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Published: July 11th 2010
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Dancing in the Square
Every night around 7:30 the music starts and the people start dancing. It's a line dance, but in a circle, and there are several different dances. These Tibetian women were the leaders. I got up at 7:00 AM to catch my bus to Shangri La at 8:30. Unfortunately, that damn dog would not stop barking last night and I had to change rooms. The bed was not as comfortable, but I did have a westen toilet, which I realized I had missed very much. I am glad I moved because I woke up after midnight and he was barking again, but I could barely hear him in my new room. He was also barking in the morning. Seriously. How can the owner of the dog stand it?
The bus ride was about 4 hours on the Express bus and there was some stunning scenery along the way. I arrived around 1:00 and Lobsang from Shangri La Moon Guesthouse was there to greet me. I had made a reservation at the guesthouse over the Internet. He is from Sichuan Province I think, but he grew up in India for 8 years and learned English and Hindi there. He's very friendly and welcoming. And I've noticed he is also quite popular with the ladies. There are three hanging around the hotel smiling at him. My room is big with twin beds and 100RMB a
Ring leader
This spunky little fireball was the ring leader of all the dances. If people weren't sure what to do or missed a step, they looked to this Tibetian woman to catch up. I got the feeling there was an unspoken rule that says she is the leader. She danced for at least two hours. night because I have to pay for two people. That's how it is in China. The bathroom is not clean though, so I won't complain, but I won't go barefoot in there either. I'm only staying two nights.
After I got settled in I walked around the Old Town for a while and visited a small temple and a huge prayer wheel at the top of the hill. And by huge, I mean huge. People can grab ropes at the bottom and turn it, but you need at least six people to get it going, and even then it's tough. I watched them try. I'm not sure of the purpose or when the wheel was built, but it's free and worth a look. I had some Indian food at Tara Gallery and Cafe, which is off the beaten path, but absolutely beautiful inside and not expensive. I loved the whole atmosphere of this place. The owner is an Indian woman, but she wasn't there. The food was good, but pass on the flatbread. It's not nan and it's not good. Everything else was though and the atmosphere is great!
At 7:30 I headed to the square to watch
View of Shangri La
from the hills behind the town. the dancing. Every night the townspeople come out and dance in a circle doing different dances to different music that plays over loudspeakers. At first there were only a few ladies dancing, but after an hour, the square was full! It was really fun to watch, especially the woman who was clearly the leader. She had some spunk!
Afterwards I came back to my hotel because I had a headache. Lobsang was there with his harem and I organized a tour for tomorrow that I am not the least bit passionate about, so it might happen, it might not.
I like this town, but there is a lot of new development that is really out of place with the spirit that Shanghri La is famous for. I would recommend coming here IF you can't make it to Tibet, but don't expect heaven on Earth, cause it ain't.
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