http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Garlichead/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Garlichead en-us Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:49:26 +0000 Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:49:26 +0000 A rather momentous event will happen tomorrow July 1 China will officially open its railway to Tibet. It is a hugely contested issue and stands to benefit the Chinese more than Tibetans in many respects. Most of the articles coming out of China laud the railway as a progressive step towards modernizing Tibet and building up its economy. However given China's track record in economic developm http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/District-of-Columbia/Washington/blog-70726.html I wrote the following article in order to spread awareness on what is still occuring not only to Tibetans but to Uighurs ethnic minorities and even citizens in the People's Republic of China today. While I am not actually there now travelling is about being there and about how you are affected by how you affect people from the places in which you travel. So these people affected me a gre http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Ontario/Waterloo/blog-38990.html Who am I to pretend to understand impermanence I am the most sentimental backwardlooking fool despite years of goodbyes.Less than a day away from boarding a flight to return home I thought I'd take a bit of time to summarize some of the nice aspects of my time in McLeod Ganj during the past couple of months.My initial goal in going was to learn a bit about the Tibetan exile community to con http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/National-Capital-Territory/New-Delhi/blog-28396.html After having spent two months in Tibet that is including the Chinese provinces of Sichuan Gansu Qinghai over a month in Nepali Tibetan areas and another 2 months in Tibetinexile I have had a chance to see different forms of Tibetan life.I'm still learning don't have the answers to the problems can't predict the future or even the best way to continue.What I have seen in McLeod Ganj Dha http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/National-Capital-Territory/New-Delhi/blog-29329.html Following last week's events at Drepung monastery in Lhasa Tibet where the Chinese authorities sealed off the monastery strictly controlling who enters and exits Tibetans in exile have taken up the protests.In a march and rally organized by the Tibetan Youth Congress in McLeod Ganj Tibetans locals and foreigners streamed to lower Dharamsala where a number of speakers from the Youth Congress http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Himachal-Pradesh/Mcleod-Ganj/blog-29901.html ...the title of a 35 minute documentary produced by International Campaign for Tibet ICT in 2004. Devotion and Defiance Buddhism and the Struggle for Religious Freedom in Tibet is a vivid declaration of religious control in occupied Tibet. Containing footage from inside monasteries as well as from the Lhasa demonstrations in the late 1980s it reveals what limitations prevail in and out of th http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Himachal-Pradesh/Mcleod-Ganj/blog-29436.html As I walked with the demonstrators an American man on the road paused to tell us we were wasting our time and angering people. The only way to make your voice heard according to him is by appointment in court. Feasible perhaps for someone from a country where it is permissible and possible to voice your difference of opinion in a court of law.The mass of protesters however represented Tib http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Himachal-Pradesh/Mcleod-Ganj/blog-25913.html Dalai Lama Rail Link 'Cultural Genocide' AP September 12th 2005HAILEY Idaho mdash A rail link being built between Tibet and several major Chinese cities could lead to cultural genocide by luring more Chinese workers to the region the Dalai Lama said. Tibet's spiritual leader said following a speech in Idaho Sunday that more pres http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Himachal-Pradesh/Mcleod-Ganj/blog-23950.html Entry into India from Nepal was easy like walking from one neighbourhood to another. The only trying aspect was the frustrating slowness and pointlessness of the questions at immigration. Having just arrived in India the only logical point I could have come from in that small border town was the Nepali border. Yet the procedure entailed that very muchrepeated question Where have you com http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Himachal-Pradesh/Mcleod-Ganj/blog-23341.html not about India or Nepal but I wanted to post it anywayhttphrw.orgenglishdocs20050917china11754.htmThe incident occurred during a heightened security alert before September 1 when China celebrated the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Tibet Autonomous Region. 8220Given the poor treatment often meted out to Tibetans in detention we are very concerned about Sonam8217s physic http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Jodhpur/blog-22110.html Nepal's king declared a state of emergency and effectively shut down the independent press with blanket news bans military patrols at media outlets and threatened reprisals against journalists.King G imposed a sixmonth ban on what state radio described as critical reporting on government activities. Soldiers were posted at Nepal's major print and broadcast outlets controlled television broa http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Uttar-Pradesh/blog-18771.html I've just returned from a fast round of the Annapurna Circuit. It is an amazing hike around a series of high mountain peaks. In good weather it would be simply mindblowing. As it was even with the romantic cloudy misty weather it was lovelier than I can describe.But i'll try.The Annapurnas are a range of mountains which come near to the Tibetan border and which bring you right to the regio http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Annapurna/blog-20892.html Finally I've escaped the madness of the city to Bouda or Bodnath as known in the books. This is one of the early Tibetan refugee settlements following the '59 exodus. There are a large number of Tibetans some Tibetborn others Nepalborn. The atmosphere hereit is completely different from Tibet. Geographical differences aside I have heard more Tibetan monastic music and chanting here http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/blog-18180.html Given the recent and ongoing tragedies in Iraq and the US as well as so many other discouraging events I feel like these entries now are trite. Certainly I don't mean to demean anyone's loss or misfortune. And am thus tempted to not write at all. However for the sake of conveying some positive among the negative I will enter this after all. My great condolences to everyone who is touche http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/blog-16895.html From Lhasa to the west towards the great Mount Everest or even just to the Nepal border many travellers wisely opt for a 5 or more day tour in a Land Cruiser type vehicle.Being slightly less wise slighly less rich slightly less inclined to ride in a Land Cruiser I opted for choice two public transport.As it happened public transport only really runs to Zhigatse one of the major towns west http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/blog-16715.html The great Shoton yogurt festival continues in Lhasa the traffic of bicycles rickshaws minibuses cars tourists and pilgrims continue life in the evergrowing city continues...and I will take leave.Lhasa has been interesting. At first it blew my mind with how developed it is is becoming and how many C there really are here. And how many tourists as well. In fact after a previous mo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/Lhasa/blog-15922.html This is completely unrelated to the following entry but worthy of interest and considerationhttpwwf.caHowYouCanHelpDoNotDrillad60.asphttpwww.sierraclub.canationalprogramsbiodiversitywildernesscampaign.shtmlx860httpwwf.caHowYouCanHelpDoNotDrillletter.aspcampaignanwrBack to the hermits.Samye temple is one of the great temples of T. It is certainly wellknown and appreciate http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/blog-15635.html ...or more if lucky.Ganden. One of three famous monasteries in Tibet one of the three great Gelukpa monasteries . It sits at around 4500 m perched on and nesteled into a small mountain wee dirt road snaking below to the east river snaking below to the west. Before being bombed and fired at and very much destroyed in those wonder years around late 50s to 60s it was a biggee with around http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/blog-15366.html One of the hot spots now is Nam Tso Lake about 200km north of Lhasa an organized tour circuit or public buses and some thumbing. I took the latter. It wasn't as easy as in other countries and i ended up paying for a ride from point B to the lake. Coming down however i was extremely lucky and got picked up by a busload of tourists.The lake it is about 4700m and is quite beautiful. It hol http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/blog-15155.html Along with being one of the most sacred places in Tibet Lhasa is also one of the most expensive. Food is cheap dorm beds can be had at about twice the price of beds in China but the temples and cultural places is where one is really gouged. Arguably it is still worth the money since the temples and important grounds are usually fairly stunning or can be snuck into which is defendable when http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/Lhasa/blog-14695.html