike...trail up first ridge

Something to keep in mind while viewing the photos from this hike... this was one of the most challenging hikes I have ever undertaken. There was no clear trail, and we basically chose our route by following many connecting sheep trails. The ground for the majority of the hike consisted of tiny round gravel that acted like ball bearings under our feet. Many times I expected to slip and find myself rolling down the mountain to my doom. Also, the mountain was way more steep than it looked from the bottom, and there were no plants to hold onto or catch you if you did fall. The only plant growing anywhere on this hike, besides some very short grass here and there, was a small shrub that looked soft and feathery, but was actually covered with insanely painful spines. The spines would break off into your skin and itch like fire. I have a bad habit, which I've never been able to break, of touching/grabbing plants while I hike. I have been warned and warned, but still it is a habit. The spines I got in my hands because of this continued to burn and itch for over 2 weeks after this hike. And, yes, I am STILL a plant grabber while I hike...

Tashilunpo hike...first ridge... view of Shigatse




Shigatse is the second largest city in Tibet, after Lhasa. 95% of the city is a perfect example of a modern Chinese town... square buildings, squarely laid out street plan and a very, very drab, almost institutional feel. The tiny segment of town relagated as the Tibetan quarter lies huddled below this mountain, clinging to the edges of Tashilunpo Monastery. In the Tibetan area of town the architecture is typical old Tibetan style, decorated with lots of colors,religious symbology, and of course strung with prayer flags! Here you will find Tibetans going about life dressed in Tibetan clothing.... you may even come across a small herd of yak being quietly herded through the city streets on their way to pasture.

Tashilunpo hike...first ridge... a string of our own


We strung these prayer flags ourselves. Turns out we would need all the good luck we had coming to us on this hike!

Monday, November 05, 2007

Crude Awakening



Statues in flames during a night time performance. The fire was interactive. Each statue had a way in which you could affect the strength and intensity of the flames.

Camp gaurdians


These 7 foot tall puppets are made by our friend and campmate. On days when the wind was not too strong she would organize a playa puppet parade.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Massive dust storm approaching...




PT, our resident Ranger, came by with a 15 minute warning to "batten down the hatches" for an approaching dust storm with winds of up to 60 mph possible! This was the stongest wind storm I have experienced out here, and it was a total white out. I could not see the car parked 5 feet from where I was sitting. And the wind was literally howling! Right after the wind settled down, and light started returning, I stepped outside to witness a stunning rainbow......