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Published: February 25th 2006
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From the lap of luxury in Kathmandu, back to rugged roads of Tibet. In just a few hours, the ride to the Nepal border at Kodari took us out of the smog, past a series of check posts, and up to terraced fields of the Himalayan foothills. Delayed by four hours at the border due to irregularities in our group permit, my colleagues and I reach Tingri after nightfall in a deluxe landcruiser supplied by my favorite Lhasa travel agency, Windhorse Travels. We enjoyed thukpa (Tibetan noodle soup) around the fire and had to track down extra covers to stave off the alpine chill. The morning greeted us with stunning views of snow-capped mountains, including Everest in the distance.
But I could barely lift my head to look. After boasting of my imperviousness to altitude after years living in Colorado, I wake up with a piercing headache and cannot even hold down water. I go in and out of sleep as we wind up and down mountain sides, waking up only to cry "lha gyal lo" out the window and toss lungta flags at each mountain pass, a Tibetan custom of marking such crossings. The journey is breathtaking in more
than one way as each of us has our own challenges with the altitude (high points over 15,000 feet). But the views of snowy mountains, arid alpine valleys and turquoise lakes makes it all worth it.
The Grey at Sakya It's my first time overland to Lhasa from Kathmandu, so I am eager to visit the monasteries along the way. Unlike the interminable days to reach destinations in eastern Tibet, the six hours of driving max each day left plenty of time to stop and sightsee along the way. We joined Tibetans on the pilgrimage circuit at different monasteries, climbing up hillsides and visiting temples, bumping into many of the same folks along the way. CW plays tour guide at some of the sites, since he has visited before and knows Sakya history well.
Eight sips of Sprite and two bread sticks gave me enough energy to do the korra route above Sakya Monastery. All the buildings (monastery and homes) are painted grey, based on the color of exposed rock above the monastery. There are newly constructed stupas on the hillside, amidst ruins of former buildings, each dedicated to one of the five Sakya patriarchs. Perched on
the hillside is a lhakhang dedicated to Tara, saviouress of Tibet and female counterpart of Avalokitesvara, and below it is the meditation cave of Kunga Nyingpo, the first of five Sakya patriarchs. CW and AM are more energetic and climb to the protector shrine up the hill. I head straight to the ani gompa (nunnery) with a local couple and peruse the various medicines on sale. I decide to purchase some "smart pills" consecrated to contain blessings from the bodhisattva of wisdom, Manjushri. Could help when it comes time to write my dissertation! The next morning, the main monastery building opens and we have a quick visit before hitting the road.
Shigatse to Gyantse On approaching Shigatse, it looks like a single lane town with a row of shops on each side. Then, upon cresting the hill, a neatly laid out city is revealed, the second largest in the Tibetan Autonomous Region. We stop there for lunch: thukpa, of course. Since the others have visited Tashi Lhunpo Monastery before, I head out on my own to take a quick walk through its winding lanes. The white wash buildings along the dry grassy hills reminded me strangely of Greece.
It is like a town unto itself with the large assembly halls, monks quarters, and other buildings stacked up the hillside and towering over the city below. All is quite: the monks are inside eating. Only the breeze blowing the fabric above the door and window frames along small alleyways seems to stir.
Next is Shalu Monastery, a short jaunt away and slight detour off the main road. Its most famous scholar was Buton Rinchen Drup, one of the principal compilers of the Tibetan canon of translated Buddhist works from India. His statue figures prominently on the shrines throughout the monastery. I am intrigued by a special vase in the main lhakhang and ask the monk to explain its significance. Apparently, brought from India during the lifetime of Buton, it holds the
drupchu or "water of accomplishment" of Atisha, the famous Indian master who came to Tibet in 1042 to preach and live out his days.
Here as elsewhere, I inevitably lose the group and joining up with others: a monk who explains to me some idiosyncrasy of the site, a group of girls playing in the monastery courtyard, or pilgrims who show me the way to the
next temple or sacred cave. Several of the monasteries survived the turbulent CR and have old murals in a narrow corridor circling the main lhakhang. In the corridor at Shalu, a group of boys that have been tagging along with me hide in a doorway 3/4ths of the way around. They jump out as I pass to scare me. Tibetans definitely have a sense of humor, even in holy places!
Parade of Butter Lamps Palkhor Chode, the last monastery we visit, has an enormous stupa, five stories high and supposedly 108 tiny chapels spiraling along the outside. (I didn't count!) Each chapel is a single room with a statue and murals dedicated to one or another tantric deity. Next-door, in the main hall of the monastery, I become intrigued by the flood of Tibetan pilgrims carrying butter lamps into each shrine room in order to make offerings. Upon entering, first prostrations are made in a gesture of reverence. Then, at each image, Tibetans touch their head to the base of each image out of respect and offer butter lamps or small bills, often accompanied by prayers.
Butter offerings are the most intriguing. With so many yaks and
so few vegetables, Tibet is a meat and dairy culture. Needless to say, hospitality involves offering butter tea and, as a corollary, offering butter lamps is one of the most popular forms of image veneration. Usually, pilgrims carry a bag of butter (for sale outside most monasteries) and scoop a bit into each of the lamps already in place in front of the central image of a shrine. At Palkhor Chode, however, everyone has their own small lamp (butter in bronze with cotton wick) or pitcher of melted butter, from which to drip butter into each of the larger butter lamps stationed before images. At one popular image, pilgrims crowd around in order to have the monk, standing on a raised platform, add a splash of butter to enormous gilded lamps.
From there, the road winds around Yudrok Yumtso, an enormous turquoise lake surrounded by rolling hills and framed by snow-capped mountains in the distance. One more pass. One more stop for photos of the lake. And in no time, we reach Lhasa.
Travelers from Kathmandu to Lhasa: The trip overland to Lhasa takes only three days with stunning views and interesting sites along the way. You need to book a group visa through a Lhasa travel agent, and the driver meets you at the border with it. Be sure your travel agent has all your passport information correct or you can expect delays at the border. In Kathmandu, you can hire a car or taxi to the border for 4-5,000 rupees. It takes only a few hours. If you anticipate trouble with the altitude, best to take diamoxin before the trip begins. Even the heartiest trekker can feel have problems with the 10,000 foot climb between Kathamandu and Tingri on the first day. From there, it's mainly downhill with a few more high passes. Expect tourist prices at hotels and restaurants along with way, plus entrance fees at all the monasteries.
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